Although I’ve not attended a funeral yet, families with means will hold receptions on the anniversary of a loved one’s passing to remember their life. My host parents lost a teenage boy around ten years ago, and they held a vigil for him this past year. The village Imams came and led the men and older women in prayers and the women cooked a big breakfast feast for everyone.
One thing of note about these family-centered affairs is that not too long ago, people here who only lived in extremely rural villages were definitely related to everyone in their village. Even now, the villages surrounding mine are all named after the man who was the originator of the village. As tradition has continued, even people in my larger village still consider everyone around them to be their family. When throwing a party, everyone around them is expected to help cook, clean, attend, eat and take part, because they consider everyone they can see with their own eyes to be their blood relatives.
Birthdays
While most adults do not celebrate their birthday nor keep track of when it is, we have found that some kids and teenagers like to commemorate the day. Teens will post on each other's WhatsApp stories and snapchats for their birthdays. Kids may ask their parents for their favorite meal for dinner, and if money allows, the parents may ask the local baker to make a cake. I had the baker make me a cake made for my birthday to share with my family and it was delicious! I've also seen people dump cups of water on the birthday person, one for every year they've lived. People will gather around the cake lit with candles and will sing happy birthday in French, Wolof, English and Pulaar!
Islamic Holidays
