« Etranger, ne partez pas aussi vite. Restez-vous et prenez une casse du thé » / “Stranger, do not pass away so fast. Stay and take a cup of tea”
This is the translated line of a local poem concerning the ataaya ceremony. Ataaya is a drink made from loose-leaf green tea, mint leaves, and a lot of sugar. Since I have been in Senegal (now over a month), I have had the pleasure of having ataaya many times and I’ve started to learn a fair amount about it.
First, the preparation:
People here rarely have stoves. Instead, they have gas cans of kerosene or propane and cook on open flames. Water for ataaya is heated directly on these cans or on small beds of coals. The tea used is a Chinese green tea, which here is often called just “chine”. An entire box of leaves is poured into the kettle, and the effect is a very strong-brewed tea. Then sugar is added, usually at least 4 or 5 cubes.
Second, the presentation:
Ataaya is served in a small “casse” – a small glass that resembles an American shot glass. Before pouring tea to serve, a small amount is poured back and forth between glasses to create a layer of froth at the top. I asked my host brother why this is done. He said ‘because it looks pretty’. But regardless of why, it’s universally practiced in all the regions of Senegal I’ve been to thus far. When the tea is ready, everyone close by is offered a casse, and often someone will go throughout the house to offer it to other family members/guests.
Third, the discussion:
The most important part of ataaya is not the tea itself, but the ceremony of being together in a group while preparing. The most traditional practice of ataaya involves three rounds. The first, the most bitter. The second, with added mint leaves. The third, the most sugar. These three rounds provide ample opportunity to discuss life issues and to inquire after others’ families. Problems are brought to ataaya to be discussed and resolved. It involves much more than merely drinking tea. Because of this, one never uses the verb ‘boire’ or ‘to drink’ when discussing ataaya. Instead, the Senegalese use ‘prendre’ or ‘faire’ – ‘to take’ or ‘to do’.
Another very important aspect of this ceremony is tied up in a concept that is central to the Senegalese way of life: teranga. This word translates more or less to ‘hospitality’ in the second-most prominent language, Wolof. Part of teranga encompasses the importance of welcoming foreigners to the country or city they are visiting. I have just returned to Dakar from a week of vacation in towns that were much more off the beaten path. While there, I and my travelling companions were welcomed with open arms and were able to receive deep insights into life in the places we visited purely by virtue of locals who wanted to make us feel welcome. We took ataaya in the village of Podor when our new friend and guide, the grandson of the village’s imam, brought us to meet some of his friends. This also showed another aspect of teranga- to welcome family, friends, and strangers into one’s house. If you stop by a family’s home near a mealtime, it’s not unusual at all to invite them in for a full meal. And by that same token, if you happen to be preparing ataaya when three Americans come into the hotel, matters like showing them rooms and discussing prices are not nearly as important as welcoming them with a casse each.
Traveling one week through Senegal without any particular schedule has kept me aware of many of the risks of traveling in a foreign country. In a country with so much un- and under-employment, many vendors can be very persistent and sometimes desperate to have obvious foreigners patronize their businesses. But no matter the size of city I and my friends passed, from old French colonial capital, to older towns on the Senegalese river, to tiny villages that are still waiting on a real bridge to be connected to the main road, we found that the Senegalese truly embrace the idea of hospitality and welcoming new people to their towns and lives. From tours guides to tea ceremonies, Senegal is truly proving to be «La pays de teranga »