A
Drummer's Testament
Chapter
II-21: The Pilgrimage to Mecca
<PDF
file>
Dangers
and benefits of the Hajj; preparations; Hajj agents; foreign exchange
problems; arrival at Jidda; arrival at Mecca; Arafat; Mina; Mudzalifah;
Medina; Alhaji Ibrahim’s piety and his feelings of pity during the
Hajj; return from Mecca; greetings
Paragraph outline
Proverbs and sayings
Dagbani words and other search terms
Contents
outline by paragraph
<top of page>
Preparation
1.
Introduction: Alhaji Ibrahim’s experience
Agents
2.
agents handle passports and foreign exchange
3.
how agents take bribes and deceive their clients
4.
how agents cheat the people who go on the pilgrimage
5.
example: pilgrims pay different amounts for the same services
6.
example: how Alhaji Ibrahim’s agent defrauded his clients for
luggage costs
7.
example: no one was able to recover the luggage money
8.
pilgrims have no strength or voice with agents; people who go should be
aware
9.
the cheating continues in Mecca; need for money to see things; pilgrim
must ignore it
10. for
those who are dropped from pilgrimage: grief, shame, debt
Anticipating
the dangers of the pilgrimage
11. danger
of dying; leave money for family; share property in case die on the trip
12. possible
to die at the Kaaba, at the stone throwing, at Medina
The
trip from Ghana to Jidda
13. at
airport, Alhaji Ibrahim is robbed in the check-in line
14. customs
search for foreign exchange; hiding money in a water bottle
15. farewell
to families; waiting
16. soldiers
remove people from the plane
17. worries
during the flight
18. the
long, uncomfortable flight to Jidda
19. thoughts
during the flight
Jidda
20. disembarkation
and immigration
21. the
customs area; Alhaji Ibrahim’s honey; the transition to the status of
pilgrim
22. students
from Ghana help the pilgrims to find transport and lodging
23. advice
from the students about Jidda and the pilgrimage
24. changing
money
25. Alhaji
Ibrahim’s easy situation in Jidda
Mecca
26. traveling
to Mecca
27. arrival
at lodging house in Mecca; houseowner Moro
28. the
charge for accommodations; some people refuse but later return
29. other
lodging charges for Ghanaian pilgrims
30. services
and transportation provided by the householder at their lodging
31. advice
and instructions on first visit to the Mosque
32. going
around the Kabba; tawaf; starting point of the pilgrimage
33. Safa
and Marwah
34. return
to the house; lodging arrangements
33. eleven
days in Mecca; further description of the Mosque and its dangers
34. Alhaji
Ibrahim finds money at the Mosque to replace the stolen money
35. the
luck of the found money; from God
Arafat
36. travel
to Arafat
37. description
of Arafat and lodging
38. the
houseowner slaughters cows for his lodgers and prepares food
39. the
extent of some of the sacrifices at Arafat; reflections on the poverty
of Ghanaian pilgrims
40. lectures
about Arafat and sermons
41. climbing
the mountain
Muzdalifah
and Mina
42. travel
to Muzdalifah and Mina
43. the
three statues at Mina
44. the
dangers of the stone throwing
45. return
to the Mosque at Mecca; removing the harami, shaving
46. return
to Mina; three days
47. sacrifice
and fasting
Medina
48. farewell
to the Kaaba; travel to Medina
49. why
and how the pilgrims visit Medina
50. finding
lodging; assistance from a Zambarima man
51. hesitation
of some in Alhaji Ibrahim’s company
52. description
of the lodging house; anxiety about the charges
53. the
negotiation of the lodging charges
54. the
negotiations for visiting the sites in Medina
55. the
graves of the Holy Prophet and the Sheikhs
56. the
mosques of Medina; the Holy Prophet’s friend Hamzah
Return
to Jidda
57. no
plane comes from Ghana; many pilgrims finish their money and have to
manage by trading and begging
58. Alhaji
Ibrahim’s situation was better; ten days in Jidda
The
return trip to Ghana
59. carrying
things from Jidda to Ghana; some overweight items are thrown away
60. the
overbooked plane; removing some passengers
61. arrival
at Tamale; soldiers confiscate the goods people brought back and extort
money
62. the
corruption and cheating of Ghanaian soldiers under Acheampong
63. complaints
about the government’s seizing of goods
Arrival
home
64. the
guarded happiness at first after the return
65. people
come to give greetings; gifts; zamzam water
Reflections
on the pilgrimage
66. the
religious benefits; inspiration of seeing the places adds to religion
67. the
benefits of prayers at Mecca
68. the
blessings of helping others or friends go to Mecca, even strangers
69. Alhaji
Ibrahim’s conversation about being sent to Mecca by a friend
71. Alhaji
Ibrahim took John’s picture and talked about the friendship at
Mecca; the friendly social atmosphere in Mecca
72. praying
for a friend and good thoughts about a friend
73. how
friendship and love extend through generations
74. friendship
and patience; Alhaji Ibrahim gives John the name “Patience
gets everything”; the good names and bad names of patience
75. the
Hajj brings thoughts of happiness and pity; despite the Holy Prophet’s
work, he still had to die
76. people
wish to return to Mecca to see more of the experience
77. how
Alhaji Ibrahim’s life has changed; the additional respect of being
Alhaji
78. conclusion
of the talk
Proverbs
and sayings <top of page>
As for the
problem of a hundred people, if you one person are going to take charge
of it, you will come to face the problem on your own.
Old Dagbamba say that if something is falling from the air, nobody
knows whose head it’s going to land on.
Too many thoughts is sleep.
What brings fear? It is darkness.
Prayers know where to go.
Patience gets everything.
Even if a dog goes to Hajj and comes home, its name will change.
Key
words for ASCII searches <top of page>
Places in Saudi Arabia
Arafat
Jidda
Kaaba
Marwah
Medina
Mina
Muzdalifah
Safa
Muslim terms and figures
Alhaji
Allahu Akubaru
Faatiya
Hajj
Hamzah
harami
Holy Qu’ran
Ishai
maalams
Magarbi
Holy Prophet Muhammad
Sheikh Abu Bakr
Sheikh Umar
Sheikh Usman
tawaf
zamzam
Names
Acheampong
Alhaji Ibrahim Abdulai
Alhaji Iddrisu
Alhaji Muhammadu
[Alhaji] Mumuni
Alhaji Ohenedjan
Alhaji Osmanu
Alhassan
Moro
Nkrumah
Sulemana
Yakubu
Miscellaneous words and
idioms
cedi
Chimsi
drumskins
guinea fowl
houseowner
housepeople
mother’s children
pesewas
Yaa-Naa
Towns and places
Accra
Dagbon
Kumasi
Savelugu
Sunyani
Tamale
Yendi
Cultural groups
Arab
Dagbamba
Wangara
Yoruba
Zambarima