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Anansi The Stories

2010-04-02T16:40:00.000-07:00

Once in a before time, Anansi was walking far into the bush. Soon he came to a house with a
very, very, VERY old man sitting inside the mouth of the front door. The old man looked like skin
and dry bones. Anansi gathered up his courage and said.

"Good day sir! I have been walking all morning
and would love to have a cool drink of ice water."

However, the old man said nothing. Anansi, who thought that the old man might have been deaf, walked closer to the seated figure and repeated in a loud voice.

" I said... GOOD MORNING SIR! MAY I HAVE A DRINK OF WATER?”

Nevertheless, the old man said nothing. Anansi scratched his head and said, "Oh, you said to go inside the house and help myself?" The old man still said nothing to Anansi.

Anansi walked past the old man and went into his house and not only helped himself to ice cold water but to as much food as he could eat. When he had finished eating, Anansi went outside to see the old man who was sitting in the same spot by the door. Anansi thanked him for his hospitality and returned home.

The next day Anansi went to the house of the old man and again ate his fill. Still, the old man said nothing to Anansi. On the third day, Anansi the spider brought his eldest daughter to the old man’s house. "Good morning sir,” Anansi greeted. “Since you have been so kind to me I have brought my beautiful daughter who wants to be a cook. I will give her to you as your wife," said Anansi. Then he turned to his daughter. "Here is a wedding ring. Now go into the house and fix your father a nice plate of food." The old man still said nothing.

The next day Anansi got up early. He headed for the old man's house. The old man had not moved and was still sitting by his door. Anansi said his good morning and entered the house. He called for his daughter but she did not answer. He knew that she liked Hide-and-Seek so he looked in every closet. He then checked under the bed.

Although he knew that it was a dangerous hiding place, he looked into the icebox, but he could not find her. Anansi searched all over the house but he was not able to find his daughter. He thought of one place that he had not looked."I know where she is. She is hiding in the oven! " He said as he opened the door to the stove's oven. Anansi jumped back. For in the oven lay his daughter's wedding ring. Anansi rushed outside the house and grabbed the old man by the collar.“Where is my daughter?" he shouted.

Finally, the old man spoke in a deep raspy voice. “Do… you …know… who… I… am?” He said slowly, chewing on every word that escaped his throat. “Yes.” Anansi said. “You are my son-in-law.” "Hah! Your son-in-law!” The old man rasped. “My name is Death and you came looking for me. I did not invite you into my house. To add insult to injury, you brought me your ugly daughter... so I ate her. Now I am going to have you for lunch," Brother Death said as he grabbed Anansi by the shirt.

Anansi tore the buttons from his shirt, slipped out of it and ran for his life. He ran as fast as he could in the belief that he could easily outdistance an old man like Brother Death. However, wherever Anansi turned, Death was right behind him. Finally, out of desperation, Anansi lunged for a tree limb and climbed as high as he could. To his surprise, Brother Death did not follow Anansi up the tree. Death could not climb!

Brother Death picked up a rock, an old shoe, anything that he could find, and threw them at Anansi. They all missed. Death could not throw either. He soon ran out of things to throw. Therefore, he ran around under the tree in search of any missile. Once when he took his eyes off Anansi, the frightened spider jumped off the tree and bolted for his home. As he neared his house Anansi shouted out to his wife. "Aso! Grab the children and climb up into the ceiling! Death is after me!" "What did you say, Anansi?" His wife asked.

" I SAID... GRAB THE CHILDREN AND CLIMB UP TO THE CEILING!" Anansi cried. “You said do what with the potato peelings?” His wife asked. “I said… Oh, Never mind!” Anansi cried in frustration. He quickly rushed into his house, grabbed his wife and children, and climbed up into the ceiling with them. “Grab hold of a wooden beam and hold on tight!” He shouted.
As Brother Death rushed in the door, Anansi and his family were safely clinging to a beam in the ceiling. Brother Death calmly picked up a burlap bag, pulled up a chair, sat down under the dangling spider family and crossed his legs.

Half an hour passed and Anansi's youngest son said to his father. "Oh, Puppa, my hands are hurting me. I can't hold on any longer." "Hold on son, for if you fall Death is going to get you," Anansi said to his child. However, the boy could not hold on any longer. Therefore, he fell.
Death caught the boy and opened the burlap bag. "It is your father I want… not you.” Then he placed the child into the burlap bag.

Soon, another of Anansi's daughters cried out to her father. "Puppa, please…my hands are tired. I am going to fall". "Fall and Death is going to get you!" Anansi answered. His daughter fell and Death placed her in the burlap bag with her brother. "I don't want you. I want your father,” said Death. Soon Anansi's other daughter and son fell. So did his wife, Aso. Finally, Anansi's own hands became tired. First, the left hand froze and lost its grip. However, Anansi held on tight with only his right hand. He exercised the frozen left hand in the hope of using it to relieve the right hand. Anansi’s mind began to race.

"Brother Death.” He called. “I am so fat from eating all your food that if I fall I will just splatter into pieces. There will not be enough of me left to put in that bag. You will only have enough meat to make spider-burgers. However, if you go into the kitchen you will find a barrel of flour. Get the barrel and set it under me so that the flour will cushion the fall. I won’t splatter. I will just be battered.” “Mmmhh…” Death exhaled, rubbed his chin and smiled, showing all his 37-and-a-half teeth. “Kentucky Fried Spider for dinner, heh? Or, maybe I can make delicious, spicy Jerk Spider from Anansi and his family!”

Anansi figured that the flour barrel was so heavy that it would take four men to lift it. This would give him time to escape. As Brother Death went into the kitchen Anansi was about to let go and drop from the ceiling. However, in a flash Death was back under Anansi with the flour barrel. Anansi had underestimated Brother Death’s strength. As Brother Death wobbled the barrel from side to side, he bent over the barrel to make sure that it was exactly under Anansi. The cunning spider dropped on top of the old man’s head, dunking his face into the flour. The flour bath
temporarily blinded Death.

Anansi jumped off Death’s head, released his family and they ran for their lives. Death has never caught Anansi the Spider. That is why there are AnansiStories to this day. When you see spider webs on the ceiling it belongs to Anansi. He is still trying to get away from Death..

* Author's note: This story illustrates how Anansi, like his father Nyame the Great Sky God, also overcame death. In Nyame's case he had created both life and death and was overcome by the latter's venom. Where Nyame survived death by using an antidote, his son, Anansi, used his web to accomplish the same feat.

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Directions Bertil Harding Highway, next to Senegambia Craft Market

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Original Poetry Series

2010-03-25T06:21:00.000-07:00

Simplicity

Life should be so simple, simplicity is the key
We are busy, busy like bees, busy to have, busy to get instead of busy to be.

What about becoming, more than you were by being less. What about to be.
They say we live within a web, woven by us, webs of lies, webs of ilussions, of thoughts and dreams, of feelings and fears.

Who is the other? The other is us, in a different way connected by nature.
Nature is life and life is simplicity

Ekow
March 2010

Proverbs Africa

2010-03-24T16:59:00.000-07:00

What is bad luck for one man is good luck for another.

When you are rich, you are hated; when you are poor, you are despised.

Wood already touched by fire is not hard to set alight.

A child who is to be successful is not reared exclusively on a bed of down.

A knife does not know who is its master.

A woman is like a blanket: If you cover yourself with it, it bothers you; if you throw it aside you will feel the cold.

He who is guilty has much to say.

If there were no elephant in the jungle, the buffalo would be a great animal.

If things are getting easier, maybe you're headed downhill

It is the wife who knows her husband

Marriage is like a groundnut: you have to crack them to see what is inside.

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The Garifuna

2010-02-16T14:58:00.000-08:00

Gaya Art Cafe strives to offer a global perspective when it comes to showcasing art with an African influence. This is part of our Global Art Africa Series.

In the year 1635 two Spanish ships carrying Nigerian slaves shipwrecked on the island of St. Vincent. At first, the Spanish, Nigerians and Kalipuna fought one another but eventually learned to get along and intermarried, thus creating the Black Caribs.

At that time, St. Vincent was a British colony and the Caribs tried to establish independent control of the island. The French supported the Caribs and there were many battles between the Caribs and the British. The greatest battle took place in 1795 and both sides suffered great losses. In 1796 the Caribs and the French surrendered to the British.

The British now had a problem. The Caribs were free men with black skin and St. Vincent was populated by slave-owning Europeans. The idea of a group of free black men living among them on the island was unacceptable so the British decided to deport the Caribs. The British hunted down and rounded up the Caribs, killing hundreds in the process and destroying their homes and culture. The remaining 4,300 Caribs were shipped to Balliceaux where half of them died of yellow fever.

In 1797 the surviving Caribs were shipped to Roatan Island off the coast of Honduras. Along the way, the Spanish captured one of the British ships which was taken to Trujillo where the captured Caribs did well. Later, the Spanish captured Roatan Island from the British. The Spanish rounded up 1,700 Caribs on the island and brought them to Trujillo where laborers were much needed. The Spanish were not good farmers and Trujillo suffered accordingly. On the other hand, the Caribs were very skillful at farming so they went to work and did very well in Trujillo. Some of the Caribs were conscripted into the Spanish army where they served with distinction.

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Anansi Folktales

2010-02-14T13:20:00.000-08:00

Anansi and the Yam Hills
Once in a before time, there lived an old woman who had magical powers. Her name was 5. She was also so evil that some people called her a witch. 5 hated her name. No one knows why her parents named her the number 5. When she was a child, other children would make fun of her name. Sometimes when she was within earshot, they would look out the corner of their eyes and giggle as they said. Give me 5!"

They would slap their hands with a quick handshake and burst out laughing. This taunting always made 5 angry.When she grew up, 5 decided to put an end to the name-calling. So, she created a weird spell. "Anyone who says '5' will drop dead,” she said. Then she changed her mind. “From this day on, anyone who says ‘5’ will disappear,"

This spell immediately caused a problem in the country. No one could say that number again
without disappearing. Children could no longer recite their five times tables. People had to drop
the word 'five' from their vocabulary. In 5’s village, the unlucky number was no longer 13.

Once a customer asked a merchant, “How much is that blue T-shirt?” “That shirt is 5 doh... ” Suddenly there was a loud “SWOOSH!” before the merchant could finish
his sentence. He disappeared right in front of the dumbfounded customer's eyes!

A crafty spider named Anansi lived in 5's village. He had heard about the witch’s spell. Times
were very hard. Anansi was not a farmer and he had no food at all to eat. His wife and children
were starving. Since Anansi was small, and not a very good worker, he could only rely on his
brain to get whatever he needed to survive. He said to himself. "Things are tough, boy! I must make this witch's spell work for me".

Anansi went to the road that led to the village's marketplace. He chose a spot on the side of the
road where everyone on the way to market would have to pass. There, near a large Guangu
tree, he decided to pile up five mounds of the rich brown soil. These mounds he called "yam
hills". In the top of each yam hill, he planted an African yellow yam. Then he drove a stake next
to the yam on which its vine could grow. Anansi carefully watered the yams until each one began
to sprout.

Anansi made a web-like a hammock in the Guangu tree and patiently waited for someone to
come by. Early one morning, after each yam shoot had poked its head out of a mound, Anansi
sat down next to his yam hills. Soon, Brother Dog came by on his way to the market. Dog
balanced a bankra basket of sweet-smelling fruits on his head as he walked down the road.

"Good morning Brother Dog," said Anansi in a sugary voice. "I know that you are busy, and I feel
so stupid. I am not an educated man like you. Would you help me to count how many yam hills
that I have planted here?" Anansi asked. "You should have gone to school to learn how to count!" Brother Dog said grumpily as he walked away from Anansi towards the market.

Anansi climbed up into the Guangu tree and waited.the next person to come by was Brother Bull. He carried a large basket of fruits on his head. "Good day Bro' Bull." Anansi said in a sad voice. "Could you just spare me one minute?"

Anansi begged. "What can I do for you, Anansi?" Bro' Bull asked. " I was a *yikki and sickly child. So, my parents did not send me to school. I never learned my ABC's. I planted all these yamhills... Can you help me to count them?" Anansi said. "But, of course Anansi"
Bro' Bull replied. "You have 1, 2, 3, 4, 5...." As he said that number, Brother Bull disappeared into thin air. The basket of sweet ripe fruits that he had been carrying on his head, fell to the ground. Anansi snatched up basket of fruits and rushed home to eat them all.

For a long time, Anansi did very well tricking some passersby into counting his yam hills. He
grew fat from all the baskets of food he had gathered. He had tricked Brothers Turtle, Owl,
Mongoose, Hare, Peenie-Wallie the firefly, and even the tough Bro' Scorpion.

Mrs. Guinea fowl was a nice young mother of newly hatched children. She could not say 'no' to
anyone. She and her husband shared the chore of selling their produce in the village. That day
it was her turn to go to the marketplace. She loaded up her hand basket and headed for the
market. As she got closer to the yam hills Anansi was nowhere in sight. Just as she was about to
pass yam hill number 4, Anansi the spider lowered himself down from his perch in the Guangu
tree. He called out in his sugary voice.

"Good morning Mrs. Guinea Fowl. Could you help me with a problem?"

"Of course Anansi". The polite Mrs. Guinea Fowl said.

"I have these yam hills here, and I don't know how to count ... would you help me... ? Pleeezz."
Anansi begged. Mrs. Guinea Fowl, who had seen Anansi trick Bro' Scorpian, walked over
to the last yam hill and climbed up on top of it. She said. “You have 1 ... 2 ... 3 ... 4 ... and the one I am standing on". "What! What are you doing? That is not the way you count!" Anansi shouted angrily. "What do you mean, Anansi?" Mrs. Guinea Fowl said. "I don't know of any number
called 'the one I'm standing on'.

Start again!” Anansi ordered. Mrs. Guinea Fowl began again. "You have 1, 2, 3, 4 ... and the
one I am standing on". "That is not what you are supposed to say!" Anansi
shouted even more angrily. "Well ... If you are so smart... What am I supposed to say?" Mrs. Guinea Fowl asked. Anansi shouted, "You are supposed to say 1, 2, 3, 4, 5 ... Oops…” Suddenly, Anansi disappeared, leaving Mrs. Guinea Fowl with all the loot that he had gotten from tricking his victims.
The moral of this story is: "Greedy choke puppy" (or, "A greedy puppy will soon choke").

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Garifuna Dance

2010-02-04T11:13:00.000-08:00

Gaya Art Cafe strives to offer a global perspective when it comes to showcasing art with an African influence. This is part of our Global Art Africa Series.

Fine dining whenever you want to eat out in Senegambia.
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Directions Bertil Harding Highway, next to Senegambia Craft Market
220 4464022
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African Proverbs Samples

2010-01-24T16:29:00.000-08:00

     If the dog is not at home, he barks not.

A proud heart can survive a general failure because such a failure does not prick its pride.

   Do not look where you fell, but where you slipped.

If you don't stand for something, you will fall for something

It takes a whole village to raise a child

By the time the fool has learned the game, the players have dispersed

   Hunger is felt by a slave and hunger is felt by a king

   One cannot both feast and become rich

One falsehood spoils a thousand truths

The ruin of a nation begins in the homes of its people.

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Haitian art

2010-01-09T13:27:00.000-08:00

Gaya Art Cafe strives to offer a global perspective when it comes to showcasing art with an African influence. This is part of our Global Art Africa Series.

No other country has a school of self-taught painters and sculptors reigned supreme, renewing itself year after year. Not even in Africa have black artists created so many unforgettable images to haunt and revivify the tired iconography of the West. How to explain the paradox that an art of joy originated and sustains itself in the poorest nation of the Western Hemisphere ?

A blend of African and French cultures, inspired by both the Vodou and Christian religions, Haitian life has a unique quality, timeless yet electric. Close to nature, close to his family, close to his gods, the Haitian farmer still leads a life little influenced by the fashions and the inventions of the twentieth century.
Some of Haiti's greatest artists, Hector Hyppolite, Andre Pierre, and Lafortune Felix were first houngans (vodou priests). All of the Saint-Soleil artists, first hailed by André Malraux in 1977, say they are in constant contact with the loas (African Spirits), as was their progenitor, Robert St. Brice. As André Malraux remarked in regard to this school, it is impossible to determine where it came from or to whom it speaks.

Dieuseul Paul, was one of the original members of the Saint Soleil movement which gained international recognition in 1975 when the French cultural icon Andre Malraux visited the community. It is said that Malraux was seated in a chair on a grassy knoll while the artists of Saint Soleil ascended the slope, encircling him, each holding a piece of their art. M. Malraux was blown away by the scene and immortalized the movement by featuring Saint Soleil prominently in his last book, L´Intemporel.

Saint Soleil was located in the mountains above LaBoule, at Soisson-La- Montagne. It provided the means and encouragement for not only painters, but also poets, writers, craftspeople, singers, dancers, sculptors and musicians. A community of peasant artists that was organized by the Haitian artist Tiga, and Maude Robart, a writer and painter herself.

The Saint Soleil School uses linear patterning and symbolism reflecting practices of Vodou.

Vodou, which, while it does have its darker moments, seeks support and security from the spirit guides, The works portray figures crucial to the practice of Vodou. Many of the Saint-Soleil paintings share attributes of medieval manuscripts, particularly in repetitive linear patterning filling every available space, known as horror vacui, recalling the Book of Kells and also evokes the Coptic Christian icons of North Africa.

Saint Soleil disbanded after only a few years but five of the artists, Prosper Pierre-Louis, Levoy Exil, Denis Smith, Paul Dieuseul and Louisiane St. Fleurant reorganized into the group Cinq Soleils. In cooperation with several French Cultural institutions, they opened a spacious and secure atelier in Soissons on September 23, 1989.

The simplicity of everyday life, transformed into poetry by Philome Obin and the Cap-Haitian school, gives to each Haitian a sense of place in this world just as the Vodou religion assures him a place in the cosmos. Ongoing life that neglects neither the body nor the spirit … that is the joy of Haitian art.

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Anansi The Spider

2010-01-04T16:12:00.000-08:00

The most famous past time of the Ancient Ghanaian’s was storytelling or listing to stories and Anansi the Spider is a very popular folk story told all throughout Western Africa. It originated during Ancient Ghanaian times and it was told all throughout Ancient Ghana. It is about a spider who buys the right to all folk stories that were originally told by the Sky God. The Sky God gave him three things to bring to that nobody else would even attempt because of the high risks.

Anansi was a very clever spider though. His first task was to get Mmoboro the hornets. His second task was to get Onini, the great python. His final task was to get Osebo, the leopard. Using his cunning Anansi completed these task and gained the reserved to all folk stories. Back then the people who told Anansi stories and all other stories were known as Riots.

The Spider-Man

He once enjoyed his life as a man. Nyame (N'-ya-mae), his father, changed his mischievous son into a spider. As a spider-man, Anansi continued his pranks. Through his actions we learn how to
behave.

PROFILE
Given Name: Kweku Anansi
Father: Nyame, the Great Sky God
Mother: Asase Ya, Earth goddess / Goddess of Fertility
Alias(es): Ananse, from the Twi language for spider. AKA: Anansi / Annancy / Annansay /
Annancey / Anancyi / Anawnsy / Hanansi / Hanaansi / Compe Anansi / John Anansi / Nansi /
Nance / Nancy / Mr. Nancy / Brother Anansi / Bro' Anancy / Bra' Nancy / Bre-Nancy / Aunt Nancy
/ Miss Nancy / Anansi-Tori / Ti Malice / Uncle Bouki / The Spider / Spider-man
Gender: Male
Race: Mixed (50% negroid, 50% supernatural)
Ethnicity: Akan
Specie: Deity-homo-arachnid
Date of Birth: Unknown (around the time when animals and humans spoke to each other).
Day of Birth: Wednesday
Height: Little. Weight: Light.
Address(es): Kumasi, Ghana / Kingston and the counties of Jamaica and other Caribbean
territories / The Sea Islands and South Carolina (Gullah), USA / The island of Haiti / Paramaribo
and other districts within Suriname, South America / Garifuna Communities, Belize, Central
America.
Country of Origin: Asanti, Ghana
Profession: Trickster
M.O. (Modus Operandi): Trickery; Quick-change-artist; Uses his brains; Hustler; Outsmarts
persons larger than himself; Known to travel with immigrants; Often gets in trouble for
a misdemeanor.
Main Enemy: Osebo the Leopard, A.K.A: "Bre'r Tiger", "Bra Tiger", "Bro Tiger", Tiger

Fine dining whenever you want to eat out in Senegambia.
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Directions Bertil Harding Highway, next to Senegambia Craft Market
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Global Art Africa Series

2009-12-29T13:30:00.000-08:00

Gaya Art Cafe strives to offer a global perspective when it comes to showcasing art with an African influence. This is part of our Global Art Africa Series.

Fine dining whenever you want to eat out in Senegambia.
A unique Gambia restaurant for both Gambian and global cuisine.
Come and enjoy our restaurant in The Gambia!
Directions Bertil Harding Highway, next to Senegambia Craft Market
220 4464022
220 6664022
gaya@qanet.gm
gayagambia@gmail.com
http://www.gayaartcafe.com/

The Haiti Art Cooperative

2009-12-29T13:17:00.000-08:00

Gaya Art Cafe strives to offer a global perspective when it comes to showcasing art with an African influence. This is part of our Global Art Africa Series.

The Haiti Art Cooperative is a network of non-profit projects with programs in Haiti serving Haiti's poor, including persons deported, streetchildren, orphans, students, persons in need of medical care and families.

Haiti’s Ceremonial Banners, or Vodou Flags, are tapestries of sequins and beads trimmed with a satin backing. “They are probably the most familiar of all Vodou objects and they are enchanting, combining the graphic clarity of African appliqué banners with the scintillating luxuriance of Christian liturgical vestments.”

The flags represent various spirits, or lwa, of Vodou, based on religious beliefs and practices slaves brought with them from West Africa. Each spirit embodies unique characteristics, and plays a different role. Vodou flags, exhibited in ceremonies, serve to call down particular spirits who help practitioners with their personal problems and aspirations.

Vodou spirits are represented by either the image of the spirit, or the corresponding symbol, or veve, that represents it. Because slaves were forbidden from practicing Vodou, they also adopted Catholic saints to represent the various spirits of love, water, twins, trees, crops, etc.

Haitian Vodou flags have been the center of numerous museum exhibits, including the Sacred Arts of Vodou which toured museums such as the Smithsonian Institute and the Museum of Natural History.

Fine dining whenever you want to eat out in Senegambia.

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Directions Bertil Harding Highway, next to Senegambia Craft Market
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African Proverbs

2009-12-22T15:04:00.000-08:00

A talkative bird will not build a nest.

By crawling, a child learns to stand.

Earth is but a marketplace; heaven is home.

Everybody loves a fool, but nobody wants him for a son.

The teeth that laugh are also those that bite.

When the music changes, so does the dance.

Silence is also speech.

A lobster loves water, but not when he's being cooked in it.

A rotten fish pollutes the whole kitchen.

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2009-11-28T07:36:00.000-08:00

Long before children heard Mother Goose rhymes or "Jack and the Beanstalk," stories were told in Africa about wise lions, wily snakes and how the world began. Storytellers passed along these tales orally, embodying ideas about ethics, human nature and the cultures from which they came.

Unlike collections of European fairy tales, myths and legends, which are familiar worldwide, compilations of African folk tales have only recently received mainstream attention outside Africa.

Why mosquitoes buzz in people's ears
If you live in the rain forest climates of West Africa, you will be very familiar with the buzz of the mosquito in your ears on hot humid evenings. Even if there’s only one mosquito and only one person in an area as large as a football field, the mosquito always seems to find that person’s ear and buzz in it. If you’ve slapped yourself in the face because of a mosquito, you know what I’m talking about. Here’s the story that explains the mosquito’s attraction to the ear.

A very long time ago when Ear was a beautiful woman and ready for marriage, there were several suitors wooing her. There were big creatures, there were small creatures. There were fast and sleek creatures and there were slow ones. But they all professed their love for Ear and demonstrated their skills – and there was such an impressive array of skills that Ear had a difficult time making a decision. Then along came mosquito.

“I would like you to be my wife”, proposed Mosquito.

Ear was so offended by this affront. “Look around you!” she cried. “Of all the people and creatures in the whole world, what makes you think I can entertain such a thought?” Ear was distressed. “Marry you?!!” she continued. “You will be dead before the week is over. You’re not strong, you’re weak and I will never marry you!”

Ear was exhausted from this tirade and she fell into her seat, fanning herself vigorously like she was trying to get any image of Mosquito out of her head. Meanwhile, Mosquito was really hurt by all that Ear said. It was very embarrassing to be talked to like that in front of all the other creatures who were whispering to each other and giggling. Apparently, they all agreed with Ear. “Dead before the week is over,” thought Mosquito as he slunk away. “We’ll see about that.”

And from that day forward, whenever Mosquito sees Ear, he flies up to her and says “Emi re, mi o ti ku”, which in English means “Here I am, I am not dead.”

But who did Mosquito eventually marry? And how did she get attached to either side of Head? That’s another story I would like to hear.

Fine dining whenever you want to eat out in Senegambia.

A unique Gambia restaurant for both Gambian and global cuisine.
Come and enjoy our restaurant in The Gambia!

Directions Bertil Harding Highway, next to Senegambia Craft Market

220 4464022
220 6664022
gaya@qanet.gm
gayagambia@gmail.com
www.gayaartcafe.com/

Gambia And West African Folktales

2009-11-18T07:06:00.000-08:00

Sun and Moon are married and have children together. Sun takes his children out with him during the day. This makes moon very worried because it is far too hot for the children to be out during the day.

So Moon takes it upon herself to fix this. She makes her children only come out at night with her. Of course her husband Sun is very angry by this so he chases her across the sky. He has caught her a few times thus, this is when eclipses occur.

Fine dining whenever you want to eat out in Senegambia.
A unique Gambia restaurant for both Gambian and global cuisine.
Come and enjoy our restaurant in The Gambia!

Directions Bertil Harding Highway, next to Senegambia Craft Market

220 4464022
220 6664022
gaya@qanet.gm
gayagambia@gmail.com
www.gayaartcafe.com/

Visit Senegal

2009-11-10T07:21:00.000-08:00

Senegal lies between the Tropic of Cancer and the Equator and enjoys a steady warm year round climate, with a short rainy season between the months of June and September.

As such it provides the perfect weather for a lazy beach holiday, especially in the Saly region just south of Dakar; but Senegal also has three mighty rivers and these provide a good deal of fertile land and some wonderfully intricate coastal lagoons and waterways that are a joy to explore.

And because of this abundance of water and fertility it supports a great wealth of wildlife including numerous birds from coastal waders to large raptors, and various mammal species such as warthogs, hyenas, monkeys, baboons, manatees and dolphins.

CLIMATE
Senegal has marked contrasts in climate. The coastal region, except in Casamance, is equable, with low rainfall and high humidity. Inland, the climate is drier, ranging to the semi-desert of the Sahel region in the east. The wet season is from June to September, rather shorter in the north and longer in the south, especially near the coast.

VISAS & IMMIGRATION
Citizens of countries member of the European Union (EU) do not need visa to travel to Senegal for up to three months stay. Visas are also not required for citzens of Canada Israel Japan Taiwan United States .

PEOPLE
The population was estimated in 2002 at about 9,8 millions , of which a quarter live in the agglomeration of Dakar, it is composed of many ethnics.

The Wolofs, are the most represented (35%), they make up the majority in all the regions, especially in the centre, the north and the coast of Dakar and Saint Louis. The farmers and the merchants, of Muslim faith for the majority, there importance is certain in the nations economy. The Lebous, established in fishing communities in the peninsula of Cap-Vert and in Saint Louis are related.

The Pulaar (20%), is composed of the Foulbes, Peuls and Toucouleurs, in the northern Senegal, the Fouta Toro, historical source for the propagation of Islam in Senegal, make up the cultural birthplace, they are very active in the commercial domain, as well as breeding and irrigated farming. they populate the Senegalese river valley and the Ferlo region.

The Sereres (17%) are less scattered out than the other ethnic groups. They can be found in the Sine-Saloum, along the Small Coast, in the centre of countries and north-west of the Gambia. The majority are Muslim, except for those along the Small Coast. The Diolas (10%) can be found in the Casamance, but also in Gambia and the Guinea-Bissau. Oriented rather to the culture of rice, they are for the majority animist and/or Christians in the basse Casamance region (Ziguinchor, Oussouye, Cap Skiring), and musulmans in the north and east.

Other than the main ethnic groups, we find the Mandingues of Eastern Senegal, the Soninkes very present in the east of the country and in the zones adjacent to the Mali and the Mauritania, the Bassari which live mainly by the culture of the millet and corn, of the picking and hunting, between the Guinea border and the limit of the Niokolo-Koba national park.
You may already be a fan of Senegalese music, or you may well already be a fan of Senegalese music without realising it. For a relatively small country they have produced a startling amount of fabulous music, and much that has crossed over the ‘world music’ divide into the consciousness of Western musical audiences.

Naming CeremoniesWood Carvings
These are great lively occasions that are well worth a look if you have the opportunity. This normally takes place one week after the child is born. The elders of the village gather together in the morning and name the baby whilst slaying either a chicken, goat, sheep or cow depending on the wealth of the family. Then the rest of the village is invited to join in and the party continues long into the night. There are displays of dancing and singing and collections for the new baby continue throughout the event - so we recommend that if ever invited you take along plenty of small notes.

Tabaski
Tabaski is probably the most important celebration in the Muslim calendar and is marked by a two-day public holiday. Muslims kill a ram to commemorate when Abraham was about to sacrifice his son Isaac in obedience to God.

Ramadan
This is a 30-day festival that takes place each and every year in the ninth month of the lunar calendar. During this period all physically mature and healthy Muslims are obliged to abstain from all food, drink, gum chewing and any kind of tobacco use.

Ramadan is a time for spiritual reflection, prayer, doing good deeds and spending time with family and friends. The fasting is a way of experiencing hunger and developing sympathy for the less fortunate, and learning to thank and appreciate all of God's bounties.

MUSIC
A few names for you: Youssou N’Dour, Baaba Maal, Orchestra Baobab – and these are just the artists that have made that crossover; you’ll find that music is such a presence in Senegal, and such a crucial part of the very fabric of life that it will form a soundtrack to your holiday, a soundtrack for your memories.

SENEGAL ATTRACTIONS

The Bandia Nature Reserve
Is a small but perfectly formed game reserve, situated 40 miles from Dakar near Saly and M’bour.

You can enter the reserve either in your own car or in one of the Reserve’s 4WD vehicles and hire the services of one of the skilled guides to see some typical African savannah animals: Giraffe, White Rhino, Zebra, Roan Antelope, Waterbuck, Kudu, Oryx, Impala, Cape Eland, Lord Derby Eland, Kob Antelope, West African Forest Buffalo, Wart Hog, Crocodiles, Green Vervet Monkeys and Patas Monkeys.

Dakar
Is the capital of Senegal, located on the Cape Verde Peninsula, on the country's Atlantic coast. It is Senegal's largest city. Its position, on the western edge of Africa, is an advantageous departure point for trans-Atlantic and European trade; this fact aided its growth into a major regional port.

Kermel Market
Many women go to the colourful Kermel Market to sell a variety of flowers: marigolds, zinnias and sunflowers. The flowers are primarily for western tourists. At Kermel Market, a hot spot for foreign visitors from the West and Asia, vendors have been selling their goods since the beginning of the twentieth century.

Lac Rose
Lac Rose (The Pink Lake) surrounded by dunes, is a large shallow lagoon 10 times saltier than the ocean and is renowned for its pink hue when the sun is high. The colour is due to a high concentration of minerals in the water. Senegal’s answer to the Dead Sea, you can swim here or effortlessly float on the surface. There is a small-scale salt-collecting industry on the southern side of the lake which is also worth a visit.

Marche Sandanga
The Marche Sandanga (Sandanga Market) is a labrynth of stalls selling anything from Senegalese music casettes to freshly plucked chickens. You can buy just about anything here, although don’t expect too many souvenir stalls. Colourful and vibrant cloth and clothing are a major attraction of this traditional market, drawing in many visitors.

Palais Présidential
The Palais Présidentiel (Presidential Palace) is a white building dating back to 1906 and encompassing strikingly lovely gardens. Guards in their Presidential uniforms guard the outside and pose with tourists for pictures.

Village Artisanal
One of the most popular places for buying souvenirs is the government-sponsored Village Artisanal (Village of Traditional Handicrafts), near the fishing beach of Soumbédioune. You'll find a tremendous display of wooden carvings, metal work, gold and silver jewellery, ivory, tablecloths, blankets, leather goods and clothing, but a lot of the goods are turned around very quickly and you have to search hard for good-quality pieces.

GOREE ISLAND

To the east of Dakar, about 3km offshore, is Île de Gorée, one of the earliest European settlements along this part of coast. Today it is a haven of history and peace within easy reach of Dakar via ferry which departs every two hours during the daylight.

Local Art & Crafts
You will find a variety of traditional vibrant, colourful fabrics and canvasses, together with wooden carvings and instruments on display on the island produced by local artists.

The Old Slave Trading Station
With its colonial brick-structures and sand-blown, bougainvillea-flushed alleyways, this island is a haven of tranquillity. But there's a sad background to all this calm beauty - Île de Gorée used to be an important slave trading station, and many visitors come here for traces of this tragic past. Maison des Esclaves (Slave House) is a museum dedicated to the slave era.

The Fort
The Fort stands as a reminder of the Second World War. Here visitors can see a memorial statue and the original heavy metal war guns, and view a red buoy out in the sea marking where a British ship was sunk by the guns during the war. You can find out more about the effects of the war on Gorée Island by visiting the island’s museum of history. There is also the opportunity to visit a traditional African mosque.

SAINT LOUIS
The Saint Louis region of Senegal sits just off the border with Mauritania. Famous for its cast iron bridge, put in by French colonialists in the 19th century, it is close to the Djoudj National Park, home to thousands of birds, some indigenous to the area. The city is also famed for its culinary roots, being the home to Senegal's national dish: Ceb-u-djen - rice and fish.

The Governor’s Palace
The Governor’s Palace is an 18th century fort, and now a government building. Place Faidherbe, with its statue of the famous French colonial governor, sits in front of the Governor’s Palace.

Guet N’Dar Fishing Village
In the fishing part of the town, Guet N’Dar, pirogues are lined up on the beach and fish dry on racks by the side of the road. Women boil up fish in vast drums, and the steam mixes odorously with the early morning sea mist. A little further south is the Muslim cemetery, where each fisherman’s grave is covered with a fishing net.

Réserve de Faune de Guembeul
This reserve is small, accessible and easy to explore by foot. It’s about 8 miles south of St Louis. The landscape is a mixture of lagoons, mud flats and dry woodland protecting the population of endangered Sahel animals, which include Dama Gazelles, Patas Monkeys and Sulcata Tortoises. There are also many birds around the lagoon – 190 species have been spotted here – and there are plans to introduce other Sahel mammals into the reserve.

Ebony is an exceptionally hard and beautiful wood found only in the Sahara desert regions of Africa. Its exceptional density makes it not only very heavy, but also gives it an incomparable sheen when polished. West Africa is home to many master carvers of ebony.

Fine dining whenever you want to eat out in Senegambia.

A unique Gambia restaurant for both Gambian and global cuisine.

Come and enjoy our restaurant in The Gambia!

Directions Bertil Harding Highway, next to Senegambia Craft Market

220 4464022

220 6664022

Visit The Gambia

2009-11-05T07:04:00.000-08:00

Gambia has a land area of 11, 295 sq km, with a population of 1.5 million. The Gambia has been a holiday destination since the mid 1960s and enjoys a sub-tropical climate with distinct dry and rainy seasons.

Visitors get a chance to enjoy adventuring off the beaten track and explore thebeautiful up river Gambia by boat and by road. Relax on a tropical river island and see hippos and Monkeys. Discover a wide range of varieties of birds and also Meet the people and appreciate the rich culture of the smiling coast.

Juffureh is a famous attraction site. The setting for Alex Haley's novel Roots, Juffureh is a traditional village, an easy trip from Banjul. It gives visitors an African background and discovery of their roots. At nearby Fort Albreda and Fort James, visitors can see many reminders of colonial history.

Tendaba Camp, 100 miles up-river from Banjul, was the country's first inland hotel, constructed to replicate an African village with traditional huts. The camp is a good starting point for daytrips by boat and for bird-watching.

Another attraction site is the River Gambia National Park about 100 miles east of the Atlantic coast, the vegetation changes from swamps to thick forests, and many islands appear in the river. Five of these form a park known for its chimpanzee-rehabilitation project.

Other exciting activities are Camel rides at Tanji, visits to Abuko Reserve and other nature reserves, lots of places to eat & drink and you can also enjoy fishing and more.

RESORTS AND ACCOMMODATION
There are four main resort areas in what is referred to as the Tourism Development Area - the palm-fringed coastline overlooking the Atlantic Ocean. There are modern hotels of all classes as well as small but comfortable motels and guest houses. Outside this area, there are exotic camps mainly situated on the banks of the beautiful River Gambia.

CUISINE
Gaya Art Cafe offers the very best in both Gambian and International cuisine

MUSIC
Like other African countries, The Gambia has a variety of traditional musical instruments and the most famous of them is the Kora - a 21-string harp. Music is an important part of the lives of the people.

Fine dining whenever you want to eat out in Senegambia.

A unique Gambia restaurant for both Gambian and global cuisine.

Come and enjoy our restaurant in The Gambia!

Directions Bertil Harding Highway, next to Senegambia Craft Market

220 4464022

220 6664022

Gambia Fine Dining

2009-11-01T07:11:00.000-08:00

We all want to eat well when we are on a holiday and Gambian cuisine is famous for integrating cross-cultural elements and serving up something exquisite.

The local dishes are prepared with an eye for detail and you are bound to find some of them perfect for your taste. For those who seek the comfort of the familiar there are restaurants that offer a variety of dishes from English, French, Italian and Spanish cuisines.

Fine dining with a twist.

The idea of the Gaya Art Cafe was in development over many years through the proprietors world wide travels and observations of many cultures.

Continental European

Blend of fresh organic dishes with a twist. A selection of tapas, salads, freshly baked foccacias and tortilla. There is also a variety of freshly roasted coffee beans from other countries.

Fine dining whenever you want to eat out in Senegambia.

A unique Gambia restaurant for both Gambian and global cuisine.

Come and enjoy our restaurant in The Gambia!

Directions Bertil Harding Highway, next to Senegambia Craft Market

220 4464022

220 6664022

Contemporary Gambian Art

2009-10-30T11:19:00.000-07:00

Lemonfish Art gallery is hosting exhibitions on Contemporary African Art, painting, sculpture and objects.

The first exhibition featured 28 artists from West Africa. Contacts have been made to work with artists and institutions in other African countries and in Europe.

We intend to run workshops for students and artists that include video and media presentations to provide inspiration and broaden views.

Special holiday workshops for guests are also available.

We hope to contribute to the cultural understanding of our visitors by giving them the chance to appreciate original works of art in undisturbed surroundings and engage in dialogue with local artists.

We are looking forward to receiving you here and sharing ideas with you.

Fine dining whenever you want to eat out in Senegambia.
A unique Gambia restaurant for both Gambian and global cuisine.
Come and enjoy our restaurant in The Gambia!

Directions Bertil Harding Highway, next to Senegambia Craft Market
220 4464022
220 6664022
gaya@qanet.gm
gayagambia@gmail.com
www.gayaartcafe.com/

Benachin

2009-10-24T11:00:00.000-07:00

Cooking Ingredients:
1. 2 lbs fresh fish
2. 2 cups of vegetable oil
3. 6 cups of water
4. 1 medium fresh tomato
5. 4 tbsp tomato paste
6. 2 large onions
7. 1 small cabbage
8. 2 medium carrots
9. 1 bay leaf
10. 4 cups of rice
11. Salt and pepper to taste

Cooking Method:
1. Clean and cut fish in halves.

2. Fry the fish in the vegetable oil until both sides are brown.

3. Remove fish and add onions, fresh tomato and paste to the hot oil and fry until brown.

4. Pour water and bring to boil, then include cabbage, carrots, bay leaf, and seasonings, reduce heat and simmer for 20 mins.

5. Remove vegetables and add the rice while continuously stirring.

6. Reduce heat and cover the pot. Simmer for 10 mins.

• Benachin is sometimes referred to as cheebu / chebu jen in Senegalese.

Fine dining whenever you want to eat out in Senegambia.
A unique Gambia restaurant for both Gambian and global cuisine.
Come and enjoy our restaurant in The Gambia!

Directions Bertil Harding Highway, next to Senegambia Craft Market
220 4464022
220 6664022
gaya@qanet.gm
gayagambia@gmail.com
www.gayaartcafe.com/

Gambian Spinach Stew - Plasas

2009-10-18T10:13:00.000-07:00

Cooking Ingredients:
1.    2 packages frozen chopped spinach
2.    1 pound meat stewing beef
3.    1/2 pound smoked fish, flaked
4.    2 hot chili peppers
5.    1 large onion, chopped
6.    1/4 cup groundnut paste (peanut butter)
7.    3 cups water
8.    1-1/2 cups palm oil

    Cooking Method:
1. Cut meat into bit-size portions.

2. Put in saucepan with two cups of water, salt, chopped onions and peppers.

3. Bring to boil and add palm oil.

4. Continue cooking partly covered. Cook for 1-1/2 hours over medium heat.

5. Add spinach (previously thawed and drained), flaked fish and groundnut paste mixed with water.

6. Stir, cover and simmer for 10 minutes.

The recipe is served with steamed rice.

Fine dining whenever you want to eat out in Senegambia.
A unique Gambia restaurant for both Gambian and global cuisine.
Come and enjoy our restaurant in The Gambia!

Directions Bertil Harding Highway, next to Senegambia Craft Market
220 4464022
220 6664022
gaya@qanet.gm
gayagambia@gmail.com
www.gayaartcafe.com/

Gambia Food Dishes

2009-10-09T09:55:00.000-07:00

Traditional Gambian dishesJollof Rice, Benachin cooked in homes are mostly rice, the staple food, with a covering of various spicy sauces as on the right. However, steamed millet, couscous, cassava is also eaten.

The defining ingredients for these various dishes are either peanut butter paste (Domoda), ladies fingers (Okra), palm oil (chew deu terr) or edible leaves such as spinach or cassava leaves. Very popular among poor families is Mbahal which is rice mixed with grated peanuts, dried fish such as bonga. Many of these dishes are also common to Senegalese cooking as both countries have common cultural ties.

Some of the best known dishes are 'Domoda' (peanut butter sauce), 'supakanja' (okra stew), 'benachin' (Jolof Rice), 'Chere' (couscous type millet), chicken 'Yassa' (fried chicken in onions). Lunch is usually cooked for a couple of hours until the meat is well cooked - though for fish dishes, the fish may be removed after a short cooking time and replaced towards the end of the cooking time.

Most urban Gambians eat bread, butter and/or jam for breakfast. People may also have 'Chura Gerrte' (rice and peanuts - boiled) or 'ruy' (pap), with added yoghurt or tinned milk. For the majority of Gambians afternoon lunch is the most important meal of the day.

The main staple dish in The Gambia is rice with a choice of stew - made with either fish, chicken, beef, lamb or goat - usually cooked with vegetables, spices and sometimes peanut butter. Pork is NOT on the menu for 90 percent of Gambians who are Muslims, though it is available for Christians in many supermarkets and from specialised pig breeders.

Lunch is served in a large, common food bowl next to which the diners sit on the floor or a wooden stool. When eating you use your right-hand (washed), though many urban men (and some women) may use a spoon.

For dinner people eat either fried fish, oysters, shrimps, chicken and fried beef with onions. These may then be served with salad and / or bread or couscous. Others may have 'Chura Gerrte' or 'Ruy' (Coos porridge).

Increasingly Gambians are eating more convenience foods, particularly in the evenings, and this has begun to lead to health problems associated with high blood pressure, heart disease and diabetes.

Jumbo and Maggi cubes are similar to bouillon cubes, and are widely used to season all types of Gambian dishes and fare, from sauces to sandwiches.
Fine dining whenever you want to eat out in Senegambia.
A unique Gambia restaurant for both Gambian and global cuisine.
Come and enjoy our restaurant in The Gambia!

Directions Bertil Harding Highway, next to Senegambia Craft Market
220 4464022
220 6664022
gaya@qanet.gm
gayagambia@gmail.com
www.gayaartcafe.com/

Gaya Cafe Art Review

2009-10-03T14:11:00.000-07:00

The art scene in The Gambia is vibrant, colourful and always fascinating, there is a wide pool of artists representing different disciplines, here are a taste of Gambia's creative talent.

Papa Alassane Gueye

A Gambian painter working with plastic art, oil and canvas.

Buba Drammeh

Original Gambian batik and tie dye work by one of the leading proponents of this African craft.

Njogu Touray

Enjoys depicting his surroundings with elements important to his culture such as cowry shells, sand, and pigments that he creates from tree bark and plants.

Pepe Goma

Paintings, sculptures and art made in Gambia by Pepe Gomà. Son of Torrelameu.

Momodou Ceesay

Momodou describes his artwork as an exploration of images that inculcate a system of values that are consistent with his culture and heritage. His objective is to take the viewer on a spiritrual odyssey that suggests unseen dimensions.

Akin Toyinbo

A locally based artist living in Bakau.

Fine dining whenever you want to eat out in Senegambia.

A unique Gambia restaurant for both Gambian and global cuisine.

Come and enjoy our restaurant in The Gambia!

Directions Bertil Harding Highway, next to Senegambia Craft Market

220 4464022

220 6664022

gaya@qanet.gm

gayagambia@gmail.com

http://www.gayaartcafe.com/

African Gifts

2009-09-29T10:37:00.000-07:00

We have many smaller gift items: beautiful scented candels, napkin holders,incense gift sets, picture frames and much more.
We will wrap your gift beautifully for that special person in your life.

Fine dining whenever you want to eat out in Senegambia.

A unique Gambia restaurant for both Gambian and global cuisine.
Come and enjoy our restaurant in The Gambia!
Directions Bertil Harding Highway, next to Senegambia Craft Market
220 4464022
220 6664022
gaya@qanet.gm
gayagambia@gmail.com
www.gayaartcafe.com/

Gambia Artist Momodou Ceesay

2009-09-27T16:57:00.000-07:00

ON MY KNEES BEFORE THESE MIGHTY HEAVENS

It is seldom in the world of words, and in the world of visual art that the two distinct expressions of creativity are combined to put forth a powerful and moving story; a story of an African man's spiritual journey, a poetic odyssey called "On My Knees Before These Mighty Heavens"

In 1990 Momodou spent some time in New York creating designs for a greeting card company called Heritage Collections. During this period he worked with the homeless and visited the Bowery Mission often. He was inspired from this experience to write this epic poem.

The work uses excerpts from Hebrew Scripture and the Koran to describe the searching of a better life for African and African American people. Momodou Ceesay adds to the virtual reality of the story line by delineating the poem with 36 of his original paintings. Some of these paintings for the book were executed during his stay as an artist-in-residence at the Center for the Arts and Religion, Wesley Theological Seminary in Washington, DC.

In this book, the protagonist, Issa Kujabi, in righteous indignation, seeks an audience with God, in order to lament about the condition of his people. The book speaks of social injustice, the coldheartedness of the ruling elite in Africa; the phenomena of Africa's current demise, all done with poetry and art.

"Through a dialogue, the poem begins with the particular destruction, genocide and suffering of African people and of their descendants in the diaspora. The scope is then widened to include the negative forces that seem to grip the planet as a whole. It moves from despair to vision as the dialogue progresses, endingg with a revelation giving reasons for suffering, and what the future holds for Africa and the world as a whole"

Fine dining whenever you want to eat out in Senegambia.

A unique Gambia restaurant for both Gambian and global cuisine.

Come and enjoy our restaurant in The Gambia!

Directions Bertil Harding Highway, next to Senegambia Craft Market

220 4464022

220 6664022

gaya@qanet.gm

gayagambia@gmail.com

http://www.gayaartcafe.com/

Superkanja

2009-09-24T10:37:00.000-07:00

Cooking Ingredients:
1. 2lbs of lean beef
2. 1lb smoked fish
3. 2 cups palm oil
4. 2lbs cut okra
5. 1/4tsp of baking powder
6. 2 large onions chopped
7. 8 cups water
8. Salt and pepper to taste

Cooking Method:
1. Wash and cut meat into bite size pieces.

2. In a large pan, boil fish and meat in water for 15 minutes, then remove the fish.

3. Add onions, salt, pepper and okras.

4. Simmer for 15 minutes and then add palm oil.

5. Reduce heat and simmer for 20 minutes stirring occasionally.

6. Add fish and continue simmering in low heat for 10 minutes. Serve with plain boiled rice or Fufu.

Fine dining whenever you want to eat out in Senegambia.
A unique Gambia restaurant for both Gambian and global cuisine.
Come and enjoy our restaurant in The Gambia!

Directions Bertil Harding Highway, next to Senegambia Craft Market
220 4464022
220 6664022
gaya@qanet.gm
gayagambia@gmail.com
www.gayaartcafe.com/

Gambian Artist Njogu Touray

2009-09-18T16:34:00.000-07:00

In Trace of Old one is confronted with the monumentality of the ruins of the palace of Timbuktu. In the foreground the boulders are symbols of silent witness; the sky and sun testament to the unforgiving heat of the desert.

Seeing Beyond relates to the magnificence of the grand baobab tree also bearing silent witness but harboring a diviner at its core. This revered sage is symbolized by the all seeing eye, an important talisman in the Moslem faith, and cowry shells. Not only are cowries symbols of economic value, but they are used by the healer to read the future and divine the path a follower should take. In both paintings one feels the harshness of the terrain through Njogu’s use of natural colors. Touray lives and works in Banjul, The Gambia.

Fine dining whenever you want to eat out in Senegambia.

A unique Gambia restaurant for both Gambian and global cuisine.

Come and enjoy our restaurant in The Gambia!

Directions Bertil Harding Highway, next to Senegambia Craft Market

220 4464022

220 6664022

gaya@qanet.gm

gayagambia@gmail.com

http://www.gayaartcafe.com/

Gambia Artist Buba Drammeh

2009-09-14T16:06:00.000-07:00

Buba Drammeh is a talented batik artist from The Gambia. His batiks have been incorporated in the design for the CD "Mansalou", featuring the kora playing and singing of Jali Sherrifo Konteh.

Batik is a way of decorating cloth by covering part of it with a coat of wax and then dyeing the cloth. This process is usually repeated several times, using different dyes, until the final effect is achieved. The waxed area keeps its original colour and when the wax is removed the contrast between the dyed and undyed areas makes the pattern. During the dyeing the brittle nature of the dried wax will cause it to crack, allowing small quantities of dye to penetrate to the cloth. The resulting spider-web pattern adds an unplanned and interesting effect to any design and is a special characteristic of most batik work.

Buba normally buys his cloth, which is usually white or a very light colour, from the town of Serrakunda. He buys whatever amount of cloth he can afford, together with the dyes, salt, caustic soda and wax crayons.

Then he cuts the cloth according to the size of the pattern he has decided to draw. He spreads the cloth flat and draws straight onto the cloth (which is always 100% cotton) using a crayon which is not the same colour as the first dye. If the same colour were to be used the pattern would not been seen when it came out of the dye

He then melts the candle wax and uses a small stick with wire wrapped round it, called a tjanting, to dip in the wax. The wire will hold the wax and will permeate and seal the parts of the cloth it covers so that the dye cannot penetrate. He paints the melted wax onto the parts of the cloth he wants to remain white.

Next he prepares the dye-bath, mixing the salt and caustic soda with the dye powder, using gloves to protect his hands from the caustic soda. The soda and salt helps to fix the colour to the cloth. The first colour will be the lightest colour he wants to use. He then puts the material to dry but has to take care not to leave it in the hot sun for too long as it could melt the wax!

When the cloth is dry the wax is melted again and those areas that are to retain the colour just dyed are covered with wax, and the material is dipped into a dye of a colour darker in tone than the first. This process continues until the darkest shade (black) has been reached. There are usually five or six colours in the final batik, including the original white of the material and the final black. Since the colours are superimposed in the dyeing process, a particular colour-scale must be planned. For example, if the first colour was blue, then yellow could be used for the second dye and that would make green, or red to make brown.

Finally Buba buys firewood and builds a small fire to boil water, soap and salt together in a big container and the boiling water will take the wax out of the cloth. Then it is washed and ironed. The ironing will remove any final small particles of wax from the material. He has no electricity so the iron is a flat iron that holds heated charcoal in the top.

Buba syeas he gets the ideas for his designs from he said that he likes to promote the traditional African way of life. Things that his forefathers would also have done, such as hunting, fishing and pounding (rice and other grains), and also scenes of life in a compound or traditional musicians such as a kora , balafon or djembe player. He has also heard stories from his mother and grandmother, perhaps about an animal, and he will draw that, so, as he says, "Children can come and say, oh, look these animals are existing in The Gambia." He also gets ideas and colour schemes just by "looking at what is around me". This of course, includes the Baobab tree, which can live for hundreds of years, and is a very important tree in The Gambia. People depend on it for food and for cures and many believe it has magical properties.

Buba Drammeh was born at Nuimi Nemakunku village, in the Upper Nuimi district on North Bank. His father's name was Saikou Ba Drammeh, who was a hunter. He died very early but Buba has been told that he was a hunter of crocodiles and other creatures. His mother's name is Jankang Nass, now married again and living in Nuimi Lamin where Buba now lives with his wife, three children, adopted nephew, parents, sisters and other friends. There is a large and very productive vegetable garden which is run as a co-operative by all the hard-working women.

Fine dining whenever you want to eat out in Senegambia.

A unique Gambia restaurant for both Gambian and global cuisine.

Come and enjoy our restaurant in The Gambia!

Directions Bertil Harding Highway, next to Senegambia Craft Market

220 4464022

220 6664022

gaya@qanet.gm

gayagambia@gmail.com

http://www.gayaartcafe.com/

Gambia Artist Papa Alassane Gueye

2009-09-11T15:47:00.000-07:00

I call myself a visual plastic artist, painting with oil and canvas. I have a good imagination, creating interpretations of contemporary Africa as my living. This Papa Alassane Gueye surrealist is a thought outside of the real life.

Fine dining whenever you want to eat out in Senegambia.
A unique Gambia restaurant for both Gambian and global cuisine.
Come and enjoy our restaurant in The Gambia!
Directions Bertil Harding Highway, next to Senegambia Craft Market
220 4464022
220 6664022
gaya@qanet.gm
gayagambia@gmail.com
http://www.gayaartcafe.com/

African Mystery of the Olmecs

2009-09-09T12:04:00.000-07:00

More than 1,500 years before the Maya flourished in Central America, 25 centuries before the Aztecs conquered large swaths of Mexico, the mysterious Olmec people were building the first great culture of Mesoamerica. Starting in 1200 B.C. in the steamy jungles of Mexico's southern Gulf Coast, the Olmec's influence spread as far as modern Guatemala, Honduras, Belize, Costa Rica and El Salvador.

They built large settlements, established elaborate trade routes and developed religious iconography and rituals, including ceremonial ball games, blood-letting and human sacrifice, that were adapted by all the Mesoamerican civilizations to follow.

The Olmecs were the first Mesoamerican people to fathom the concept of zero, maintain a calendar, and use a hieroglyphic writing system based on the Manding system of West Africa. These intellectual achievements, as well as Olmec myths and rituals, were influential in the subsequent Maya, Zapotec, and Aztec cultures.

Studies done by researchers such as Ivan Van Sertima (They Came Before Columbus), Alexander Von Wuthenau (Unexpected Faces in Ancient America), Runoko Rashidi and others have presented evidence that clearly show that the Olmecs were Africans from the Mende regions of West Africa .

Studies done by Clyde Winters show that the Olmecs used the Mende script, a writing system used among the Mandinkas and other Africans in West Africa . When the writings on Olmec monuments were translated, it was found that the language spoken by the Olmecs was Mende.

The Olmecs practiced a religion and astronomical sciences identical to those practiced by Africans in the Mali region and Nigeria today. The Olmecs studied the Venus Complex in astronomy. Today, the Ono and Bambara who are famous sea and river travelers have studied that same complex for thousands of years. In fact, another group the Dogon is well known for their tracking and mapping of the Sirius star system and their accurate results.

The Olmecs also had a religious practice of Thunder worship where the ax was a prominent feature. In West Africa , the ax is also a prominent feature in connection with the Shango or Thunder God worship. Both the Olmecs and the Shango worshippers in West Africa placed an emphasis on the religious significance of children in their religious practices.

The earliest trade and commercial activities between prehistoric and ancient Africa and the Americas may have occurred from West Africa and may have included shipping and travel across the Atlantic. The history of West Africa has never been properly researched. Yet, there is ample evidence to show that West Africa of 1500 B.C. was at a level of civilization approaching that of ancient Egypt and Nubia-Kush.

The Olmecs used an African practice that is very common in Africa and to some extent in Melanesia . That practice is body scarification and specifically facial scarification as practiced in West Africa . Many of the facial scars seen on the Olmec terracotta faces, such as "dot" keloids and "lined" patterns are identical to Africans such as the Dinka of Sudan and the Yoruba and others of West Africa .

The flowering of the Olmec Civilization occurred between 1500 B.C. to 1000 B.C., when over twenty-two collosal heads of basalt were carved representing the West African Negritic racial type. This flowering continued with the appearance of "Magicians," or Shamanistic Africans who observed and charted the Venus planetary complex.

These "Magicians," are said to have entered Mexico from West Africa between 800 B.C. to 600 B.C. and were speakers of the Mende language as well as writers of the Mende script or the Bambara script, both which are still used in parts of West Africa and the Sahara.

Journeys by ship along the coast of West Africa toward the North, through the Pillars of Heracles, eastward on the Mediterran to Ports such as Byblos in Lebanon, Tyre or Sydon would have been two to three times as lengthy as taking a ship from Cape Verde, sailing it across the Atlantic and landing in North-Eastern Brazil fifteen hundred miles away, or Meso America about 2400 miles away. The distance in itself is not what makes the trip easy. It is the fact that currents which are similar to gigantic rivers in the ocean, carry ships and other vessels from West Africa to the Americas with relative ease.

The Olmec homeland is characterized by swampy lowlands punctuated by low hill ridges and volcanoes. The Olmec response to this environment was the construction of permanent city-temple complexes. The best-known Olmec centers are at San Lorenzo Tenochtitlán, La Venta, Tres Zapotes, Chalcatzingo, and La Mojarra. The Olmec were the first Mesoamericans to develop a hieroglyphic script for their language, the earliest known example dating from 650 BC.

The Olmec practiced shamanism. They believed each individual has an animal spirit. Olmec religion centered around the Shaman. "The feared and revered shaman would conduct rituals and heal the sick." Some believe that the sun was a part of their worshipping along with the jaguar.

The jaguar was a very important figure to the Olmec. "To the ancient Indians the jaguar was a symbol of supernatural forces-not a simple animal, but an ancestor and a god." It was referred to as a nahual, which is an animal that is so closely related to a certain man, that if the animal dies, the man will also die.

The Olmec were brought up believing the Great Serpent was a divine power that was believed to have brought prosperity and growth. When the Olmec first settled around the volcanoes, they noticed the dried up lava that there were resemblances to their Great Serpent, the Olmec farmers took these large basalt boulders and carved them into monuments, for example the colossal heads, and placed them in their maize fields.

Although no remains have been found of any person of the Olmec civilization, researchers have learned how they were laid to rest. After the master dies, he was laid to rest in a special burial mound in the middle of the ceremonial court. He was placed in there adorned with earrings, beads , and necklaces made of jade. Over the body, a layer of thick cinnabar red putty in the shape of an oval was spread over him with thirty-seven serpentine and jade celts. This site was then decorated on top with jewels and other decor.

However, only traces of human remains have been found. "The authors posit that the Olmecs believed that the human body, itself, and espescially that of the ruler, divided itself and represented the three cosmic levels: the celestial or heavenly, the terrestrial, the earth’s surface and the watery underworld, reachable through caves and sacred accesses."

Fine dining whenever you want to eat out in Senegambia.
A unique Gambia restaurant for both Gambian and global cuisine.
Come and enjoy our restaurant in The Gambia!
Directions Bertil Harding Highway, next to Senegambia Craft Market
220 4464022
220 6664022

gaya@qanet.gm
gayagambia@gmail.com
www.gayaartcafe.com/

The Sacred Forest Baobab Forest

2009-09-06T11:25:00.000-07:00

Makasutu a 500-hectare piece of bush in the Kombo central district of the republic of The Gambia is deemed by some to be a devil's home. They say he is there in the form of a ninkinanko or dragon, and protects the hidden crown and clothes of King Jatta from Busumbala who was killed 200 years ago by the Muslim king Kombo Silla on his way east to take over the country. Jatta's men took the crown and clothes and placed them for safekeeping in the area of Makasutu, now known as the Big Forest.

This skyline of ancient baobab and strangler trees looms over the eastern end of Makasutu and is now under the self-imposed guardianship of Echin, a Jola tribesman.The devil is not the only presence there to ward off encroaching. Along with him are jinns and giants -- spectral creatures that straddle animism and Islam.

They help watch over an Edenesque orchard, which is thought to appear to those with a purity of heart trekking across the land. Mandingo tribesmen tell you in ominous undertones that you can eat the fruit of the orchard while you are in the forest but can never leave with it.

When the Islamic wave came down through the Sahara in the 12th century it gave Makasutu its name, and greater protection from the men who wanted to ravage the bush of timber and wildlife. It became a place of prayer, and so a Mecca (Maka) in the forest (sutu).
It was strictly protected by local kings and marabouts who said that no tree could be felled or animal hunted in the sacred grounds. The land until the turn of the century was used only for godly communion.

Men prayed and boys recently circumcised in the name of Allah were brought to bathe in Mandina Bilon -- a tributary of the main Gambia river that lies five kilometres to the north.
The Bilon brings fish to Makasutu as the tide swells; from its sandy banks grow thick lines of mangroves, and from their grey tentacles the Koran women collect oysters.

As the 20th century moved in Makasutu with its untouched supply of wood and wildlife became a new mecca for the people of Kembujeh and neighbouring villages. It was on the verge of being stripped bare, when in 1992 Lawrence Williams,an architect, and James English, an engineer, came across the land and decided it would make a perfect location for a retreat and oasis for overlanders coming down off the Sahara.

They bought the land from the Sanni family who had ancient ownership rights, and after eight years of fencing and planting thousands of trees the land once again has found a protectorate.Makasutu has become a model for ecotourism in Africa.
Local women continue to grow crops on the western portion, and oyster women come and collect as ever, but now the birds are returning in droves to the trees and baboons stop at the safe haven on their migration route.
Momadou Jeeba, a Jola tribesman, has been manager at Makasutu for the past seven years and revealed that long before Williams and English arrived he and others had dreams that two whites would come by river and settle at Makasutu and keep it from harm -- a myth that has now turned into reality.

Fine dining whenever you want to eat out in Senegambia.

A unique Gambia restaurant for both Gambian and global cuisine.
Come and enjoy our restaurant in The Gambia!
Directions Bertil Harding Highway, next to Senegambia Craft Market
220 4464022
220 6664022
gaya@qanet.gm
gayagambia@gmail.com
www.gayaartcafe.com

Art In The Gambia

2009-08-01T11:32:00.000-07:00

The Gambia is the smallest country in Africa. It follows the banks of the River Gambia to the Atlantic Ocean. It is completely surrounded by Senegal except along its western coastal margin. There are just over 1.5 million people, with many different tribal groups speaking different local languages as well as English, French and Arabic.
Compared to some of its near neighbours in West Africa, The Gambia has created few artistic ethnographic objects. Most villages had blacksmith-craftsmen, but the cultural area with huge expertise stretching across the generations and down through the centuries was that of music and oral traditions.

Musicians played drums and the kora (a complex stringed instrument). Griots, storytellers and poets who preserved knowledge of ancestors and of oral traditions, were vital guardians of the culture. However, recent decades have seen a sudden blossoming in the visual arts and the emergence of a number of internationally respected artists.

There are four really well-known Gambian visual artists who have exhibited widely, both within The Gambia and internationally.

They are:

Njogu Touray whose work we have shown for three years. You can see examples of his work and read his biography in our gallery.

Momodou Ceesay, painter and printmaker, residing in Bakau where he has his own gallery showing his work and works by upcoming young artists he has personally selected. He spent many years in the United States and is using his good connections to promote the arts in The Gambia, working especially with schoolchildren.
Alhajie Bubacarr Badgie, a well-known painter, who we have not yet met unfortunately as he was in the United States when we visited.
Edrisa Jobe, a painter living and working in Katchikally.
There are many young artists emerging in The Gambia today and who are benefiting from the surge in interest and support that stems from both the growth in tourism and international development aid.
As in many African countries, the Alliance-Francais has been particularly active in its support and has organised and/or hosted numerous exhibitions. All the artists listed above were included in their 2002 exhibition Art From The Gambia, which helped define the current state of the visual arts in the country.
A number of galleries have also sprung up - the Village Gallery, African Heritage, Gaya Art galleries and the major hotels often show high quality work.

Fine dining whenever you want to eat out in Senegambia.

A unique Gambia restaurant for both Gambian and global cuisine.
Come and enjoy our restaurant in The Gambia!
Directions Bertil Harding Highway, next to Senegambia Craft Market
220 4464022
220 6664022
gaya@qanet.gm
gayagambia@gmail.com
www.gayaartcafe.com/

Gaya Art Cafe

2009-07-29T10:33:00.000-07:00

The Cafe
Flavours of the Mediterranean, Latin America and Asia. Great cocktails, freshly ground coffee from around the globe and delicious cakes. Ecelptic ambience, Wi-Fi Internet, catering services, take-aways and much more!
The Gallery
We cater to all budgets. Great selection of African Art, unique gifts, custom jewellery, furniture, and lots more. Interior decoration srervices available.

Fine dining whenever you want to eat out in Senegambia.
A unique Gambia restaurant for both Gambian and global cuisine.
Come and enjoy our restaurant in The Gambia!
Directions Bertil Harding Highway, next to Senegambia Craft Market
220 4464022
220 6664022
gaya@qanet.gm
gayagambia@gmail.com
http://www.gayaartcafe.com/

Press Release

2009-07-24T07:23:00.000-07:00

The Gaya Art Cafe in Senegambia is a magnificently decorated treasure trove showcasing a beautiful collection of African artefacts and work from local crafts people.
It doubles up as a cafe-restaurant serving tapas, healthy salads and delicious freshly baked bread, perfectly complemented by a superb selection of freshly ground coffee beans from around the world.

SN BRUSSELS IN-FLIGHT MAGAZINE
Directions Bertil Harding Highway, next to Senegambia Craft Market
220 4464022
220 6664022
gaya@qanet.gm
gayagambia@gmail.com
www.gayaartcafe.com/

Africa Gambia Statues

2009-07-18T19:52:00.000-07:00

Fine dining whenever you want to eat out in Senegambia.

A unique Gambia restaurant for both Gambian and global cuisine.
Come and enjoy our restaurant in The Gambia!
Directions Bertil Harding Highway, next to Senegambia Craft Market
220 4464022
220 6664022
gaya@qanet.gm
gayagambia@gmail.com
www.gayaartcafe.com/

Gambia Based Artist Pepe Goma

2009-06-24T16:44:00.000-07:00

During a trip to Gambia, the luminous landscapes impresse me, and I was also surprised by the color and brigthness in this country. Since those days I have lived in Gambia. My work consist of searching for the perfect blend between the African and European schools, looking for natural textures, obtained using dyed sand, fusing the drawing, the painting and the sculpture. I am, also, a founder and president of the Gambia Taekwondo association.

African Interior Design

2009-06-16T09:32:00.000-07:00

Gaya Art Cafe stock a range of lamps, cushion covers, and many other one off items to give a beautiful touch of elegance and sophistication to your home. Selection allows for most budgets.
We also have an interior design consultancy service available for all your home decorating needs.

Fine dining whenever you want to eat out in Senegambia.

A unique Gambia restaurant for both Gambian and global cuisine.
Come and enjoy our restaurant in The Gambia!
Directions Bertil Harding Highway, next to Senegambia Craft Market
220 4464022
220 6664022
gaya@qanet.gm
gayagambia@gmail.com
www.gayaartcafe.com/

Africa Global Art

2009-02-10T14:34:00.000-08:00

Gaya Art Cafe strives to offer a global perspective when it comes to showcasing art with an African influence. This is part of our Global Art Africa Series.

Fine dining whenever you want to eat out in Senegambia.
A unique Gambia restaurant for both Gambian and global cuisine.
Come and enjoy our restaurant in The Gambia!
Directions Bertil Harding Highway, next to Senegambia Craft Market
220 4464022
220 6664022
gaya@qanet.gm
gayagambia@gmail.com
http://www.gayaartcafe.com/

Gaya Cafe

2009-02-02T09:32:00.000-08:00

The cafe/lounge/bar opened in January 2004 after several customers commented on how wonderful it would be, if they could sit and savour the atmosphere, surrounded by beautiful objects of art.

On one occasion a customer was admiring an Ashoki clothfrom Nigera, and commented how beautiful the "Indian cloth was". For me this exemplified how such diverse cultures express themselves in similar ways through art."
But after all, we are all children of GAYA earth"

Fine dining whenever you want to eat out in Senegambia.
A unique Gambia restaurant for both Gambian and global cuisine.

Come and enjoy our restaurant in The Gambia!
Directions Bertil Harding Highway, next to Senegambia Craft Market

220 4464022
220 6664022
gaya@qanet.gm
gayagambia@gmail.com
www.gayaartcafe.com/

Gaya Boutique

2009-01-15T13:55:00.000-08:00

Gaya Cafe Menu

2009-01-15T10:15:00.000-08:00

The Menu

A universal mix of exciting fresh organic dishes with our own special twist. A selection of tapas, healthy wholesome salads, delicious freshly baked foccacias and tortillas.
For coffee lovers we have a superb selection of freshly roasted coffee beans from around the world, which you can savour with our heavenly deserts.
Or simply relax over a glass of chilled white wine, a cocktail or a healthy smoothie, browse a magazine from the bookshelf and let the universe unfold.

MAIN COURSE
All served with a side dish of your choice

SEAFOOD

Rolled Sole Fillet

With salsa verde. D375

Calamare

Cooked with capsicum in spicy saffron sauce. D375

Seafood Crepe
Crepe filled with assorted sauted seafood in a creamy white sauce. D375
Sautéed Butter Fish

In garlic and coriander sauce. D375

Prawns

Cooked in tomato sauce with thyme and

black olives, Mediterranean style. D375

MEAT

Chicken and Leek Gratin

Pieces of chicken breast cooked with leeks

and baked with béchamel sauce and cheese. D375

Lamb Chops

Cooked with rosemary and served with garlic haricot bean mash. D450

Ham and Asparagus Crepe

Baked in cream sauce with cheese. D325

Pepper Steak

Beef tenderloin strips cooked with green peppercorns, mustard and cream sauce. D375

Moussaka

Mince meat cooked in tomato sauce, layers

of aubergine and béchamel sauce baked. D375

SIDE DISHES
Rustic Garlic Mash Potatoes

with olive oil D90 V
Mixed Salad D100 V
French Fries D85 V
Garlic Haricot Bean Mash D90 V
Stir Fry Vegetables in Season D100 V
Fried Rice with Vegetables in Season D90 V

TAPAS

Baked Brie

With thyme and garlic D250 V

Black Bean Nachos

With shredded lettuce, jalapeno chili,

sour cream, melted cheddar cheese and tortilla chips. D250 V

Black Olive Tapenade

With our own twist! Served with bruschetta. D200 V

Buffalo Chicken Wings

Smothered in tomato and blue cheese sauce. D250

Coconut Coated Prawns

Served with sweet chili sauce D250

Deep Fried Mozzarella Cheese Sticks

With tomatoes salsa. D225 V

Escargot

Snails cooked in garlic and parsley butter.

(6 pcs) D250 (12 pcs) D450

Goat Cheese Topped with Balsamic Onions

Baked and served with cranberry jam and brushetta. D275 V

Hummus Crudite

Strips of crisp vegetables and toasted

pitta bread served with a wonderful nutty Middle Eastern chickpea dip. D225 V

Mexican Cheese Quesadillas
Spicy Mexican tortillias filled with cheese and fresh garden vegtables D250 V

Octopus Salad

With typical Greek marinade. D275

Shrimp Piri Piri

Shrimps cooked with garlic and chilli. D250

Spanish Tortilla

Served with herb and garlic sour cream. D250 V

Thai Fish Cakes

With cucumber and coriander sauce D250

Tzaziki

Greek yoghurt with cucumber, garlic and mint served

with pitta bread. D200 V

SANDWICHES AND WRAPS
All served with French Fries or Mixed Salad.

Aubergine

Black olive tapenade, slices of tomato and melted cheese served in green olive herb focaccia. D225 V

Steak Sandwich Special

With balsamic onions, topped with blue cheese aioli and served

on our green olive herb tortilla. D250

Coconut And Lemon Grass Chicken Wrap

With mango chutney, spring onions,

lettuce, cucumbers and basil in a herb tortilla sauce. D250

Cubano

Slices of roast pork, mozzarella cheese,

cucumber pickle and sun dried tomato in toasted focaccia. D250

SALADS
Pear and Blue Cheese

With walnuts. D250 V

Tandoori Chicken and Lentils

Salad served with cucumber and mild mint yoghurt dressing. D250

Louisiana Black Eye Bean Salad

Served with a spicy southern style cornbread muffin. D225 V

Lamb

Roasted vegetables, chickpeas and toasted pitta bread with

yoghurt dressing. D295 V

Seafood Pasta Salad

Topped with salsa verde. D250

DRINKS
Soft Drinks

Bottle D35 ▪ Diet Coke D55 ▪ Perrier D65

Mineral Water 500ml D35 ▪ 1.5 Lts D75

Juices

Fresh D50 ▪ Regular D40

Beers

Julbrew D50 ▪ Imported D75

House Wine

Glass D95

Aperitif And Spirits D100

Black Label D120
Liqueurs D120

Cognac D150

Refreshing Drinks

Citron Presse D55 ▪ Chapman D95

COCKTAILS

Long Island Ice Tea

Rum, Tequila, Vodka, Cointreau

Lemon Juice and Coke D195

Margarita

Tequila, Lime Juice and Triple Sec D175

Tequila Sunrise

Orange Juice, Grenadine and Tequila D160

Sangria

Red Wine, Lemonade, Rum & Slices of Orange D160

Pitcher D750

Pimms

Lemonade, Pimms and Cucumber Slices

Glass D160 ▪ Pitcher D750

Strawberry Daquiri

Strawberry, Lemon Juice, Rum and Sugar Syrup D185

Pina Colada

Rum, Pineapple Juice and Coconut Cream D185

Blue Lagoon

Vodka, Blue Curacao and Lemonade D160

Tom Collins

Gin, Lemon Juice, Angostura Bitters and Soda D175

SMOOTHIES

Yoghurt Delight

Yoghurt, Vanilla and Gambian Organic Honey D95

Gaya Special

Pineapple, Banana, Coconut Milk & OJ D100

Feel Good

Dates, Muesli, Organic Gambian Honey, Yoghurt and Banana D120

COFFEES AND TEAS

Teas

Regular D40 ▪ Herbal or Flavored D65

Coffees

Cappuccino D70 ▪ Expresso D60 ▪ Latte D60

Regular House Blend D50 ▪ Irish Coffee D195

From our selection of freshly ground roasted coffee beans, prepared and served in stove pot.
● Kenya Blue Mountain
● Colombian
● Cuban
● Brazilian
● Old Brown Java
● Irish Cream
● Rich Hazelnut
● Maple Syrup And Pecan

Please drop in and be part of the Gaya Art Cafe experience, we would love to meet you!
Winter Season- Mon-Sat from Noon to Midnight, last food order 22.00
Summer Season- Mon-Sat from noon to 19.30, last order 18.30

Fine dining whenever you want to eat out in Senegambia.
A unique Gambia restaurant for both Gambian and global cuisine.
Come and enjoy our restaurant in The Gambia!
Directions Bertil Harding Highway, next to Senegambia Craft Market
220 4464022
220 6664022
gaya@qanet.gm
gayagambia@gmail.com
www.gayaartcafe.com/

Africa Gambia Poetry

2008-12-23T14:20:00.000-08:00

Gaya Art Cafe supports the arts and we encourage you to post your poetry, songs and thoughts on our weblog.

Carlos Castaneda's Teachings

Nothing in the world is a gift. Whatever there is to learn has to be learned the hard way.
— Carlos Castaneda

Anything is one of a million paths. Does this path have a heart? This question is one that only a very old man asks. All paths are the same: they lead nowhere. They are paths going through the bush, or into the bush. Does this path have a heart?

If it does, the path is good; if it doesn't, it is of no use.

Both paths lead nowhere; but one has a heart, the other doesn't. One makes for a joyful journey; as long as you follow it, you are one with it. The other will make you curse your life.
One makes you strong; the other weakens you.

There's no emptiness in the life of a man of knowledge, everything is filled to the brim and everything is equal. For me there is no victory, or defeat, or emptiness. Everything is filled to the brim and everything is equal and my struggle is worth my while.

What makes us unhappy is to want. Yet if we would learn to cut our wants to nothing, the smallest thing we'd get would be a true gift. To be poor or wanting is only a thought; and so is to hate, or to be hungry, or to be in pain.

The countless paths one traverses in one's life are all equal. Oppressors and oppressed meet at the end, and the only thing that prevails is that life was altogether too short for both.

Chance, good luck, personal power, or whatever you may call it, is a peculiar state of affairs. It is like a very small stick that comes out in front of us and invites us to pluck it.
Usually we are too busy, or too preoccupied, or just too stupid and lazy to realize that that is our cubic centimeter of luck. A warrior, on the other hand, is always alert and tight and has the spring, the gumption necessary to grab it.

Any thought that one holds in mind in a state of silence is properly a command, since there are no other thoughts to compete with it.

Only as a warrior can one withstand the path of knowledge. A warrior cannot complain about, or regret, anything. His life is an endless challenge, and challenges cannot possibly be good or bad. Challenges are simply challenges.

Fine dining whenever you want to eat out in Senegambia.

A unique Gambia restaurant for both Gambian and global cuisine.
Come and enjoy our restaurant in The Gambia!
Directions Bertil Harding Highway, next to Senegambia Craft Market
220 4464022
220 6664022
gaya@qanet.gm
gayagambia@gmail.com
www.gayaartcafe.com/

Africa Gambia Jewellery

2008-11-19T14:17:00.000-08:00

Fine Jewellery From Africa and beyond
Semi-precious stones on silver jewellery.All handmade, with many from up and coming designers from Africa and Europe.

Fine dining whenever you want to eat out in Senegambia.

A unique Gambia restaurant for both Gambian and global cuisine.
Come and enjoy our restaurant in The Gambia!
Directions Bertil Harding Highway, next to Senegambia Craft Market
220 4464022
220 6664022
gaya@qanet.gm
gayagambia@gmail.com
www.gayaartcafe.com/

Africa Gambia Furniture

2008-10-13T14:13:00.000-07:00

Furniture from Africa and beyond
Occasional furniture from arround the globe.

Fine dining whenever you want to eat out in Senegambia.

A unique Gambia restaurant for both Gambian and global cuisine.
Come and enjoy our restaurant in The Gambia!
Directions Bertil Harding Highway, next to Senegambia Craft Market
220 4464022
220 6664022
gaya@qanet.gm
gayagambia@gmail.com
www.gayaartcafe.com/

Africa Gambia Gifts,

2008-09-16T22:01:00.000-07:00

Directions Bertil Harding Highway, next to Senegambia Craft Market

220 4464022220

6664022