ABSTRACT

The distant rumble of thunder, some Songhay say, warns people of an imminent storm. The winds switch direction and if there is daylight, one can see the black clouds gathering on the eastern horizon. The winds stiffen and clouds of red dust sweep over some of the villages of Songhay: Tillaberi, Ayoru, Wanzerbe. Dust blots out the Sahelian sun. The temperature plummets. Rain drops dapple the parched earth. As the rumbles get closer, the wind howls, blowing rain across the village in sheets. Compounds fill with water; dry river beds gush with raging water. Dirt pathways thicken with mud. Dongo, the rumbling deity of thunder, has ravaged the countryside.