After an almost 19-year absence, I have returned to Niger, specifically Niamey, to reconnect with a second home and ponder the changes that life has brought since my last visit in 1990. How curious it is to inhale the sensuousness of places that figure prominently in some of my books:  the light fading on the buttes and on the river as seen from the terrace at sunset at the Grand Hotel, the whir and whirl of le grande marche, the smells of roasting brochettes on the street,  the clutter of carts, donkeys, people, some poor and dressed in rags others resplendent in their embroidered outfits, the burn of the sun on the neck at midday, the warmth of talk and human contact.  People who seen me walking in the street and after almost 19 years, they called out my name, singing praises to God who enabled our paths to cross once again.  So it goes on this short visit in which I have also reconnected with men and women I met during fieldwork in New York City–all very existentially satisfying, an affirmation of life.

4 Responses to “Back to Niger”

  1. 6:25 am, 9 February, 2009 р.
    niger says:

    NICE NICE
    how is the weather

  2. 9:25 pm, 9 February, 2009 р.
    niger1 says:

    Hello , mr Stoller can you try to ask around you in Niamey about Chinese growing infuence in Niger we heard so much about it
    Can you take photos of Chinese owned shops and business

  3. 8:27 am, 3 June, 2009 р.
    Peter Hoesing says:

    I didn’t realize it had been so long since you were in Niger. I read In the Shadow of Sorcery a few years ago, and just finished The Taste of Ethnographic Things a few weeks ago, so those experiences still seem fresh in my mind. Do you think the sensuous essences of those places you visited have changed over time?

  4. 6:14 pm, 6 July, 2009 р.
    KonstantinMiller says:

    Hi! I like your srticle and I would like very much to read some more information on this issue. Will you post some more?

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