On Logical Reasoning

Hypothetical situation: If someone decided to send me something via snail-mail, and that person asked me for mailing instructions, I'd first give them a address. I'd then tag on a request to write my address in red ink and draw Islamic religious symbols on the envelope or package. The new Peace Corps Mauritania Volunteers were told by former PCVs that Mauritanians are quite superstitious and that the mail service will not dare mess with any package that has been addressed as such. Nobody really knows if this is true anymore; it's just something that keeps getting passed down, and everyone keeps passing on those instructions to friends and family assuming that someone who knew this fact started the rumor, while of course acknowledging that there's a decent chance it doesn't make any difference at all.

Here in Mauritania one encounters several habits and customs like this – customs that have been handed down for generations that nobody questions. That explains why my host mother, a traditional doctor, poured goat's milk into my host sister's eyes when my host sister complained of her eyes hurting. Her eyes have since digressed considerably (though doubtfully due to the milk), and she's going to Nouakchott, the country's capital, to see a regular doctor. She's lucky she has the means to do so.

This same host mother once boasted of how “healthy” her diet was while she was pregnant with her youngest child. She ate plain couscous, and ONLY plain couscous, for the last seven months of the pregnancy.

This may also explain why I listened to a mother scold her daughter, telling her not to use soap to wash her hands before eating because... the daughter was sick. I briefly asked for a clarification – surely I misunderstood something in my limited Hassaniye – only to have the mother repeat that she did not want her ill daughter to wash her hands with soap. Before I could ask any follow-up questions the mother left the room to bring in the meal. The encounter was especially alarming since we then all ate from a communal bowl with our hands, and this daughter sat immediately to my right. I carefully avoided making any facial expressions, but I also carefully avoided any bits of rice she may have touched.

In Mauritania this type of logical reasoning, this trust in someone who hopefully knows better, is especially apparent to individuals who have been inundated with scientific studies on nutrition and health. But these studies are not readily available here. Chinguetti has not even had electricity for the past month, how could one expect people to be up-to-date on the most current trends in diets and hygiene? After all, aren't those “theories” about “germs” and “vitamins” just western trends anyway?

Furthermore, changes in patterns can be especially unnerving. If my “red ink” theory is accurate, and if someone sent a letter addressed in black or blue ink that did not come through, I would be heartbroken (if I ever find out about it). Changes in patterns can be risky. My host family in Rosso certainly agreed. They became uneasy one night during a lunar eclipse. Back in August we had a total lunar eclipse during a full moon. I watched it and kept expressing how cool and beautiful I thought it was. My host mother was horrified. In her limited French and my limited Hassaniye we had a very basic conversation:

Host mother: Look at the moon. It's bad.

Carl: Why is it bad?

HM: Because, look at it. It's bad.

C: But what's bad about it?

HM: Because Allah did that. He's punishing us. We must pray now.

It turns out that many PCVs had similar conversations with their host families that evening. And, sure enough, near the time they started praying, the eclipse began to recede. This only cemented the notion in their minds: Allah had been punishing them, and their praying helped solve the problem. Similarly, my belief in the mail superstition was only reinforced when I received a package from my parents that had been addressed in red ink and had an Islamic star and crescent on the top flap. I received the package just fine, so clearly my theory had worked, right?

I should qualify this entire entry by stating that I am not trying to make Mauritanians out to be uneducated or uninformed peoples. Furthermore, I have since encountered many Mauritanians who understand perfectly the nature of “eclipses.”

I will say though that it has made for some interesting encounters. After the eclipse, for example, I tried offering that “lunar eclipses” were natural phenomena that occurred when the Earth's shadow landed on the moon. Nope. That was clearly wrong. What a stupid American.

Returning to the “red ink” theory: I have no idea if addressing packages in red or adorning them with Islamic symbols actually helps or not, but on the off-chance that it does, I wouldn't want to risk not getting a care package. I've only ever heard of one PCV not receiving a care package, and sure enough, this package had not been addressed in red ink. Again, this is far from any sort of empirical proof. But when accurate information is not cheaply and readily available, superstitions will take hold. Some are even accurate. My host mother told an extremely overweight woman who appeared to be suffering from diabetes that she should be more active and walk more often. Other times it results in goat's milk being poured into eyes. I have no idea if the “red ink” theory is one that happens to be true or not, but I'll continue endorsing it religiously.