In January 2009, when our team had just started our study of Otammari culture, I spent three days observing Mama Feli, a lady who lives in our neighborhood. I went to the fields with her and her husband, collected wood with her and spent many hours with her and her family. Through this experience we became friends, and I continued to visit her family and spend time with them. Later that year, my husband and I moved to another part of town, so Mama Feli and I were not able to meet as often.

This past summer, we learned that the father of the family, Papa Feli, was in the hospital in Tanguieta, 30 miles north. When we hear that someone is in Tanguieta, we immediately know it is serious. All the severe cases that the hospitals in Natitingou can’t deal with get transferred there. One day when Papa Feli was in his fields, he was resting next to a fire and roasting corn. Maybe he fell asleep, and maybe he was a little drunk. In any case, his pants caught fire. Not having a belt, he had tied them on with string, so he wasn’t able to remove them quickly. His left leg was severely burned, and he had to stay in the hospital three months while it healed.

When we heard that Papa Feli had been released and was back home, we went to visit him. The family was overjoyed to see us. I had expected to find Papa Feli lying in his courtyard, but he wasn’t even home. “He went out to drink,” his youngest daughter said with a frown. His oldest daughter knew where to find him and ran to get him. A while later, he came limping up on crutches. He was slightly drunk, but we were happy to see each other. With tears in his eyes, he told us about his time in the hospital, and he thanked God for his recovery. Then he excused himself for being out when we arrived. He said he had gotten bored of sitting in his courtyard, so he had decided to go to the neighborhood cabaret (a place that serves tchouc, a locally brewed sorghum beer, and palm liquor). With a twinkle in his eye, he said “I thought to myself, I need to get out, and if I find something good, I’ll take it!” No doubt he did find something “good.” People have likely been buying drinks for him to celebrate his return from the hospital. Papa Feli used to drink often, but he was still a hard worker. Now that he won’t be able to go to his fields for a while, I’m afraid his drinking habits will get worse.

Alcohol is a major problem among the Otammari people. Tchouc is available at any time of the day or night in hundreds of little cabarets all over town. Palm liquor has made its way up here from the south and has become very popular in the cabarets as well. All Otammari ceremonies revolve around tchouc. It is a key element in all life events. In fact, village market days occur every four days because that is how long it takes to brew a batch of tchouc. In our cultural research we learned that tchouc used to be prepared only for ceremonies and festivities, not for everyday drinking. Alcoholism is a relatively new phenomenon here.

Every day, we see around us the harmful consequences of alcohol. Many Otammari here in town grow up more or less alcoholic or in alcoholic families. It is common to see young mothers with babies sitting in cabarets, giving the baby a sip when it starts crying. Many children are born with fetal alcohol syndrome.

People recognize and deplore the violence and poverty that results from drinking. But, with few exceptions, there is virtually no awareness of alcohol addiction, the results of drinking during pregnancy or breastfeeding, or of the effect alcohol has on a child’s development. Outside help is unavailable. There are no psychologists, counselors, addiction experts, etc.

When we were exploring the topic of alcohol and its devastating consequences as a tool to awaken people’s spiritual hunger, we were advised to approach this topic with a lot of caution. Drinking is so central to people’s lives here that a strong approach might close many hearts to our message. We want our Otammari people to be able to make clear choices without their minds being fogged by alcohol. We long for them to be free from the slavery of alcohol. But we need a lot of wisdom to know how to present the topic, and we need the Holy Spirit to go before us. Please pray for us as we write our outreach materials and lessons. Thank you!

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