I met with Chief Kabudula and several other village headmen on Thursday, and Chief Kabudula asked me to take his picture, but not on that day. We made an appointment for the next day, because he “hadn’t washed well” on Thursday. Everyone in Kabudula washes his body twice per day, morning and night. Except in seasons when they are working especially hard in the fields. At those times they often shower in the afternoon as well.

At first it annoyed me, having to get ready, go out to the “bath house,” and “shower” by splashing myself with water from a bucket TWICE every day. My towel never had time to dry, and it just seemed like a bother. But by the end of my time in the village I had decided to just enjoy the warm water and the rare alone time. I never figured out who was warming the water for me–maybe one of the neighbor women?–but I was thankful for it.