A religious symbiosis
Conveyed by figures resisting the colonial power at the end of the 19th century, Islam conquered the Senegalese population late in life, who then saw in this religion the means to oppose French colonization and its excesses. Today, Senegal is a secular republic with a Muslim majority, turned towards Sufism. Many young people are seduced by the word of the Prophet - or almost. For Islam as it is practiced in the country is quite far from that preached by Mohammed. The brotherhoods are a more appealing drift, a more reassuring intermediary than the direct and solitary confrontation with Allah, implicit in the Koran. Compromises with the religion of the origins abound and mystical practices go hand in hand. The call to prayer by which, from the minaret, the marabout incites the faithful to come and pray in Arabic, a language they do not understand, is only one of the many paradoxes of this religion which has come so far, undergone so many readjustments before finding its place in this multi-ethnic country. Sharia law aside, Islam in Senegal, which sometimes differs according to the brotherhoods, wants to be tolerant, based on wisdom and internalization. Thus, whether Diola, Fulani, Wolof or Serer, Muslim or Catholic, everyone respects the beliefs, traditions and religion of the other, where everything is finally intertwined in the daily life of Senegalese. It is in this concern to live together that Muslims live harmoniously with a minority of Christians who mainly live in Casamance. Thus, it is not uncommon to see Muslims inviting their Christian peers to share the sheep during Tabaski or Christians opening their doors in a friendly manner during the Christmas holidays. Sometimes, even the members of a family are from a different religion. This is the complexity of Senegalese society, but it is also its unity and strength, maintaining a certain balance of secularism.
Sufi brotherhoods, influential religious bases
Senegal is the African country where Sufi brotherhood Islam is the most developed and has many Muslim brotherhoods. Mourides, Tidjanes, Khardes, Layènes, Baye Fall... each of them venerates its spiritual leader, having spread its own vision of the Koran in the country. They are called the sheikhs or the great serigos, who have guided the faithful on the road of their convictions, sometimes diverted from the precepts of Islam. Organized in an elaborate hierarchy, these brotherhoods are today managed by marabouts, whose function is transmitted from father to son. Among other things, they teach the Koran and preside over ceremonies, but they also heal the faithful and make amulets to attract luck. From this contact with the population, some of them gain great notoriety and power with politicians. The most numerous brotherhood in Senegal? Without a doubt, tidjanism, introduced in the country by El Hajd Omar Tall in the 19th century and which today groups together nearly half of the population. Yet, paradoxically, it is the Mourides, who represent only one third of the population, that we hear the most about in Senegal. Perhaps because this community likes to be noticed and to be influential in the society, it is found among others in the trade and transport sectors? In any case, it is the spiritual heritage of a Senegalese man, Sheikh Ahmadou Bamba, who founded his own spiritual path after having had the apparition of the Prophet, at the end of the 19th century. Imprisoned and then deported to Gabon and Mauritania by the colonial power, this pacifist resistance fighter is adulated by the crowds and rallied by thousands of followers to whom he teaches a philosophy linked to work and service to the community. Every year, Touba, the holy city of the Mourides, attracts thousands of pilgrims from all over the world who come to commemorate the departure in exile of Sheikh Ahmadou Bamba, and to gather near his mausoleum. A gathering not to be missed by any Mouride. Here, the holy city has its own rules, which are governed by the leader of the brotherhood, the Grand Khalifa. It is forbidden to smoke, to consume alcohol, to practice witchcraft and certain sports activities. The Baye Fall are the exclusive disciples of a Mouride marabout. Recognizable by their pachtwork and their calabashes in hand, they belong to the Mouride community since their founder, Ibrahima Fall, is a disciple of Sheikh Ahmadou Bamba. They must devote their lives and the product of their activities to their marabout who in return prays for them, thus exempting them from their religious obligations. The Khadrya and Layène brotherhoods are in the minority. The first, founded in Mauritania, authorizes the practice of mysticism, while the other bans it.
The talibés, the disciples of the street
As Islam took root in Senegal, numerous Koranic schools, known as daara, opened across the country. From the outset, their vocation was to train great intellectuals and Islamologists through advanced teaching of the Koran and esoteric knowledge, while providing an exemplary education in all areas. Families send their boys, under the age of 12, to the school, where they are entrusted to a Koranic master for several years. These pupils, known as talibés, learn Arabic, recite religious texts, do manual work and are taught certain life values. Throughout this training, the talibés are also encouraged to ask for alms, or yarwan in Wolof, in order to assimilate certain qualities such as humility, self-management of hunger, perseverance and gratitude towards others. By the time they left the daara, talibés were well-educated people who had assimilated the fundamental values of life. But all religions have their excesses, and these schools soon became a place where the poorest families entrusted their young boys to a Koranic master, often abusing the system. Today, when we think of talibés, we think of children in rags, dirty and hungry, wandering the streets with cans of food in their hands. Demanding alms from passers-by, knocking on families' doors to collect leftover food, they are under the sway of a marabout, who, in exchange for a few coins, houses and sometimes feeds them. Several articles and investigations have revealed the deplorable living conditions of these underprivileged children, in these schools that no longer really exist. The teaching of the Koran is often overshadowed by the obligation to bring in money, on pain of corporal or other punishment. This exploitation of children in the name of Islam, although condemned by the religion itself, has become widespread in the country, where it is estimated that over 100,000 talibés live in boarding schools in Senegal's daara. Although many cases of abuse have been denounced by national and international organizations, the Senegalese government is slow to take strong measures to curb this phenomenon. Drafted in 2014, a bill was indeed tabled to frame the status of Koranic schools and adopted by the Council of Ministers in June 2018, but to date, it is still waiting to be submitted to parliament. Does the influence of marabouts on power have something to do with it? Will we have to wait for further shocking revelations of abuse for the state to wake up and guarantee these children the right to education?
Animism, a belief still very much alive
A belief that predates Islam, animism is still deeply present in Senegalese society. Whether Muslim or Christian, many Senegalese adopt certain traditional elements in their religious practices. For example, among some Christians, Sunday mass coexists with fetishes, and among Muslims, religious rituals are mixed with mysticism. In this multicultural country, animist rites differ according to ethnicity, the most common practice being the wearing of gris-gris, magical amulets that protect against the evil eye. To do this, the Senegalese do not hesitate to regularly consult religious marabouts, healers or animists to protect themselves from diseases and curses. Moreover, some charlatans take advantage of the situation, declaring themselves to be marabouts in order to make money from the population. Among the Bédiks, the Bassaris or the Diolas, among other ethnic groups, many initiation rites are still practiced in the sacred forests, where only the initiated know what happens there. At the end of these initiations, sacred dances are performed in the heart of the village by the mask bearers, calling upon the spirits of the forest to protect or assault the population. Among the Diolas and the Mandingues, the best known traditional mythological figures are the Kumpo and the Kankouran, the latter being the guarantor of order and justice and therefore the most feared by the populations. The Wolofs and Lebous have also kept certain traditional customs. To attract rain, for example, they practice the Bawnane ritual, an invocation of the generous deities, before throwing offerings of millet, corn and curd into the sea or the river. Although Islam does not recognize these mystical practices, in Senegal there is a tolerance on the part of the brotherhoods for these esoteric rites practiced and transmitted from generation to generation. A religious syncretism where all beliefs combined offer serenity and protection to the Senegalese, in all its forms.
