Stuff You Should Know: Religion in Senegal

To those of you following from home, asaala maalekum from Linguere! At 11:00 PM it's a balmy 93 degrees Fahrenheit, and I'm enjoying an ice-cold coke to power me through this post. This is Gordon, and today I'll be guiding you through a fairly stat-heavy post discussing many of the things our group has learned about religion in Senegal, with special emphasis on Islam and the Lutheran Church of Senegal. I can already tell this is going to be a long one, so for those of you who maybe are looking for a condensed version, follow along with the bold and underlined parts. Before I begin, I'd like to offer special thanks to Dr. Djibril Diakhate, Pastor Joseph Diouf, and President of the Lutheran Church of Senegal Jean-Pierre Thiam, who supplied most of the facts I'm about to throw out at you. Let's get started!

We'll begin by taking a look at important aspects of traditional Senegalese society. First thing you should know is that Senegal is comprised of many different ethnic groups, each with their own traditions, but many of the themes addressed here are pretty universal. That being said, I'm going to focus in primarily on the largest ethnic group, Wolof. Fact #1: Extended family is very important! It's not uncommon to find villages in Senegal where everyone is a relative of everyone else. This is because many communities were traditionally founded around a common ancestor, and the village is often named for that ancestor. For example, the village Keur Moussa is Wolof for "House of Moussa"; a Google search of Senegalese cities and villages turns up more than 800 locales beginning with the word Keur. So what to take from this? Family ties are extremely important in Senegalese culture! (Remember this, we'll come back to it).

Fact #2: Power rests with the elders. In a typical Senegalese dish like Cebu Jen, there is some sort of fish or meat. In a traditional setting, the meat or fish would be reserved for the elders eating around the bowl. This contrasts pretty sharply with the Western World's view of making sure the children are nourished before older people eat. Why is this so? It was believed that the animistic gods of traditional Senegalese faith were apart from humans on earth, and so the people required the person who was closest to the gods to communicate to them and ask for rain and food. The person closest to the gods was the oldest person in the group, who was called the mag (which means both "old" and "great" in Wolof). Elders hold great sway over their communities.

Fact #3: Primary groups -- Either you're in or you're out! One very important aspect that we've been able to observe at least a little bit is the joking relationships between family name groups in the Wolof ethnic group. For example, when we go through introductions we usually all get the same polite "ca va" and smile as our names are given, until we get to Amanda, who often introduces herself by her Senegalese name Oumy Thiam. Without fail, she always gets a chuckle from the people we are meeting as soon as that name is uttered. In Senegal, it is important to belong to one of these primary groups defined by family names. Even when meeting a complete stranger, you have a way to identify with them when you learn their last name. Although we likely will not experience it in our short stay, we were told that foreigners in Senegal for extended visits who hold on to their American names are often marginalized. So if you're not with them, you're against them (but not in a violent way, just excluded).

Fact #4: The physical environment is sanctified. The animistic faith of Senegal says that gods and goddesses are present in certain trees, rocks, animals, and water. These deities are often protectors or providers for the people, and so they are held sacred in their respective communities. For example, snakes are one totem for some villages, and they will protect and care for a snake as it passes through their village. Other places offer sacrifices such as fermented milk and kola nuts to water or earth spirits. Either way, there is a strong animistic belief in the presence of deities in the physical environment.

Last one. Fact #5: The Caste system of Hierarchies was very prevalent. It's not about what you know, or even who you know...it's who you're related to. The traditional caste system was based on family names, and they ranged from the Guéer nobles down to the Teug blacksmiths. All of the castes below the Guéer were considered slave castes. What this means is that at any point in time, someone from a higher caste than yours could ask you to do work for them, and you were obligated to do it. In return, you were allowed to ask anyone in a higher caste than yours for money at any time. Instead of following a direct system of "do this job and I'll pay you this much", it was more like "If you do this job for me, you can ask me for money when you need it and I will give you what you need." Not exactly the most formal of business transactions, but it got them by. However, this caste system rarely holds any weight anymore, with the exception of a few rural communities.

At this point we're ready to bring in the Islamic faith. Islam was introduced first to Senegal from the north, so the earliest Qur'anic schools were set up in northern cities. These schools drew people north, and many of the attendees of these schools went on to be the leaders of the Muslim brotherhoods of Senegal. These brotherhoods emerged as Islamic centers of resistance to French colonialism that was occurring at the same time. The struggle against colonial taxes and catholic evangelism strengthened the Islamic roots within Senegal, primarily around the brotherhoods. The sect of Islam primarily found in Senegal is called Sufism, which is based on the idea that the various brotherhoods have religions leaders who will help guide their disciples, or talibé, along the path to paradise. One of the most famous of these religious leaders is Ahmadou Bamba Mbacke, the founder of the Mouride brotherhood. The Mouride brotherhood is one of the most influential in Senegal, as its members include both the President and Prime Minister, and it has a strong hold on the peanut agribusiness of Senegal. “Working for peanuts” has an entirely different meaning here! These brotherhoods have their own infrastructures with a Khalife ruling over several Marabouts and cheikhs, who then have their own talibé followers. It's remarkable to hear about the political and social muscles these brotherhoods flex when election time rolls around.

The one and only picture of Ahmadou Bamba

Islam also helped grow its roots deep into Senegalese culture by integrating may of the important aspects of their traditions. The brotherhoods were built with a sense of structure that resembles family relationships, giving people a strong sense of community and belonging. The power in elders for their ability to communicate with the gods was transferred over to Marabouts and Khalifes who had strong faith leadership for people to follow. The hierarchy system was modified for the Khalifes, the Marabouts, and the Talibés; the Talibés work for the Marabouts, and in exchange, the Marabouts will guide their disciples to the paradise.

Now it's time to throw in a dash of Christianity. The Lutheran presence in Senegal began with Finnish evangelical Lutheran missionaries, and the Lutheran Church of Senegal was founded in 1959. For all of its existence, it has been a minority within a minority. Christianity in Senegal is dominated by the Catholic Church, which compromises 99% of all Senegalese Christians. Senegalese Christians are then also the minority within the larger sense of religions in the country, with only about 5% of the population. However, a common saying is that the country is 95% Muslim, 5% Christian, and 100% animist, meaning everyone holds onto some of the traditional beliefs. This is one theme that unites Senegalese Christians and Muslims, and helps to bring some of their practices to be more similar.

It should also be noted that Senegalese Muslims would generally not be considered the best practioners of Islam. One reason for this is the faithfulness of people to Marabouts, almost to the degree that they are treated as prophets. Another is their continued use of integrated animist practices. Finally, Senegalese Muslims are very tolerant by most standards. They often accept the administrative calendar rather than the Islamic calendar, and they also celebrate Christian festivals with as much gusto as the Muslim holidays, a tradition that the Christians reciprocate that further unites the two faiths.

If you haven't been able to tell, Senegal has amazing Christian-Muslim relations. The name of the country actually derives from a Wolof word meaning "our canoe". Pastor Joseph says that this can be interpreted as saying that all the people in Senegal are in the same boat, and each person has a paddle. If the people are to make it safely to the shore, they must put aside their differences and work together, or they will tip the boat and sink. From what we've experienced, the Senegalese are very good at looking beyond religion to the person they are interacting with. One example is Aly Ndione, who has worked with the ELCA mission in Senegal for years, but is himself a practicing Muslim. I also think one of the themes that the two faiths have been able to unite behind is community improvement. For example, the Community Center Galle Nonandiral in Yeumbeul is a center that was constructed and maintained by both Christians and Muslims, but it is associated with neither religion. Moving forward, unifying goals like making communities better are the things that will further strengthen ties between the two faiths.

Now, unrelated to my blog post, are some cool pictures that I want to share. Enjoy!