Hey Pablo. Thank you for this. Those guys are probably Mourides, a muslim sect, based in Touba. Furthermore, they are probably Baay Faal, a sect within a sect that strives for holiness or paradise by imitating the life and work of Sheihk Ibrahima Fall. They aren't particularly devout, but they are forgiven that for their work. You can see groups of Baay Faal in cities, and they can be mistaken for Rastafari. They mostly beg for their living, but once a year they serve as the security force for the Grand Màgal, which is the pilgrimage to Touba. They prevent cigarettes and other vices from entering the city, and are reputed to be quite vicious if they catch you. On the other hand, Touba, at least when I was there 40 years ago, was considered a den of smugglers by the government, particularly of weapons. I don't know if any of that is true anymore. At any rate, you could still see and hear groups of Baay Faal, playing music and walking down the street in Dakar. Often they would be accompanied by a couple of French white people who seemed to find a way of life living in the group. I was invited to the Grand Màgal one time, and I really need to write about that. The pilgrimage is estimated to draw almost 3 million people, all of whom must be transported and then fed in the city. It is a scene you can imagine with trains completely full, but also bristling with people on the roofs of the cars and hanging from the sides. Into a swirling mass of humanity. I was the only white person I saw that day, but we were treated cordially and with respect. We had gone to discuss community improvement projects with the Croissant Rouge. Look for a post about this.
Yes! you were correct, I later learned these were Baye Fall! I have some more stories about them pending. The Senegal hippies, I called them - for the lack of better word. I made friends with some. I later then also learned how complex the fabric of Senegalese brotherhoods is, and how different their version of Islam is from that I've known from Arabic world. Regarding the Touba pilgrimage, I jokingly said I won't go (to not be beaten with a stick!) but in fact I envy you. Do you know which part of Muslim year that is? Maybe I find a way to go. Regarding the "smuggling den", this I did not know, but I understood that Touba is largely out of government control, due to its religious status. Please write Daniel!
The date moves 10 or 11 days each year because it is based on the lunar calendar. If you google it up, I believe they have a chart of the dates for the next 10 years or so. Hey, if you can, see if you can locate an artist's colony somewhere on the coast south of Dakar. It had a lot of Haitian refugees as well as Senegalese counter-cultural types, living in beautifully bizarre houses in a baobob grove. Wondrous place. Again, this was 40 years ago. My boss at the time was a Haitian refugee, and had been an artist there before torture and imprisonment. He knew a lot of people in that artists colony. I think Senegal had a bit of the Haitian diaspora, mostly very accomplished people who had to flee the Duvaliers.
Hey Pablo. Thank you for this. Those guys are probably Mourides, a muslim sect, based in Touba. Furthermore, they are probably Baay Faal, a sect within a sect that strives for holiness or paradise by imitating the life and work of Sheihk Ibrahima Fall. They aren't particularly devout, but they are forgiven that for their work. You can see groups of Baay Faal in cities, and they can be mistaken for Rastafari. They mostly beg for their living, but once a year they serve as the security force for the Grand Màgal, which is the pilgrimage to Touba. They prevent cigarettes and other vices from entering the city, and are reputed to be quite vicious if they catch you. On the other hand, Touba, at least when I was there 40 years ago, was considered a den of smugglers by the government, particularly of weapons. I don't know if any of that is true anymore. At any rate, you could still see and hear groups of Baay Faal, playing music and walking down the street in Dakar. Often they would be accompanied by a couple of French white people who seemed to find a way of life living in the group. I was invited to the Grand Màgal one time, and I really need to write about that. The pilgrimage is estimated to draw almost 3 million people, all of whom must be transported and then fed in the city. It is a scene you can imagine with trains completely full, but also bristling with people on the roofs of the cars and hanging from the sides. Into a swirling mass of humanity. I was the only white person I saw that day, but we were treated cordially and with respect. We had gone to discuss community improvement projects with the Croissant Rouge. Look for a post about this.
Yes! you were correct, I later learned these were Baye Fall! I have some more stories about them pending. The Senegal hippies, I called them - for the lack of better word. I made friends with some. I later then also learned how complex the fabric of Senegalese brotherhoods is, and how different their version of Islam is from that I've known from Arabic world. Regarding the Touba pilgrimage, I jokingly said I won't go (to not be beaten with a stick!) but in fact I envy you. Do you know which part of Muslim year that is? Maybe I find a way to go. Regarding the "smuggling den", this I did not know, but I understood that Touba is largely out of government control, due to its religious status. Please write Daniel!
The date moves 10 or 11 days each year because it is based on the lunar calendar. If you google it up, I believe they have a chart of the dates for the next 10 years or so. Hey, if you can, see if you can locate an artist's colony somewhere on the coast south of Dakar. It had a lot of Haitian refugees as well as Senegalese counter-cultural types, living in beautifully bizarre houses in a baobob grove. Wondrous place. Again, this was 40 years ago. My boss at the time was a Haitian refugee, and had been an artist there before torture and imprisonment. He knew a lot of people in that artists colony. I think Senegal had a bit of the Haitian diaspora, mostly very accomplished people who had to flee the Duvaliers.