Traveling through Senegal, you recognize the same "graffiti" everywhere and nowhere: men's heads framed by a headscarf. On many a wall, many a fishing boat, in frames on many porches and in almost every living room and as amulets on wooden beaded chains... It took me a while to understand who was depicted here: usually Cheikh Amadou Bamba and sometimes Ibra Fall. And it took much longer still before I understood a bit about who these men were and what they mean to many Senegalese.
Cheikh Amadou Bamba was a very influential marabout in Senegal. An Islamic scholar and spiritual leader with, according to tradition, divine powers. Bamba lived as an ascetic and believed in the power of "meditation" ("wirdi") , rituals, hard work and Quranic study. He inspired an enormous number of Senegalese. Partly because of this, Islam in Senegal is very liberal.
About the creator: Loïs Diallo is Your Woman in Senegal. She lives in Senegal in winter and in the Netherlands the rest of the year. She is a writer, photographer and blogger and is married to a Senegalese artist, Lodia... Read more…