Touba and The Magal

After going to an intensely spiritual event or being around intensely spiritual people for any length of time I always start to have a better understanding of why people believe so strongly and how it comes about that they are so convicted. There is something very compelling about being with a group of people who are so sure of their beliefs and seem to know something that I don’t….makes my philosophical side come out a little…

The Magal in Touba is certainly one of these events.

Cheikh Ahmadou Bamba was a religious leader around the beginning of the colonial period in Senegal and although not quite a prophet, (as Prophet Mohammed is seen as the last one to have been sent) the Cheikh was seen as a renewer of the faith and is credited by the Mourides (his followers) as repairing the rupture within Islam that happened in the years after Prophet Mohammed’s death. Of the Caliphs that followed the Prophet many were killed and there was a lot of changes and unrest that broke up the line in various ways. From then the path that Islam took is seen by the Mourides as very different from the path that Prophet Mohammed intentioned, and Cheikh Ahmadou Bamba corrected that rupture. Mourides see themselves as following ‘pure Islam’ as the prophet intended. It is especially popular amongst Black Africans because it is seen as a form of Islam that grew from black Africa and not imported from the north.

In the early 1900s Cheikh Ahmadou Bamba or Serigne Touba (because he based his religious movement in the town of Touba, the center of Senegal) was exiled by colonial administrators because they were afraid of the power he had over the vast majority of the population (today Mourides make up 50% of Muslims in Senegal). The day of his exile is marked every year in Touba during a celebration called The Magal. All Mourides are required to make the pilgrimage to Touba for the celebration and so over a few days Touba becomes a thriving hub of millions of devout followers (around 2 to 4 million people estimated)!

Serigne Touba is seen as the head spiritual guide and underneath him were disciples who in turn become spiritual guides….who had disciples who became spiritual…you see the pattern….

For a Mouride to truly live their faith and to understand they must have a spiritual guide who will help them understand the Quran, help them make important life decisions, help them stay on a path of devotion and righteousness, and help them overcome trials in this life so they are prepared for the afterlife. These spiritual guides were themselves once Talibe (disciples) of a spiritual guide and have worked their way to a position to have their own Talibes. The Caliph (descendents of Serigne Touba) are the ones who recognize the spiritual guides and give them the title of ‘Cheikh.’

So there are all kinds of spiritual guides but only ones recognized by the Caliph are seen as ‘real’ spiritual guides. Some might call them Marabouts but that has a bit of a negative connotation and Mourides don’t really like it all that much…

So – we were invited by two guys in our politics class to come to Touba with them and spend The Magal at the Dara (school, house) of their spiritual guide Cheikh Moussa Diop. We had been talked about going to Touba anyway and so we thought, what a better way to experience than in the house of one of the spiritual guides.

We decided Thursday we were going to go with them and Friday morning we left. Well, Friday morning we were supposed to leave at 10 am but being Senegal and all, we ended up leaving around 1:00 after lunch. Only in Senegal, well, probably not ONLY in Senegal but certainly rarely at home, would a 200 –some kilometer drive take 10 ½ hours. Wow!!! Talk about exhausting. We left campus around 1:00 and went in to town were we met up with a bus full of Cheikh Moussa Diop’s followers. After driving for about an hour we stopped in a small town were the drive told us there was a problem with the wheel and he had to leave to get it fixed. Three hours later…three hours sitting by the side of a road in a small desolate town…the bus came back and we piled back on. Thirty minutes later…BANG…we blew a tire. At least that got fixed quickly. But shortly after we hit the turn off for Touba and the traffic began. The going was pretty slow but it was at least moving. Once we hit Touba though we slowed to very painful crawl. At one point we were stopped for 40 minutes just trying to cross the road. NO cars would let us across! Oh – and along the way we saw at least 5 car accidents. I am assuming that all the drivers aren’t Mouride because they way they were driving would certainly fall into the ‘violent’ category and Mouridism is strongly anti-violence!!!!

But we made it in the end…safe and sound! Once we got out of the van we walked towards the Cheikh’s house and everyone started singing/chanting. The men at the front of the group and the women at the back. The Cheikh was awake and waiting and we had a little audience with him were he welcomed everyone and said a little prayer. Genet, Raf, Majigeen and I were given a room apart from everyone – not to separate us from those we had traveled with but because within in Islam you are supposed to treat your visitors in a certain way to show respect for both them and for God. That was alright, it was nice to have our own space to take a break when we needed it. Majigeen is in some of our classes and had been invited by her cousin Cheikh Moussa (not the spiritual guide but just happens to have the same name) to see what the Dara was all about. I think in the end she has decided to join!

We had a fairly good nights sleep while everyone else with us slept about an hour before waking up to begin prayers for The Magal. Essentially The Magal is just everyone praying all day. There wasn’t much for us to participate in because it is a very individual thing – praying – but we sat with the women and listened to the religious chanting and singing. We also spent a good number of hours in the kitchen with the crew there caughting up veggies for the lunch and dinner. I actually have a blister on my thumb because we cut onions and carrots, and onions and carrots, and onions and carrots….and and and….

It was super interesting! Everyone was open in talking about their faith and what they believed in and why. The Cheikh especially! We had a couple of long chats with him where we got to ask questions about the faith and how things work. He had this really grandfatherly/professor quality to him that made him very charismatic. Most of his followers are students or young working people. He puts a lot of emphasis on education and on working and supporting yourself and those around you. He himself has his doctorate and still studies and teaches around the world. A lot of his explanations of the faith he relates to education and the importance of it.

Our friends who invited us Cheikh Moudo, Cheikh Salif, Cheikh Adama, and Cheikh Moussa were also super great at explaining and answering all of our questions.

Mouridism is a very interesting take on Islam. There is a strong emphasis on tolerance and on non-violence. And a very strong emphasis on loving your fellow people. You can’t love God without loving those around you and loving yourself. You can be as devout as you want to God but if you don’t treat those around you with respect and tolerance than God will not accept you in the final judgement after your death. And love God of course! That part can’t be overlooked.

Even though I can’t say I know exactly how I feel about it all, I find it hard to fault a religion that emphasizes tolerance and respect for others. That is never a bad thing! Now – the underlying emphasis on converting others or helping others be saved is a different story. And it wasn’t everyone who gave off that feeling. Most of the guys who invited us were very cool and open to talking with us without pretending to win us over.

All in all it was a very interesting weekend! Sunday we spent a couple hours in Touba to see the Mosque. There were far too many people to go in the Mosque and walking around was a bit difficult but still it was worth it. One of the most beautiful mosques I have seen. Although, mosques in general are quite beautiful! I don’t think I have ever seen an ugly one…

The trip home was much faster (alhamdullilah – thanks be to God). And now we are back on campus safe and sound and back into the whole classes thing…

What a strange out of place weekend to have when generally our weekends consist of dancing and events that are certainly not as holy. Although, it certainly got me thinking about all kinds of things. I had some fantastic conversations with the guy who invited us. That is always positive!

So – if anyone is ever in Senegal around the Magal I definitely recommend a visit to Touba. It is an experience not to be missed…

And that is all I have to say for now!