Senegal (African Studies)

Introduction
The literature on Senegal is rich and abundant, particularly for a small, low-income West African country. The extensive research and writing that has been done in various fields of study by a wide spectrum of authors from Africa, Europe, and North America can be explained largely by the fascinating issues and examples it presents. From the country’s first president, the renowned philosopher-poet Léopold Sédar Senghor, to the acclaimed novelist Ousmane Sembène, the pioneer of African cinematography, Senegalese have contributed to, as well as served as the subject of, this rich literature. Senegal has an extensive history dating back to precolonial societies recounted in oral tradition through a near century of French colonial rule and independence as a member of the fleeting Malian Federation. Rooted in the precolonial social structures and practices of a half-dozen major ethno-regional groups and dozens of smaller groups that were transformed by colonial policies, such as assimilation, as well as both direct and indirect forms of rule, postcolonial Senegal is remarkable in its early transition to democracy, the continued though transformed role of Muslim leaders in politics, and the vibrancy of dynamic social actors, such as hip-hop artists, who have influenced Senegalese politics and society.
General Overviews
Compared to the rich literature on Senegal in the specific areas of politics, history, culture, the arts, religion, languages, etc., readily available, quality material that covers the country from a more general perspective is relatively sparse. The five sources noted in this section represent the small body of easily accessible, general overviews of Senegal. Diop 2002 includes works by an impressive team of accomplished academic researchers in offering a fairly broad introduction to contemporary Senegal. The author of Makédonsky 1987 approaches the subject from a more popular perspective, recounting insights into local culture gained through experience as a journalist working in the region over a number of years. Among English-language publications, again we have works representative of both academic and popular approaches. Hesseling 1985 provides an authoritative history that covers the precolonial, colonial, and postcolonial periods. Gellar 1995 updates the author’s authoritative and well-written volume originally published in 1982 as part of the Contemporary Nations of Africa series. While much has changed in modern Senegal since the second edition appeared, it remains a highly recommended work for readers who are new to Senegal. Ross 2008 does for the more popular audience what Gellar 1995 provides for a more scholarly readership.
Diop, Momar-Coumba, ed. Le Sénégal contemporain. Paris: Karthala, 2002.
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This is a wide-ranging account of political and cultural life in post-independence Senegal presented through the work of nearly two dozen contributors in a rather hefty (655 pages) edited volume. Topics covered include, among many others, contemporary intellectual movements, music and popular culture, and a worthy section on internal political problems, such as the secessionist movement in the Casamance region.
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Gellar, Sheldon. Senegal: An African Nation between Islam and the West. 2d ed. Boulder, CO: Westview, 1995.
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Gellar’s book, first published in 1982, offers a succinct general introduction to the country and its people. Ranging over topics from history to politics and economy to culture, this volume written by a veteran observer of modern Senegal still holds value as a concise and informed introduction.
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Hesseling, Gerti. Histoire politique du Sénégal: Institutions, droit et société. Paris: Karthala, 1985.
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In this political history of the imposition and adaptation of French constitutional law and institutions in Senegal, Hesseling begins with the precolonial context in which the French policy of assimilation was deployed. While the juridical regime did not remain unchanged after independence, Hesseling maintains that it primarily reflected presidential preferences rather than popular political debate.
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Makédonsky, Eric. Le Sénégal, la Sénégambie. Vols. 1–2. Paris: Harmattan, 1987.
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Written by an experienced journalist with Agence France Presse, this two-volume work on Senegal and its neighbor, Gambia, with which it shared in a short-lived and unsuccessful confederation in the early 1980s, provides a basic treatment of the region’s culture for a francophone readership.
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Ross, Eric S. Culture and Customs of Senegal. Westport, CT: Greenwood, 2008.
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This work, part of a larger series covering the African continent, offers a brief overview of Senegalese culture, focusing on the arts, religion, social relations, and basic history and geography. It is best suited to a generalist audience seeking an accessible primer on the country and its peoples.
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Reference Works
Surprisingly, given the degree of attention the country receives in academic circles, relatively few easily accessible standard bibliographic resources that focus specifically on Senegal exist. The two best-known and often consulted works are Clark and Philips 1994 and Dilley and Eades 1994. The successful African Historical Dictionary series is a recognized and useful starting point for Africanist scholars, and Clark and Philips 1994 (a revised edition of the book first published in 1981 by one of the co-authors, Lucie Gallistel Colvin) serves this purpose well. Dilley and Eades 1994, also from a well-respected series, offers a fair degree of coverage over a somewhat constrained range of disciplines. The Atlas du Sénégal (Sali and Ndiaye 2000) and the Atlas national du Sénégal (Dresch 1977) serve as very general geographical references for the country. The former offers useful but short textual material to accompany the maps; the latter, while cartographically significant, is now a little dated given the many changes that have occurred in Senegal’s political and economic geography. Maack 1981 offers an excellent overview for those interested in the development of Senegal’s archival infrastructure.
Clark, Andrew F., and Lucie Colvin Philips. Historical Dictionary of Senegal. African Historical Dictionary 65. Metuchen, NJ: Scarecrow, 1994.
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This book is a revised and updated volume by Clark of an earlier edition (1981) originally compiled by Colvin. Many useful entries covering major historical, political, and cultural figures and institutions are couched between a concisely written introduction and a selective bibliography covering a host of relevant titles in both English and French.
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Dilley, Roy, and Jerry Eades, eds. Senegal. World Bibliographical Series 166. Santa Barbara, CA: Clio, 1994.
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This is a compilation of representative sources in both English and French, but with an intentional preference granted to the former for the benefit of Anglophone readers. The volume emphasizes selections representing literature, history, and social sciences; materials in the physical and natural sciences appear less frequently given their preponderance in French-language publications.
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Dresch, Jean. Atlas national du Sénégal. Paris: Institut Géographique National, 1977.
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This work contains several dozen large-format maps prepared by a team of geographers, historians, and cartographers to present a comprehensive appreciation of the national territory in the early post-independence period. Themes covered include climate, geology, and hydrology as well as population distribution, urban settlements, and economic resources.
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Maack, Mary Niles. Libraries in Senegal: Continuity and Change in an Emerging Nation. Chicago: American Library Association, 1981.
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A published version of the author’s doctoral dissertation, this work traces the establishment and development of library resources in Senegal from the colonial period through the early years of independence. The study contains considerable information on the important repositories of the national archives and the IFAN research library at what was then the University of Dakar.
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Sali, Mamadou Moustapha, and Paul Ndiaye. Atlas du Sénégal. Paris: Éditions Jeune Afrique, 2000.
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This publication is intended for a wide popular audience and is particularly well suited for use in francophone educational institutions. It updates an original 1980 edition with good coverage of the country’s population distribution, economic resources, transportation infrastructure, and agricultural land use.
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History
The literature on Senegalese history is very extensive. In common with histories throughout sub-Saharan Africa, Senegalese history is characteristically divided into three time periods: precolonial, colonial, and postcolonial Senegal. While some historians have written on all three periods, such as Mamadou Diouf and David Robinson, their works typically concentrate on a single era or occasionally two, but they seldom contain a sweeping overview of Senegalese history. Therefore, the history section of this bibliography is broken down into precolonial, colonial, and postcolonial Senegalese history.
Precolonial History
The literature on precolonial Senegalese history is dominated by several related themes: the structure of political, economic, and sociocultural institutions among major ethnic groups; relations among these precolonial societies; the shift from trans-Saharan to transatlantic trade; Islamic reform movements and other religious innovations in the wake of the instability created by the slave trade and incursion of the world economy in general; and the factional conflicts exploited by the French that contributed to the ultimate collapse of Senegalese political orders. The works selected characteristically integrate several of these dominant themes, alternatively focusing on a highly localized particular society or on the larger region surrounding the Senegambia, such as the volumes by David Robinson, one of the most prolific scholars of the Futanke in the Senegal River Valley (Robinson 1975). Monteil 1966, a compilation of essays on various Wolof societies, is included here as a classic study that challenged the contemporary view of precolonial Africa as a tabula rasa molded by its colonial experience. Barry 1997 is an English translation of the author’s study on the impact of the slave trade, originally published as La Sénégambie du XVe au XIXe siècle: Traite négrière, Islam et conquête coloniale (Paris: Harmattan, 1988). Among the many other works on the slave trade in precolonial Senegal are Curtain 1975, an earlier volume and one remarkable for its pathbreaking employment of interdisciplinary theories and methodology, and Searing 1993, a more recent study that analyzes the impact of the transatlantic slave trade on the evolution of slavery in coastal Senegal. While works on precolonial Senegal tend to concentrate on northern Senegal, a number of notable works are available on societies in the southern Casamance region, such as Baum 1999, a study of the response of the Diola (Jola) Esulalu to the increased slave trade and European economic incursion through spirit shrines. The comparative histories by Senegalese scholars Pathé Diagne (Diagne 1967), which analyzes the structures of various precolonial West African states, and Cheikh Anta Diop, a world-renowned Afrocentrist historian (see Diop 1987), place precolonial Senegal in a broader regional and global context. While Diop’s work has proven controversial in its Afrocentric claims, Precolonial Black Africa provides an authoritative analysis of Senegal’s pre-Islamic caste system and monarchical modes of governance.
Barry, Boubacar. Senegambia and the Atlantic Slave Trade. Cambridge, UK: Cambridge University Press, 1997.
DOI: 10.1017/CBO9780511584084Save Citation »Export Citation »E-mail Citation »
Translated from French (1988), this study covers four hundred years of Senegambian history. Tracing the impact of the slave trade, Barry highlights how the region’s two forms of precolonial states—ceddo regimes led by hereditary nobles and their slave soldiers and those created by Islamic revolutionary movements—developed linkages that enhanced their legitimacy and a shared Senegambian history.
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Baum, Robert M. Shrines of the Slave Trade: Diola Religion and Society in Precolonial Senegambia. New York: Oxford University Press, 1999.
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Baum reconstructs the religious and social-political history of a Diola subgroup though the oral traditions recounted by the Esulalu of Lower Casamance. In the absence of a state apparatus, the Esulalu relied on a complex system of religious shrines to protect them from the growing slave trade and facilitate their adaptation to the world economy.
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Curtain, Philip. Economic Change in Precolonial Africa: Senegambia in the Era of the Slave Trade. Madison: University of Wisconsin Press, 1975.
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Explicitly interdisciplinary in its theoretical framework and methodology, Curtain’s book reconstructs the process of economic change in Senegambia from the 16th to the mid-19th centuries. He provides both a global perspective and a local history of the slave trade while reconstructing broader patterns of Senegambian society.
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Diagne, Pathé. Pouvoir politique traditionnel en Afrique occidentale: Essais sur les institutions politiques précoloniales. Paris: Présence Africaine, 1967.
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This collection of essays by Senegalese scholar Pathé Diagne focuses on three precolonial states in Senegal: the kingdoms of the Serer, Kayor, and Futa-Toro. He also includes a short discussion of Islamic political thought in West Africa and a comparative analysis of the structures of other precolonial West African states in several brief sketches contained in the appendix.
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Diop, Cheikh Anta. Precolonial Black Africa: A Comparative Study of the Political and Social Systems of Europe and Black Africa, from Antiquity to the Formation of Modern States. Westport, CT: L. Hill, 1987.
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Diop was one of Senegal’s leading intellectuals and Africa’s best-known historians. First published in 1960 as L’Afrique noire précoloniale (Paris: Présence Africaine), this volume compares the sociopolitical systems of Europe and sub-Saharan Africa from Antiquity to the formation of modern states in order to demonstrate the contribution of black Africans to the development of Western civilization.
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Monteil, Vincent. Esquisses sénégalaises: Wâlo, Kayor, Dyolof, Mourides, un visionnaire. Dakar: Institut Fondamental d’Afrique Noire, 1966.
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Critical of Africa as a tabula rasa prior to colonization, Monteil is one of the early scholars to insist on the existence and possibility of reconstructing the histories of precolonial societies. In this collection of essays on Wolof societies, Monteil insists that it is impossible to understand contemporary Senegal without recognizing the impact of precolonial historical forces.
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Robinson, David. Chiefs and Clerics: Abdul Bokar Kan and Futa Toro, 1853–1891. Oxford: Clarendon, 1975.
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This history of the Futa Toro at the onset of French penetration of the Senegal River Valley focuses on a local chief’s efforts to create stability in a context of socioeconomic decay and political turmoil. Robinson’s biography of Kan provides a detailed history of the Futa following Umar Tall’s retreat from the region.
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Searing, James. West African Slavery and Atlantic Commerce: The Senegal River Valley, 1700–1860. Cambridge, UK: Cambridge University Press, 1993.
DOI: 10.1017/CBO9780511572784Save Citation »Export Citation »E-mail Citation »
Searing’s study of the evolution of slavery in St. Louis and Gorée demonstrates how the growth of the Atlantic trade stimulated the development of slavery within the region. Slave labor controlled by métis elites gradually replaced free labor, resulting in more slaves from Senegal being retained than exported.
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Colonial History
Several dominant themes in Senegalese precolonial studies continue to be found in the writings on colonial Senegal, and rightly so according to Searing 2002, which argues that the distinction between these eras is overdrawn. The institution of slavery that Searing focuses on may serve as a prime example. The persistence of slavery as a deeply entrenched social institution after the demise of the trans-Sahara and transatlantic slave trades is evident in Echenberg 1991, a study on Senegalese tirailleurs, conscripts during World War II who were often of slave origins. Despite the racial humiliations they endured and their significantly higher fatality rate, Echenberg found that tirailleur veterans were considerably better off than their compatriots with similar backgrounds due to their continued status as members of the slave caste. Klein 1968, a work on Islam and imperialism among the Serer of the Sine-Saloum, reflects another prominent theme: the role of Islam during colonization. Harrison 1988 provides an analysis that covers the broader region of French West Africa with case studies on the central Peanut Basin and the southern Futa Jallon regions of Senegal. Building on the author’s prior works on precolonial history of the Senegal River Valley, Robinson 2000 describes the strategies of accommodation employed by the Futa Toro vis-à-vis the French colonial state in noting the striking departure from their prior identification with Dar al-Islam under the Umarian Empire. Such clientelist relationships with the colonial state were also the basis for the socioeconomic power enjoyed by the Wolof Murid leaders, which served as a model for relations with the postcolonial Senegalese state. Babou 2007 contends that the literature on the Muridiyya tends to overemphasize the role of Amadou Bamba’s disciples in translating his religious message into socioeconomic power through their clientelist relationships with French and Senegalese political leaders. Finally, a theme found in Senegalese colonial histories that is common throughout African colonial studies is the varying strategies employed by colonial administrations to subjugate and rule their African subjects. While Crowder 1967 focuses on the impact of the distinctive French assimilationist policy on the identity of Senegal’s évolués, influencing their political philosophy of négritude, Klein cautions against an oversimplification of the distinction between French and British colonial policies, noting that the French readily utilized indirect rule through indigenous authority figures whenever expedient, particularly among ethno-religious leaders in northern Senegal. See also Politics and Government.
Babou, Cheikh Anta. Fighting the Greater Jihad: Amadu Bamba and the Founding of the Muridiyya of Senegal, 1853–1913. Athens, OH: Ohio University Press, 2007.
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Challenging a common perception of the Muridiyya that emphasizes the primary role of Amadu Bamba’s disciples in translating his religious message into a socioeconomic movement, Babou contends that it was the shaykh’s approach to education that shaped the key features of the Sufi order.
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Crowder, Michael. Senegal: A Study of French Assimilation Policy. London: Methuen, 1967.
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In this political analysis of French colonial rule in Senegal, Crowder focuses on the distinctively French assimilation policy that purportedly was established to integrate colonized Africans into French political culture. Crowder analyzes how this French policy had the unintended consequences of creating an educated class of évolués who championed racial equality and Senegalese independence.
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Echenberg, Myron. Colonial Conscripts: The Tirailleurs Sénégalais in French West Africa, 1857–1960. London: James Currey, 1991.
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Echenberg traces the social history of Senegalese conscripts in the French colonial army who largely came from lowly social origins, often from the caste of slaves. Despite the racial humiliations they endured and the significantly greater threat of fatality, surviving veterans were considerably better off than their compatriots with similar backgrounds.
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Harrison, Christopher. France and Islam in West Africa, 1860–1960. Cambridge, UK: Cambridge University Press, 1988.
DOI: 10.1017/CBO9780511523854Save Citation »Export Citation »E-mail Citation »
With extensive case studies from the Futa Jallon and Peanut Basin, Harrison demonstrates how French policy toward Islam in West Africa evolved from short-term, often contradictory policies during conquest through a period of intense fear of Islam’s capacity for mass mobilization to a consensus among French scholar-administrators on its distinctiveness from Islam in the Arab world.
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Klein, Martin A. Islam and Imperialism in Senegal: Sine-Saloum, 1847–1914. Stanford, CA: Stanford University Press, 1968.
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Klein’s book is primarily about French conquest of the Serer states in Sine-Saloum and implantation of colonial administration in this central Senegalese region rather than the interaction between Islam and imperialism. His argument that the French readily utilized indirect rule whenever expedient contradicts the idealized view of French direct rule perpetuated by senior administrators.
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Robinson, David. Paths of Accommodation: Muslim Societies and French Colonial Authorities in Senegal and Mauritania, 1880–1920. Athens, OH: Ohio University Press, 2000.
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Drawing on political philosophy as well as historical sources, Robinson argues that Muslim Sufi orders in the Senegal River Valley became stakeholders in the French colonial economy at the turn of the 20th century. In a striking departure from their identification with Dar al-Islam, their strategies of accommodation permitted the preservation of considerable socioeconomic independence.
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Searing, James F. “God Alone Is King”: Islam and Emancipation in Senegal: The Wolof Kingdoms of Kajoor and Bawol, 1859–1914. Portsmouth, NH: Heinemann, 2002.
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This study builds upon Searing’s prior work on slavery in precolonial Wolof states (see Precolonial History). Unlike Klein 1968, Searing argues that slave resistance, aristocratic decline, and the ability of Muslims to offer refuge to runaway slaves resulted in the institution’s rapid decline and the subsequent emergence of a new peasant economy.
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Human Geography and Environment
Works that appear in this section include several classic analyses of Senegal’s varied human geography and agricultural landscapes as well as more recent research focused on contemporary environmental and natural resources concerns. Pélissier 1966, a masterful volume that is widely cited in the literature, covers the country’s rural agrarian geography with impressive depth and breadth. Despite having been published nearly a half-century ago, the work is an authoritative and highly respected analysis that will continue to offer useful insights into an earlier period of Senegal’s land use history. Ba 1986 and Lericollais 1972, written by a Senegalese and French geographer, respectively, focus their attention more specifically on two of the country’s important ethnic groups, the Peuls (Fulani) in Ba 1986 and the Serer in Lericollais 1972. Adams 2000, published just before the author’s tragic death, offers exceptionally well-informed insights into the enormous sociocultural, environmental, and administrative challenges the country experienced in trying to implement top-down technocratic approaches to rural development. Given the challenges Senegal faces with regard to changing environmental and climatic conditions, several works in this section touch upon some of the work being done to help position the country to cope with expected difficulties in areas such as food production, animal husbandry, and water supply. Adriansen and Nielsen 2005 discusses an interesting application of geospatial technology in the realm of pastoral land management in northern Senegal, the same region highlighted in Ba 1986. Mertz, et al. 2009 reports on psycho-sociological responses among rural populations to uncover the nature of their perceptions of present and possible future environmental change. Tappan, et al. 2004 examines questions of overall land cover changes from a historical perspective dating back nearly four decades. The work offers a glimpse of macro-scale environmental change for the nation overall. Finally, Pison, et al. 1995 examines Senegal’s human geography in focusing on important demographic questions related to population change and public health.
Adams, Adrian. Quel avenir pour la vallée? London: International Institute for Environment and Development, 2000.
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Published on the eve of her untimely death in an automobile accident in northern Senegal, Adams’s work reports on prospects for culturally adapted economic development among the Soninke in the Senegal River Valley. It expresses the skills, knowledge, hopes, and visions of the local population to participate in its own development.
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Adriansen, Hanne Kirstine, and Thomas Theis Nielsen. “The Geography of Pastoral Mobility: A Spatio-temporal Analysis of GPS Data from Sahelian Senegal.” GeoJournal 64 (2005): 177–188.
DOI: 10.1007/s10708-005-5646-ySave Citation »Export Citation »E-mail Citation »
Employing Global Positioning System (GPS) technology, the authors demonstrate the utility of a methodology for tracking and mapping pastoral mobility in the semi-arid Ferlo region of north-central Senegal. Important regional scale patterns of daily and seasonal herd movements are charted. Results help to inform livestock and natural resource management planning.
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Ba, Cheikh. Les Peuls du Sénégal: Étude géographique. Dakar: Nouvelles Éditions Africaines, 1986.
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An authoritative examination of the cultural and environmental milieus of Senegal’s prominent pastoral ethnic group who occupy primarily the valley of the Senegal River and the steppes of the north-central Ferlo region. An essential work for understanding the importance of herder-farmer relationships and the sense of strong cultural identity associated with pastoral life.
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Lericollais, André. Sob: Étude géographique d’un terroir Sérèr (Sénégal). Atlas des Structures Agraires au Sud du Sahara 7. Paris: Mouton, 1972.
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Whereas the work of Pélissier, cited in this section, covered the breadth of the Senegalese countryside, in this often-cited work Lericollais focuses on detailing the structures and management of the renowned Sereer agro-sylvo-pastoral land use system in the central Peanut Basin village of Sob. Since its publication, this report has continued to inform many a researcher’s investigations into Senegal’s agricultural production systems.
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Mertz, Ole, Cheikh Mbow, Anette Reenberg, and Awa Diouf. “Farmers’ Perceptions of Climate Change and Agricultural Adaptation Strategies in Rural Sahel.” Environmental Management 43.5 (2009): 804–816.
DOI: 10.1007/s00267-008-9197-0Save Citation »Export Citation »E-mail Citation »
Based on qualitative research methods, this study investigates the timely subject of climate change with regard to peasant perceptions and reactions to the phenomenon. Conclusions are valuable in terms of informing decision making on national agricultural policy in the context of future uncertainties associated with climatic variables relevant to agricultural production.
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Pélissier, Paul. Les paysans du Sénégal: Les civilisations agraires du Cayor à la Casamance. St. Yriex, France: Imprimerie Fabrège, 1966.
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A monumental (939 pages) and comprehensive examination of Senegal’s physical geography and agricultural production systems by a prominent French geographer. Informed by painstaking field research and observation, this volume endures as the reference point for understanding traditional land use systems throughout the four corners of Senegal.
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Pison, Gilles, Kenneth H. Hill, Barney Cohen, and Karen A. Foote, eds. Population Dynamics of Senegal. Washington, DC: National Academy Press, 1995.
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Based on 1988 national census data and demographic and health survey data from the early 1990s, this study provides a reasonably robust picture of Senegal’s population dynamics at the close of the 20th century. In addition to overall national trends, the volume focuses its attention on fertility and mortality statistics.
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Tappan, G. G., M. Sall, E. C. Wood, and M. Cushing. “Ecoregions and Land Cover Trends in Senegal.” Journal of Arid Environments 59.3 (2004): 427–462.
DOI: 10.1016/j.jaridenv.2004.03.018Save Citation »Export Citation »E-mail Citation »
Drawing on four decades (1960s to 2000) of available remote sensing data, the authors in this article report on the changing patterns of Senegal’s ecological zones at the national level. It documents small declines in land area in savanna, expansion of cropland, and more serious concerns over the reduction in woodland cover.
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Society and Cultures
One of the most fascinating domains in the study of Senegal is its rich cultural composition and societal traditions. While not rising to the level of cultural hyperdiversity found in other parts of central or western Africa, Senegal still presents an interesting case of the varied African cultural landscapes that have resulted from the long history of human migration. Selections included in this section provide both overviews of Senegal’s cultural mosaic as well as more detailed treatments of the country’s major ethnic groups. Boilat 1984, for example, offers a wonderful opportunity to explore one representation of indigenous society and culture through the lens of a 19th-century Franco-Senegalese Catholic priest. Readers interested in a broad-based understanding of the cultural landscape are well served in Diouf 1998 and Gierczynski-Bocandé 2012. Works that deal more specifically with individual ethnic groups include Diop 1981 for the Wolof, Gravrand 1983 for the Serer, Quinn 1972 for the Mandinka, and Linares 1992 for the Diola; Sylla 1992 also fits into this category with regard to one of Senegal’s more prominent ethnic minorities, namely the Lebu people. Readers with some familiarity with Senegalese society will note the absence here of several other important ethnic groups; however, such references are found in other sections of this article, including one to the Pulaar-speaking people of northern Senegal covered in Ba 1986 (see Human Geography and Environment), and one on the Soninké in Adams 1977 (cited under Economy). Finally, Ndiaye 1998 offers a fascinating account of the ethics of the modou-modou, rural migrants who provide a model of honesty, integrity, and industry.
Boilat, Abbé David. Esquisses sénégalaises. Paris: Karthala, 1984.
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This reprint, originally published in 1853, by a Senegalese-born métis priest relates the experiences of early French missionary activity in Senegal. It includes descriptions of local culture and details objectives of France’s “civilizing” mission. A hallmark feature of the book is a series of twenty-four color plates depicting Senegalese of various ethnic groups.
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Diop, Abdoulaye-Bara. La société Wolof: Tradition et changement: Les systèmes d’inégalité et de domination. Paris: Karthala, 1981.
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Written by a celebrated sociologist, this study highlights the sociocultural characteristics of the Wolof, Senegal’s dominant ethnic group. Elements of caste, rank, and religion are emphasized to explain systems of inequality and social domination. A valuable quality of the work is its historical perspective on the changes in Wolof society over time.
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Diouf, Makhtar. Sénégal: Les ethnies et la nation. Dakar: Nouvelles Éditions Africaines du Sénégal, 1998.
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The author, a research professor in political economy, discusses a number of factors that contribute to Senegal’s relatively peaceful experience of multiethnic social relations. These include issues that touch upon language, religion, and interethnic relations in a rapidly urbanizing demographic environment. The work also considers potential future threats to Senegal’s peaceful ethnic coexistence.
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Gierczynski-Bocandé, Ute. Senegal—An Ethnic Mosaic: Historical and Modern Foundations of a Diverse Yet Cohesive Country. Berlin: Konrad-Adenauer-Stiftung, 2012.
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This is a recent, relatively brief, and excellent primer on the historically peaceful and harmonious interethnic relations in Senegal. Prefatory remarks on the country’s historical, geographical, and sociocultural background are followed by an extensive discussion of Senegal’s relatively successful ability, to date, to absorb people from neighboring countries into the country’s so-called ethnic mosaic.
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Gravrand, Henry. La civilisation Sereer: Cosaan. Dakar: Nouvelles Éditions Africaines, 1983.
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This is the first of two volumes on Senegal’s renowned agro-sylvo-pastoralists, the Serer, by a French Catholic missionary and anthropologist. It presents the story of this people from a historical perspective—the Serer word cosaan indicating “origins”—tracing the roots of this ethnic group to the Senegal River Valley.
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Linares, Olga F. Power, Prayer, and Production: The Jola of Casamance, Senegal. Cambridge, UK: Cambridge University Press, 1992.
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The work of a longtime scholar on the Jola (also “Diola”) of southern Senegal, this book offers many valuable insights into the different Jola communities found throughout the Casamance region. The study is anchored in an analysis that integrates Jola social organization, agricultural production, and religious practice.
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Ndiaye, Malick. Les móodou-móodou ou l’éthos du développement au Sénégal. Dakar: Presses Universitaires de Dakar, 1998.
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Ndiaye presents a detailed ethnographic study of the modou-modou migrant workers of Senegal. The modou-modou are rural Senegalese who, despite their lack of Western education, are a driving force of Senegal’s economy, offering a model of honesty, austerity, and hard work.
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Quinn, Charlotte. Mandingo Kingdoms of the Senegambia: Traditionalism, Islam, and European Expansion. Evanston, IL: Northwestern University Press, 1972.
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This work attempts to add to the work on the mosaic of Senegambia’s ethnic groups by drawing attention to the western branches of the Mandingo (also “Mandinka” or “Malinke”) people, heirs to the Mali Empire. Noted for its preponderance of attention to Mandinka settlement in the Gambia as opposed to their presence in Senegal.
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Sylla, Assane. Le peuple Lebou de la presqu’île du Cap-Vert. Dakar: Nouvelles Éditions Africaines du Sénégal, 1992.
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Sylla’s interesting portrayal of the economically and politically influential Lebu people of the Cape Verde Peninsula is a well-regarded resource for those interested in the cultural anthropology of this Wolof-speaking ethnic minority. The book traces the origins of the Lebus in northern Senegal, their implantation in the Dakar urban region, and the evolution of their successful rise to cultural prominence.
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Women and Gender
Studies on women and gender in Senegal remain relatively sparse. A dominant theme, however, is the dynamic role that women have played in Senegal’s patriarchal and largely Islamic society. Matrilineage in northern Senegal and the syncretic nature of the Sufi brotherhood have afforded women a discernible role in religion, politics, and economics. This is particularly evident in Callaway and Creevey 1994, a work in which the authors compare Muslim women in Senegal and northern Nigeria, as well as in Coulon and Reveyrand 1990, a biography of Sokhna Magat Diop. Like the lingueer in precolonial Wolof society, a position reserved for the mother or sister of a king, Diop’s unusual position as a female sheikh within the Murid Sufi order was attributable to her relationship with male relatives, specifically her inheritance, in the absence of a male heir, of her father’s disciples. Dependence on powerful men is also evident in politics; Beck 2003 explains how nomination of women to Senegalese party lists and, thus, election to office is typically a reflection of their connection to male party leaders, constraining their accountability to a female constituency. Although this may change with increasingly competitive elections and the recent law establishing a 50-percent gender quota for all party lists, Creevey 2006 explains how female politicians continue to be constrained by Senegal’s Islamic society, particularly in light of the greater direct participation by Muslim leaders as political advisers and candidates. Nevertheless, women are becoming increasingly influential both in Senegalese politics and in the larger society due, in large part, to their increasing economic activities and wealth. Like the signares, métis women in Saint-Louis who became powerful merchants in the 19th century, Murid women have developed extensive trade relations through their transnational networks. In her recent work on globalization and Senegalese social relations, the author of Buggenhagen 2012 argues that these networks have produced new roles, wealth, and worth for Senegalese women around the globe. In stark contrast is Renaud 1997, a study of some of the most marginalized members of Senegalese society, namely female prostitutes, whose destitution and limited economic alternatives lead them to risk their health and lives in the context of the AIDS pandemic. Another ethnography of urban Senegalese women in Augis 2012 sheds light on a growing new category of Sunni women and their strategies for confronting the challenges of urban living and the secularizing forces of globalization. Perry 2005, on the other hand, focuses on the distinctive gendered impact of economic liberalization in rural Senegal.
Augis, Erin. “Religion, Religiousness, and Narrative: Decoding Women’s Practices in Senegalese Islamic Reform.” Journal for the Scientific Study of Religion 5.3 (September 2012): 429–441.
DOI: 10.1111/j.1468-5906.2012.01668.xSave Citation »Export Citation »E-mail Citation »
Based on ethnographic research on Muslim reformist women in Dakar, Augis explains religion’s enduring influence despite the secularizing forces of globalization. Augis argues that discourses by these women on veiling, prayer, and preaching highlight efforts to achieve closeness to God while critiquing contemporary urban life, the state, and other Sufi Muslim groups.
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Beck, Linda. “Democratization and the Hidden Public: The Impact of Patronage Networks on Senegalese Women.” Comparative Politics 35.2 (January 2003): 147–169.
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Despite the increase in Senegalese women elected to public office, Beck argues that their political influence is constrained by limited access to positions of authority within the state and political parties. A fact attributable in part to gendered notions of leadership, Beck maintains that they are marginalized by the hidden public of patronage politics.
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Buggenhagen, Beth A. Muslim Families in Global Senegal: Money Takes Care of Shame. Bloomington: Indiana University Press, 2012.
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Highlighting women’s participation in the transnational networks of Murid migrants, Buggenhagen reveals the deep connections among economic profits, ritual, and social authority. Buggenhagen argues that these networks produce new roles, wealth, and worth for Senegalese women around the globe.
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Callaway, Barbara, and Lucy Creevey. The Heritage of Islam: Women, Religion, and Politics in West Africa. Boulder, CO: Lynne Rienner, 1994.
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In this comparative analysis of the impact of Islam on the lives of women in Senegal and northern Nigeria, Callaway and Creevey explain the differences between these Muslim women to their relative exposure to, or isolation from, Western influences, which, in turn, has influenced the nature of Islam in these two regions of West Africa.
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Coulon, Christian, and Odile Reveyrand. Islam au féminin: Sokhna Magat Diop, Cheikh de la confrérie mouride, Senegal. Talence, France: Centre d’Étude d’Afrique Noire, Institut d’Études Politiques de Bordeaux, 1990.
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This study, while unfortunately out of print, is one of the few works that explores the conditions under which women may assume leadership in the male-dominated realm of Senegal’s Sufi orders. The only surviving offspring of a prominent Murid sheikh, Diop became an influential marabout as a result of inheriting her father’s disciples.
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Creevey, Lucy. “Senegal: Contending with Religious Constraints.” In Women in African Parliaments. Edited by Gretchen Bauer and Hannah E. Britton, 215–245. Boulder, CO: Lynne Rienner, 2006.
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This edited volume takes stock of how women have fared in African parliaments since the wave of democratization hit African shores in the late 1980s. Creevey’s contribution focuses on the constraints Senegalese women face given increased direct participation by Muslim leaders in politics and the limited power of parliament in Senegal’s presidential system.
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Perry, Donna L. “Wolof Women, Economic Liberalization and the Crisis of Masculinity in Rural Senegal.” Ethnology 44.3 (Summer 2005): 207–226.
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Among Wolof farmers in Senegal’s Peanut Basin, Perry explores how patriarchal control of female dependents has diminished in conjunction with economic liberalization and state disengagement. Perry contrasts men’s discourse of social decay with the more neutral narratives of women, who stress pragmatic issues of household survival in response to economic insecurity.
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Renaud, Michelle Lewis. Women at the Crossroads: A Prostitute Community’s Response to AIDS in Urban Senegal. Amsterdam: Gordon and Breach, 1997.
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This book presents firsthand accounts of the lives of prostitutes in urban Kaolack at the crossroads of central Senegal, centered around their struggle against contraction of HIV/AIDS. The stories of these women who are economically forced into prostitution provide a rare glimpse into the lives of Senegalese living on the margins of society.
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Economy
This section highlights a variety of works that address some of the major themes of contemporary economic development in Senegal, including agricultural modernization and the increasingly important role remittances from abroad play in helping Senegalese communities to survive. One theme represented here concerns attempts to promote hydro-agricultural development schemes in the Senegal River Basin, most of which have had only modest success at best. Crousse, et al. 1991 complements that of Adams 1977 in bringing to bear the analyses of several different disciplinary perspectives to the multifaceted problems of large-scale river basin development. Galvan 2004 and Lericollais 1999 focus attention on a different region—the central Peanut Basin—where similar attempts to implement top-down strategies, often with particularly contentious land tenure ramifications, have tended to disrupt what were, traditionally, the very well-adapted agro-ecological land management practices of the Serer ethnic group. Waterbury and Gersovitz 1987 incorporates the implications of state policies and donor interventions in Senegal’s agricultural sector. In terms of urban studies, Peterec 1967 uses the lens of economic geography to expound upon the significance of Senegal’s capital and chief port as a major economic hub for the West Africa region, while Fall 2007 broadens the focus to include Dakar’s impoverished peripheral zones. Many students of Senegalese development acknowledge that what the country lacks in viable natural resources it makes up for in its resilient, flexible, and resourceful human resources. Migration has been a time-honored strategy employed by the Senegalese to help make ends meet. In addition to Adams 1977, Babou 2002 and Carter 1997 address the experiences of the country’s economic migrants, both domestic and international.
Adams, Adrian. Le long voyage des gens du fleuve. Paris: François Maspero, 1977.
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This volume focuses on the extensive history of demographic and economic conditions in the upper Senegal River Valley. It traces steps taken by the Soninke ethnic group—whose reputation for emigration is legendary—in their efforts to secure economic well-being from distant sources while, simultaneously, local livelihood systems were being undermined in their absence.
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Babou, Cheikh Anta. “Brotherhood Solidarity, Education and Migration: The Role of the Dahiras among the Murid Muslim Community in New York.” African Affairs 101 (2002): 151–170.
DOI: 10.1093/afraf/101.403.151Save Citation »Export Citation »E-mail Citation »
This article examines the expanding migration experience of Senegal’s major Sufi Islamic sect, the Murids, via a case study of their establishment in New York City. The sect was recognized in earlier decades for their formidable prowess as Senegal’s agricultural pioneers; this study focuses on the contemporary internationalized and urbanized sociocultural and economic context of Murid migration.
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Carter, Donald Martin. States of Grace: Senegalese in Italy and the New European Immigration. Minneapolis: University of Minnesota Press, 1997.
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Through the lens of an anthropological approach to transnationalism and the politics of expanding immigration, Carter explores the outcome of relatively recent Senegalese migration to Italy. Attention is devoted to both the push factors motivating Senegalese migrants to seek paths to this “newly discovered” destination and the political ramifications of their arrival on Italian soil.
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Crousse, Bernard, Paul Mathieu, and Sidy M. Seck, eds. La vallée du fleuve Sénégal: Évaluations et perspectives d’un décennie d’aménagements, 1980–1990. Paris: Karthala, 1991.
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This work represents a thorough analysis of the significant difficulties with which the Senegalese state and international partners attempted, yet ultimately failed, to implement a major scheme to promote hydroelectricity production, irrigated agriculture, and improved navigation in the Senegal River Valley. Several chapters highlight the problems associated with this top-down, technocratic approach to rural development.
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Fall, Abdou Salam. Bricoler pour survivre: Perceptions de la pauvreté dans l’agglomération urbaine de Dakar. Paris: Karthala, 2007.
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Fall provides an in-depth study of the causes and consequences of poverty in greater Dakar and how the poor devise elaborate strategies to survive.
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Galvan, Dennis C. The State Must Be Our Master of Fire: How Peasants Craft Culturally Sustainable Development in Senegal. Berkeley: University of California Press, 2004.
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This work falls equally well within the realms of politics and economic development. It provides an exceptional account of how political institutional change carried out during colonial and postcolonial times affected long-standing traditional mechanisms for agricultural land allocation and management. It is highly applicable and relevant to questions of modern-day agricultural development.
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Lericollais, André, ed. Paysans Sereer: Dynamiques agraires et mobilités au Sénégal. Paris: Éditions de l’Institut de Recherche pour le Développement, 1999.
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Edited by a geographer with decades of experience in rural Senegal, this work brings together an interdisciplinary team of French and Senegalese researchers to report on the history of agrarian and demographic change involving Senegal’s Serer ethnic group. A major focus concerns the deeply ingrained sense of place held by the Serer with regard to their ancestral lands.
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Peterec, Richard J. Dakar and West African Economic Development. New York: Columbia University Press, 1967.
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Although of primarily historical value, this work is one of the rare examinations of the significance of Senegal’s principal port location from an economic geography perspective. In addition to detailing the historical circumstances that led to Dakar’s prominence, the book also considers its place as a hub for a relatively large regional hinterland.
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Waterbury, John, and Mark Gersovitz, eds. The Political Economy of Risk and Choice in Senegal. London: Frank Cass, 1987.
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This edited volume includes a collection of essays on various aspects of the organization of Senegal’s agricultural economy with special emphasis on the peanut economy, state policies, and donor interventions.
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Politics and Government
The vast literature on Senegalese politics can be categorized in many ways. This section is primarily sorted by time periods to generally mirror the organization of literature on Senegalese history. A section on precolonial politics and government is not included, however, as this would be wholly redundant. Following the section on French Colonial politics in Senegal, politics in postcolonial Senegal is divided into two time periods: Nationalism, Independence, and State Formation, which generally covers the first two decades of independence (1960–1980), and Contemporary Politics, which spans the period since the retirement of President Léopold Sédar Senghor (1980 to date).
Colonial
The literature on colonial rule in Africa is filled with numerous analyses of the differences and similarities between the policies and practices of the various colonizers. One of the more distinctive policies that impacted Senegalese politics during the colonial era, and arguably politics since then, is the French colonial policy of assimilation. Beginning with the precolonial context in which the policy was instituted, Hesseling 1985 offers an institutional history of the adaptation of French constitutional law in Senegal and its continuing impact on Senegalese politics since independence. Crowder 1967, a study of the impact of French efforts at assimilation in Senegal, explains how this policy resulted in a privileged class of educated évolués who not only staffed colonial offices, but also ended up championing the call for independence. Among the most influential évolués were Senegal’s early politicians, including Blaise Diagne, the first black elected to represent the citoyen of Senegal’s Quatre Communes in the French National Assembly, and Léopold Sédar Senghor, a philosopher-poet of négritude who benefited from the extension of suffrage to Senegalese subjects at the twilight of colonialism and went on to become their first president. The early participation of black citoyens such as Diagne and Senghor in electoral politics is one of the more distinctive aspects of Senegalese colonial politics. Johnson 1971 describes how black citoyens in the Quatre Communes were permitted to participate in local electoral politics, first as part of the electorate and ultimately as candidates who successfully unseated the French and Creole politicians dominating Senegalese politics at the turn of the 20th century. Complementing this detailed study, the two volumes of Zuccarelli 1987 provide a comprehensive account of a full century of electoral politics, the political leaders competing for power, and the clan (patronage) politics dating back to the 19th century. Despite the growing political power of black politicians under colonial rule, who were often bankrolled by powerful marabout leaders, Gellar 1976 argues that African as well as Creole merchants were typically eclipsed by French economic interests, creating a framework of economic dependency that undermined any significant economic development under French rule. The history of political and union activism in colonial Ziguinchor in Roche 1985 provides an insight into early economic activism in urban Senegal as well as an important historical backdrop to the contemporary political struggles and the ongoing secessionist movement in the southeastern region of Casamance. See also Colonial History.
Crowder, Michael. Senegal: A Study of French Assimilation Policy. London: Methuen, 1967.
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French assimilation policy allegedly aimed at the political and cultural integration of colonial peoples into the French métropole. Crowder explains how this approach to colonial rule actually resulted in the privileged class of educated évolués championing African identities, political independence, and the philosophy of négritude.
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Gellar, Sheldon. Structural Changes and Colonial Dependency: Senegal, 1885–1945. London: SAGE, 1976.
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Utilizing a dependency framework popular during the 1970s, Gellar argues that Senegal underwent relatively little political or economic development under French rule. Instead, colonial policies intensified Senegal’s dependency by eclipsing African and Creole merchants and creating a reservoir of cheap labor and raw materials through the spread of commercialized agriculture.
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Hesseling, Gerti. Histoire politique du Sénégal: Institutions, droit et société. Paris: Karthala, 1985.
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In this political history of the imposition and adaptation of French constitutional law and institutions in Senegal, Hesseling begins with the precolonial context in which the French policy of assimilation was deployed. While the juridical regime did not remain unchanged after independence, Hesseling maintains that it primarily reflected presidential preferences rather than popular political debate.
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Johnson, G. Wesley, Jr. The Emergence of Black Politics in Senegal: The Struggle for Power in the Four Communes, 1900–1920. Stanford, CA: Stanford University Press, 1971.
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Until 1900, electoral politics in Senegal’s Quatre Communes—Saint-Louis, Gorée, Dakar, and Rufisque—were dominated by French and Creole politicians. Johnson explains how the black originaires in the communes were able to assert their political rights and assume leadership under Blaise Diagne, the first African elected to the French National Assembly.
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Roche, Christian. Histoire de la Casamance: Conquête et résistance, 1850–1920. Paris: Karthala, 1985.
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This history of the Casamance focuses on political and union activism in the Lower Casamance (Ziguinchor). In providing a critical historical background to the Casamance secessionist movement, Africa’s longest sustained civil conflict, Roche contextualizes this local history in broader terms of politics in French West Africa and in metropolitan France.
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Zuccarelli, François. La vie politique sénégalaise. Vol. 1, 1789–1940. Paris: Publications du Centre des Hautes Études sur l’Afrique et l’Asie Moderne, 1987.
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After a brief discussion of precolonial political history, these two volumes provide an account of early Senegalese electoral politics and the intrigue surrounding various political leaders. Zuccarelli’s discussion of Senegal’s “clan” (patronage) politics covers the rise of Léopold Sédar Senghor under the colonial state through his two decades of rule after independence. Volume 2 published as La vie politique sénégalaise: 1940–1988 (Paris: Publications du Centre des Hautes Études sur l’Afrique et l’Asie Moderne, 1988).
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Nationalism, Independence, and State Formation
Senegal’s brief postcolonial history as a part of the Malian Federation is eclipsed by the subsequent five decades of history as a republic. Foltz 1965, a study of the federation, is, nevertheless, critical to our understanding of the motives and power of Senegalese actors who contributed to its collapse. After a decade of political independence, political analysts became preoccupied with understanding why economic “take-off” continued to elude Senegal. Cruise O’Brien 1979, an edited volume, provides a diverse collection of essays by social scientists and historians, Westerners and Senegalese, to explain Senegal’s continued underdevelopment. This volume, however, is marked by its dependency theory approach, popular in the 1970s, that has limited the longevity of its analytical appeal. It stands in contrast to Schumacher 1975, a work on rural development, that appeared in the same year. To explain the mounting malaise paysanne (peasant dissatisfaction), the author focuses on reciprocal clientelist relations among Senegalese politicians, government officials, and rural religious leaders, a theme that continues to resonate in contemporary Senegalese politics. Another major theme in post-independence Africa was nation-building and state-building. Senegal is often seen as having been dealt a better hand than many other African countries given its relatively few ethnic divisions and the unifying force of Islam, to which Diouf 2001 (cited under Islam and Politics) adds the process of Wolofization. Diouf 1994, a study of ethnicity and nationalism in Senegal, similarly emphasizes the commonalities among Senegal’s ethno-regional groups, extending religious unity to include all “believers,” Christian and Muslim alike, and adding intermarriage to the homogenizing impact of Wolofization. Indeed, both Senegalese scholars maintain that the source of conflict in Casamance is its isolation, geographically, historically, and socioculturally, from the forces of unification. This thesis appears to be confirmed by the three Senegalese case studies in Boone 2003, a pathbreaking book on the varied relations between the central state and rural areas in West Africa. In contrast, Beck 2008 (cited under Contemporary Politics) asserts the secessionist and ethno-national rumblings in northern Senegal are a response to Wolofization and the dominance of Wolof brotherhoods in Senegal’s political economy rather than the product of isolation from forces of unification. Cruise O’Brien 1998 similarly analyzes the Wolofization of Senegal, describing it not as a unifying force but as constituting a basis for Wolof dominance, a potential source of conflict with ethnic minorities.
Boone, Catherine. Political Topographies of the African State: Territorial Authority and Institutional Choice. Cambridge, UK: Cambridge University Press, 2003.
DOI: 10.1017/CBO9780511615597Save Citation »Export Citation »E-mail Citation »
Challenging the notion of top-down imposition of state formation, Boone argues that central rulers in colonial and post-independence Africa strategically chose between power-sharing and administrative occupation based on local differences in rural social structures and property relations. Her case studies include Senegal’s Peanut Basin, Senegal River Valley, and Casamance.
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Cruise O’Brien, Rita, ed. The Political Economy of Underdevelopment: Dependence in Senegal. London: SAGE, 1979.
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Dated in terms of its preoccupation with dependency theory, this edited volume provides a collection of essays by prominent scholars of Senegal’s political economy. The chapters span the precolonial through postcolonial periods though concentrating on the latter, including contributions on trade unions, petty footwear producers, Lebanese entrepreneurs, and rural cash crop farmers.
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Cruise O’Brien, Donal. “The Shadow-Politics of Wolofisation.” Journal of Modern African Studies 36.1 (1998): 25–46.
DOI: 10.1017/S0022278X97002644Save Citation »Export Citation »E-mail Citation »
Cruise O’Brien examines the socioeconomic origins of the spread of the Wolof language and culture that led to their dominance of Senegal’s political economy. Although Senegal’s largest ethnic group, the Wolof represent less than 40 percent of the population. Wolof, however, is spoken by more than 70 percent of the population and is the lingua franca in the market, schoolyards, and Senegalese government.
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Diouf, Makhtar. Sénégal: Les ethnies et la nation. Paris: Harmattan, 1994.
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This ethnography was clearly intended to demonstrate the sociohistorical basis for a unified Senegal in the face of the Casamance secessionist movement. After highlighting the commonalities and origins of harmony among Senegal’s ethnic groups, Diouf analyzes the factors that led to the civil conflict and proposes its resolution through decentralization.
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Foltz, William J. From French West Africa to the Mali Federation. New Haven, CT: Yale University Press, 1965.
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This study of the federation of Dahomey, Senegal, Soudan, and Upper Volta at the time of independence explains the drive to federalism, its varied meaning among the different political actors, and its rapid collapse. Foltz argues that once the federation was reduced to Senegal and Soudan, political rivalries inevitably became polarized.
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Schumacher, Edward J. Politics, Bureaucracy, and Rural Development in Senegal. Berkeley: University of California Press, 1975.
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This study on rural development policy concludes that continuity rather than change characterized post-independence Senegal. Schumacher contends that party-state relations and machine politics enabled prominent marabouts and party officials to channel state bureaucratic resources for their own benefit, resulting in Senegal’s malaise paysanne at the end of the first decade of independence.
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Contemporary Politics
Senegal arguably entered its postcolonial era with President Senghor’s voluntary retirement and succession by his dauphin, Abdou Diouf, in 1980. The most detailed work on this transition is Diop and Diouf 1990, in which the authors analyze tactics taken by the new president to assert his power that resulted in a factional feud within the party state between newly empowered technocrats and old party patrons. The perpetuation of clientelist relations is a major theme in the works on contemporary Senegalese politics, which focus on Senegal’s early though long piecemeal transition toward democracy. Fatton 1987 uses the Gramscian term “passive revolution” to describe the first decade of reform that permitted the establishment of a multiparty system but ensured the continued dominance of the ruling Parti Socialiste. Coulon 1988 offers a more generous assessment of the initial transition, describing Senegal as a semi-democracy whose future trajectory remained unclear as democratization began to spread across the continent. Two decades later, Gellar 2005 is cautiously optimistic about the future of Senegalese democracy given its vibrant associational life, an argument supported in Leonardo Villalón’s work (see Villalón 1995, cited under Islam and Politics). Beck 2008 argues that Senegal has actually attained the minimal criteria of electoral competition and political rights to warrant its categorization as a democracy, albeit a clientelist rather than liberal form of democracy. This distinction may be explained by the differences identified in Schaffer 1998 between the meaning of democracy in Western and non-Western cultures, such as the Wolof translation of demokaraasi in contrast to the French word démocratie employed by Senegalese elites. Skepticism about the significance of democratic reform in Senegal has been reinforced in the investigative work of a journalist, Coulibaly 1999, which documents rampant corruption in the Parti Socialiste in a volume published just before Abdoulaye Wade unseated President Diouf. This expose was followed by a scathing critique of the Wade administration (Abdou Latif Coulibaly, Wade, un opposant au pouvoir: L’alternance piégée? [Dakar: Éditions Sentinelles, 2003]).
Beck, Linda J. Brokering Democracy in Africa: The Rise of Clientelist Democracy in Senegal. New York: Palgrave Macmillan, 2008.
DOI: 10.1057/9780230611122Save Citation »Export Citation »E-mail Citation »
Given Africa’s neo-patrimonial states, Beck argues that it is not surprising that democratization in Senegal resulted in a form of clientelist democracy in which democratic institutions are distorted by clientelist relations. Employing four subnational case studies, she argues the impact on democracy varies based upon the relative autonomy and influence of local brokers.
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Coulibaly, Abdou Latif. Le Sénégal à l’épreuve de la démocratie: Enquête sur 50 ans de lutte et de complots au sein de l’élite socialiste. Paris: Harmattan, 1999.
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A journalist for a private media outlet, Coulibaly is a nonpartisan critic of political corruption in Senegal revealed through his investigative journalism. In this volume, Coulibaly exposed corruption under the long-ruling Parti Socialiste, followed four years later with a condemnation of poor governance under Abdoulaye Wade, the newly elected opposition leader.
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Coulon, Christian. “Senegal: The Development and Fragility of a Semidemocracy.” In Democracy in Developing Countries: Africa. Edited by Larry Diamond, Juan J. Linz, and Seymour Martin Lipset, 141–178. Boulder, CO: Lynne Rienner, 1988.
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Coulon outlines the origins of Senegal’s early yet incomplete transition to democracy beginning in the mid-1970s. The author explains how the reform of political institutions has enhanced the competitiveness of the electoral process though it remains constrained by clientelist relations that underpin political authority dating back to precolonial Senegalese societies.
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Diop, Momar Coumba, and Mamadou Diouf. Le Sénégal sous Abdou Diouf: État et société. Paris: Karthala, 1990.
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This political analysis by two prominent Senegalese scholars provides an in-depth analysis of not only the Diouf administration, but also that of his predecessor, Léopold Sédar Senghor. After outlining how a post-independence crisis gave rise to Senegal’s authoritarian state, the authors analyze Diouf’s various tactics to assert and maintain power after assuming Senghor’s mantle.
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Fatton, Robert. The Making of a Liberal Democracy: Senegal’s Passive Revolution, 1975–1985. Boulder, CO: Lynne Rienner, 1987.
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Using the Gramscian concept of passive revolution, Fatton analyzes how President Senghor initiated political reform in the face of mounting political and economic crises. Beginning in 1976, Senghor slowly transformed Senegal’s de facto one-party state into a multiparty system without jeopardizing his leadership or that of his successor, Abdou Diouf.
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Gellar, Sheldon. Democracy in Senegal: Tocquevillian Analytics in Africa. New York: Palgrave Macmillan, 2005.
DOI: 10.1057/9781403982162Save Citation »Export Citation »E-mail Citation »
Challenging minimalist definitions that focus on multiparty elections, Gellar uses Tocqueville’s broader view of democracy built upon a vibrant association life to analyze Senegal’s democratic experience. Based on his historical, sociocultural, and political analysis, Gellar sees Senegal’s democracy as established on a solid foundation and is, thus, cautiously optimistic about its future.
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Schaffer, Frederic C. Democracy in Translation: Understanding Politics in an Unfamiliar Culture. Ithaca, NY: Cornell University Press, 1998.
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Schaeffer explores the meaning of democracy in non-Western cultures through investigation of how the French word démocratie is employed by Senegalese elites verses the Wolof word demokaraasi used by the larger Wolof-speaking population. Schaeffer found that the Wolof word is associated with consensus, solidarity, and evenhandedness, which influences Wolof speakers’ political expectations and demands.
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Islam and Politics
Largely as a result of the active and influential role that the leaders of the Sufi brotherhoods have played in Senegalese politics, an abundance of literature on Islam and politics in Senegal is available. To complement the various historical analyses covering the precolonial and colonial eras (see Precolonial History and Colonial History), this section includes those seminal studies that focus on the post-independence and postcolonial periods conducted primarily by social scientists. As Senegal marked its first decade of independence, both Behrman 1970 and Cruise O’Brien 1971 were published in constituting works about the political influence of Senegal’s Sufi brotherhoods. While there is some overlap, Behrman 1970 provides a broader overview of the relationship between the religious leaders and the Senegalese government and politicians while Cruise O’Brien 1971 constitutes a deeper, anthropological study of the Murid brotherhood and its leaders’ clientelist relations with both the state and their taalibes (disciples). Marabout-disciple relations is a major theme in this literature in serving as the basis for debate over whether this has constituted a system of exploitation, as Copans 1988 maintains in an economic analysis, or one of reciprocal benefits, which Coulon 1981 gives greater credence to in an analysis of Sufi voting blocs. Villalón 1995 builds up this argument in providing an analysis of Islamic civil society that finds that it has challenged the predatory nature of the state and, thus, contributed to the relatively democratic nature of the Senegalese state. Also examining the contribution of Islam to state formation, historian Mamadou Diouf asserts in Diouf 2001 that the dual processes of Islamization and Wolofization have permitted the incorporation of disparate ethno-regional groups into the Senegalese state, with the notable exception of Casamance. See also Religion.
Behrman, Lucy Creevey. Muslim Brotherhoods and Politics in Senegal. Cambridge, MA: Harvard University Press, 1970.
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One of the earlier works written on Islam and politics after Senegalese independence, Berhman’s book on the political influence of Sufi brotherhoods is organized around their relationship with political parties, the government, and Muslim reform groups. While including all brotherhoods in her analysis, Berman concentrates on the Wolof in the Peanut Basin, particularly the Murids.
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Copans, Jean. Les marabouts de l’arachide: La Confrérie mouride et les paysans du Sénégal. Paris: Harmattan, 1988.
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Employing quantitative economic data on agricultural production, Copans argues that the relationship between Senegalese marabouts (Sufi leaders) and their taalibes (disciples) is based on a system of exploitation, although the author acknowledges that the amount of work disciples contribute to cultivating the peanut fields of their marabouts is relatively insignificant.
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Coulon, Christian. Le marabout et Le prince: Islam et pouvoir au Sénégal. Paris: Pedone, 1981.
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Coulon’s analysis begins with a historical account of marabout resistance to colonial conquest, which ultimately gave way to their intermediary role in a form of indirect rule under the colonial state. With the establishment of universal suffrage, this was transformed into their role as “grand electors,” which continued in the post-independence period.
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Cruise O’Brien, Donal. The Mourides of Senegal: The Political and Economic Organization of an Islamic Brotherhood. Oxford: Clarendon, 1971.
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O’Brien focuses explicitly on the Muridiyya, a Sufi order founded in response to colonial conquest, according to O’Brien. Correcting previous idealized views of the brotherhood, O’Brien recounts tensions within the community and limits on control by marabouts over disciples. His discussion of the urban dahira is seminal to subsequent analyses of these critical Murid networks.
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Diouf, Mamadou. Histoire du Sénégal: Le modèle islamo-wolof et ses périphéries. Paris: Maisonneuve & Larose, 2001.
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In this volume, Diouf elaborates on the Islamo-Wolof model he and Momar Coumba Diouf outlined in their book on Abdou Diouf’s regime. Their Islamo-Wolof model claims that Senegalese state formation is based on the dual processes of Islamization and Wolofization.
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Villalón, Leonardo A. Islamic Society and State Power in Senegal: Disciples and Citizens in Fatick. Cambridge, UK: Cambridge University Press, 1995.
DOI: 10.1017/CBO9780511598647Save Citation »Export Citation »E-mail Citation »
Villalón argues that Senegal’s relatively democratic political system is attributable to the capacity of civil society to challenge the predatory nature of the state. By civil society, he does not, however, mean the modern, secular organizations typically associated with social accountability but the Islamic civil society composed of the Sufi orders.
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Religion
The works presented in this section cover the religious imprint across the Senegalese cultural landscape. They provide insights into the various sects of the dominant Islamic influence, the small Christian communities, and the indigenous traditional belief systems. With 95 percent of Senegalese adhering to the Islamic faith, most sources here address this majority population. Islam as practiced in Senegal is represented primarily by a number of different Sufi sects or confréries, i.e., “brotherhoods.” Abun-Nasr 1965 considers the historical path of the Tijaniyya, Senegal’s largest Muslim brotherhood, as it spread throughout West Africa. Dilley 2004, written from an anthropological perspective, examines elements of the Tijaniyya influence in the Senegal River Valley, where the famed Al-Hajj Umar Tall played a significant role in the order’s rise to prominence here and throughout Sahelian West Africa. Cruise O’Brien 1971 (also cited under Islam and Politics) and Sy 1969 address the Mouride brotherhood, which, despite its somewhat smaller number of adherents compared to the Tijaniyya, has a long and celebrated history as a major influence in the social, political, and economic domains of colonial and postcolonial Senegal. Searing 2006 offers an insightful investigation of the intersection of traditional, Christian, and Islamic influences among the Serer ethnic group of western Senegal, and Zuccarelli 1990 addresses the country’s Catholic minority. Baum 1999 provides a well-informed examination of traditional indigenous religious beliefs among the Diola of southern Senegal. Diouf and Leichtman 2009 presents recent scholarship on a number of interesting aspects of religion and contemporary culture.
Abun-Nasr, Jamil M. The Tijaniyya: A Sufi Order in the Modern World. London: Oxford University Press, 1965.
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This study offers a window into the long history of the Tijaniyya Muslim brotherhood. While its discussion ranges to locations as far afield as Turkey, it focuses most of its attention on West Africa in general and Senegal in particular, where the Tijaniyya constitutes the country’s largest Islamic brotherhood.
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Baum, Robert M. Shrines of the Slave Trade: Diola Religion and Society in Precolonial Senegambia. New York: Oxford University Press, 1999.
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Baum’s work focuses on the Diola of southern Senegal, who have maintained a rich animist religious heritage over the centuries. This excellent examination of Diola religious beliefs and practices in one small part of the Casamance region emphasizes the role “spirit shrines” play as a means of communication with “Emitai” (the supreme being).
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Cruise O’Brien, Donal. The Mourides of Senegal: The Political and Economic Organization of an Islamic Brotherhood. Oxford: Clarendon, 1971.
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The Muridiyya brotherhood, while not the largest of Senegal’s religious orders numerically speaking, has traditionally maintained significant political and economic influence in national affairs. Cruise O’Brien’s work is authoritative and extremely well researched, and maintains its reputation as an obligatory read for those interested in learning about Islam in Senegal.
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Dilley, Roy. Islamic and Caste Knowledge Practices among Haalpulaar’en in Senegal: Between Mosque and Termite Mound. London: International African Library, 2004.
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This is an excellent volume on the history of Islam’s implantation among the Pulaar-speaking people (Haalpulaar’en) of the Senegal River Valley. Of particular interest is the focus on the interplay between the influence of learned Muslim clerics (the toorodbe) and casted groups (the nyenybe), whose role in society is concerned more with material, “pre-Islamic” aspects of culture.
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Diouf, Mamadou, and Mara A. Leichtman, eds. New Perspectives on Islam in Senegal: Conversion, Migration, Wealth, Power, and Femininity. New York: Palgrave Macmillan, 2009.
DOI: 10.1057/9780230618503Save Citation »Export Citation »E-mail Citation »
This edited volume offers a fresh look at contemporary social change in Senegal in the context of the influence that the well-anchored Islamic faith has on shaping Senegalese cultural identity. Contributions are divided into several sections on Islamic pedagogy, gender issues, local cultural interpretations of Islam, and religion and politics.
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Searing, James F. “The Time of Conversion: Christians and Muslims among the Sereer-Safèn of Senegal, 1914–1950s.” In Muslim-Christian Encounters in Africa. Edited by Benjamin F. Soares, 115–141. Leiden, The Netherlands: Brill, 2006.
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This chapter analyzes elements of religion that take into account indigenous belief systems and their interactions with the external influences of Christianity and Islam. Searing focuses his attention on the Serer of western Senegal who, along with the Diola of southern Senegal, are among the more Christianized of the country’s ethnic groups.
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Sy, Cheikh Tidiane. La confrérie sénégalaise des Mourides. Paris: Présence Africaine, 1969.
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This study is an interesting complement to Cruise O’Brien 1971, a work on the Mourides, especially since it is presented through the sociological lens of a Senegalese Muslim. It incorporates a historical analysis of Islam’s penetration into West Africa together with the establishment and evolution of Senegal’s largest Islamic order.
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Zuccarelli, François. “Les Catholiques du Sénégal.” L’Afrique et l’Asie Modernes 165 (1990): 78–96.
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This work focuses on the minority Catholic population in Senegal that has enjoyed a long-standing environment of religious accommodation and tolerance in a primarily Muslim society governed by a secular state. The author explores the long-term outlook for Senegalese Catholics should the cultural basis of Islam as practiced here become more rigid in the future.
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Language
Senegal has more than fifty indigenous languages and dialects for which no written grammars, lexicons, or dictionaries existed until they were composed under the auspices of the French colonial state and Christian missionaries at the turn of the 20th century. Most of the linguistic studies on Senegalese languages continue to concentrate on the languages of its largest ethnic groups, including Diola/Jola (Sapir 2011), Pulaar/Fula (Sylla 1982), Serer (Crétois 1976), and Wolof (Diouf 2003). The references provided in this section are the most recent and/or accessible studies on these languages. The African Language Webbook provides a more extensive online bibliography of Senegalese language sources. Although Wolof serves as Senegal’s lingua franca, Diallo 2010 explains why French remains its official language and how the recognition of “national languages” has generally placated critics of this policy. Nevertheless, McLaughlin 2008 maintains that categorization of Senegal as a Wolof-speaking versus French-speaking nation depends on whether you define national identity based on a population’s sense of belonging to a nation-state or on its identity within the international world order. Another important sociolinguistic study, Dreyfus and Juillard 2004, analyzes the complex multilingual situation in urban Senegal, demonstrating that minority language maintenance depends on the relative strength of ties to place of origin.
African Language Webbook.
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The African Studies Center at Michigan State University provides a website with extensive information about various African languages, including a bibliography of twenty-four sources for Serer, sixty-four titles on Wolof, and 105 on Pulaar/Fula along with basic information about the languages, people, and institutions.
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Crétois, Léonce. Dictionnaire sereer-français. Dakar: Centre de Linguistique Appliquée de Dakar, 1976.
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Found in the Sine-Saloum region of central Senegal and the Gambia, Serer speakers represent approximately 15 percent of the Senegalese population. Although publications on Serer in English are available, to date there is no Serer-English dictionary, making this dictionary a critical source particularly because it includes different dialects of Serer. Originally published in 1972.
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Diallo, Ibrahima. The Politics of National Languages in Postcolonial Senegal. Amherst, NY: Cambria, 2010.
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In this book, Diallo analyzes the evolution of Senegal’s language policy. After describing President Senghor’s role in perpetuating the dominance of French culture and language, Diallo examines how official recognition of national languages permitted the Senegalese to preserve their cultural identity and succeed in the globalized economy, though the spread of Wolof threatens Senegal’s local linguistic ecology.
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Diouf, Jean-Léopold. Dictionnaire wolof-français et français-wolof. Paris: Karthala, 2003.
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Spoken by millions in the Senegambia and Mauritania, Wolof is the lingua franca of Senegal. Although there is a Wolof-English dictionary by Gambian scholar Nyima Kantorek (New York: Hippocrene, 2005), the Wolof orthography as well as loanwords and phrasing differ significantly between Anglophone Gambia and Francophone Senegal. The Wolof-French dictionary by Senegalese author Jean-Léopold Diouf is therefore cited here.
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Dreyfus, Martine, and Caroline Juillard. Le plurilinguisme au Sénégal: Langues et identités en devenir. Paris: Karthala, 2004.
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This book compares the complex and evolving multilingual situation in two Senegalese cities, Dakar and Ziguinchor, and shows that minority language maintenance is related to the nature of the ties that urbanized speakers maintain with their place of origin.
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McLaughlin, Fiona. “Senegal: The Emergence of a National Lingua Franca.” In Language and National Identity in Africa. Edited by Andrew Simpson, 79–97. Oxford: Oxford University Press, 2008.
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This chapter takes a close look at the role language plays in Senegalese national identity. Depending on how national identity is defined, either as a population’s relationship and sense of belonging to a nation-state or as the identity of an individual nation-state within the international world order, Senegal could be described as either a Wolof-speaking nation or a francophone one, respectively.
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Sapir, J. David. A Grammar of Diola-Fogny: A Language Spoken in the Basse-Casamance Region of Senegal. Cambridge, UK: Cambridge University Press, 2011.
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Originally published in 1965 and reprinted in 1969, this study of the Diola/Jola people living along the Casamance River in southwestern Senegal focuses specifically on the Fogny dialect, which is more widely understood by other Jola speakers. This grammar presents a descriptive study of the dialect covering phonology, morphology, and syntax.
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Sylla, Yèro. Grammaire modern du Pulaar. Dakar: Nouvelles Éditions Africaines, 1982.
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This is a solid descriptive grammar of the Fuuta Toro dialect of Pulaar spoken in the Senegal River Valley. The grammar provides a generative perspective.
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Literature
The product of Senegalese writers and filmmakers is voluminous, to say the least. For such a small country, its many talented men and women have achieved a truly admirable level of achievement in the creative arts. The selections in this section include two general overviews, five classic pieces of literature representing the work of some of Senegal’s best and most celebrated authors, and a relatively brief, accessible, and readable entrée into the work of the legendary first president of Senegal, Léopold Sédar Senghor. Blair 1984 offers an immensely valuable, authoritative, and exhaustive historical tour through more than a century’s worth of Senegal’s literary output. On a smaller scale, Cham 1991 does the same in exploring the influence of Islam in the fields of both literature and film. Chosen for their status as some of the best and most widely read tracts in the Senegalese canon, Bâ 2008, Diop 1985, Fall 1986, Kane 1972, and Sembène 1995 offer wonderful insights into Senegalese culture, society, politics, and folklore. The author of Moore 1980 writes with authority on the work of Senghor, whose name is synonymous with Senegal itself.
Bâ, Mariama. So Long a Letter. Oxford: Heinemann, 2008.
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The English translation of Une si longue lettre published in 1980 (Dakar: Nouvelles Éditions Africaines) by Senegal’s most celebrated female author. Through a letter written to a close friend, the protagonist Ramatoulaye elaborates a heart-wrenching tale of the dilemmas faced by Senegalese women seeking to reconcile the expectations and pressures concerning their “place” in society.
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Blair, Dorothy S. Senegalese Literature: A Critical History. Boston: Twayne, 1984.
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Written by a scholar with unparalleled experience in Francophone African literature, this book is a treasure trove of essential analysis on the work of Senegalese writers from the mid-19th to the late 20th centuries. It is of exceptional value in orienting readers to the major figures and themes in Senegalese literature.
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Cham, Mbye B. “Islam in Senegalese Literature and Film.” In Faces of Islam in African Literature. Edited by Kenneth W. Harrow, 163–186. Portsmouth, NH: Heinemann, 1991.
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Cham’s contribution to this wide-ranging volume is itself wide-ranging in terms of discussing the variety of ways in which Islam is interpreted and incorporated into creative works of Senegalese writing and film. His range of analysis extends from what Cham classifies as the “promoters” to the “irreverents” and from the “iconoclasts” to the “apostates.”
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Diop, Birago. Tales of Amadou Koumba. London: Longman, 1985.
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This English translation of Les contes d’Amadou-Koumba, published in French in 1961 (Paris: Présence Africaine), is a splendid collection of Senegalese folktales compiled and recounted by a renowned poet, veterinarian, and diplomat. Its publication opened a window for the outside world to appreciate the rich oral traditions of Senegal’s famous griots (oral historians).
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Fall, Aminata Sow. The Beggars’ Strike, or The Dregs of Society. Harlow, UK: Longman, 1986.
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The English translation of La grève des Bàttu published in 1979 (Dakar: Nouvelles Éditions Africaines). With exquisite irony, the story focuses on almsgiving in Muslim society and the status of mendicants as recipients of charity. Modern state leaders wanting to rid the streets of beggars discover the indispensable societal function they provide when the latter go on strike.
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Kane, Cheikh Hamidou. Ambiguous Adventure. London: Heinemann, 1972.
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The English translation of L’aventure ambiguë published in 1961 (Paris: Juilliard). This autobiographical tale of cultural alienation traces the steps of its protagonist from the traditional milieu of his ancestral home in Senegal to the hallowed halls of the Sorbonne, recounting an experience shared by many Africans whose lives straddle two cultures.
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Moore, Gerald. “Léopold Sédar Senghor: Assimilation or Negritude.” In Twelve African Writers. By Gerald Moore, 17–38. Bloomington: Indiana University Press, 1980.
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Moore’s book offers a fine critical analysis of the work of Senegal’s statesman-poet and first president. It ranges over most of Senghor’s published work and includes a valuable biographical sketch that adds context to the evaluation of his enduring contributions to African literature.
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Sembène, Ousmane. God’s Bits of Wood. Oxford: Heinemann, 1995.
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The English translation of Les bouts de bois de Dieu published in 1960 (Paris: Le Livre Contemporain) by the doyen of Senegalese literature and film. Based on a true story of striking West African railway workers, Sembène’s masterpiece addresses issues of exploitation, solidarity, and the strong supporting role women played in the unfolding drama.
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Arts
Much of the literature on African art focuses on the precolonial (“primitive”) material that found its way into European collections and Western natural history and art museums during the colonial period. The literature on Senegalese art, however, focuses primarily on works produced since independence and specifically on the influence of nationalist politics on Senegalese artists. Senegal’s first president and renowned poet, Léopold Sédar Senghor, was the continent’s foremost patron of the arts (Diouf 1999). Sylla 1998 recounts how his philosophy of négritude infused the nascent École de Dakar supported by an elaborate state apparatus and extensive governmental funding. As Senghor’s legacy faded and official funding for the arts began to dwindle, Harney 2004 explains that Senegal’s vibrant arts community rebounded, breaking with established art forms and seeking alternative audiences. The Biennale des Arts de Dakar (Dak’Art), in particular, has invigorated contemporary art in both Senegal and across the continent since its initiation in 1992. In Bouttiaux-Ndiaye 1994, a book on Senegalese sous-verre (reverse-glass) paintings, the author analyzes how art that is produced more for commercial use, such as the sous-verres, has appealed to both middle-class Senegalese as well as foreign tourists. According to Roberts and Roberts 2003, the appeal of these paintings to Senegalese is reinforced by the religious themes found in many reverse-glass paintings, particularly those depicting the miracles associated with Sheikh Amadou Bamba, the founder of Senegal’s Muridiyya (Murid) Sufi sect. While the overtly sociopolitical aspects of Senegalese art have been emphasized in this literature, Grabski 2011, a recent work on the link between artists and markets in Dakar, illustrates how artists are able to gain new access and opportunities in a context of declining state support for the arts. Similarly, Mustafa 2001, a work that profiles Senegalese fashion designer Oumou Sy, illustrates the intersection between art and social space in a digital age that threatens to further marginalize Africans in the global economy.
Bouttiaux-Ndiaye, Anne-Marie. Senegal behind Glass: Images of Religious and Daily Life. Munich: Prestel, 1994.
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Reverse-glass paintings are an art form that employs the technique of painting on the back of a sheet of glass. This survey includes both early examples and recent works by artists who have become internationally renowned. The introduction and commentaries on more than 150 color plates provide an overview of the historical and sociocultural themes captured in these paintings. A work produced for the Royal Museum of Central Africa, Tervuren, Belgium.
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Diouf, Saliou Démanguy. Les arts plastiques contemporains du Sénégal. Paris: Présence Africaine, 1999.
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This sociohistorical survey written by a Senegalese artist and art historian begins with the flourishing of art in post-independence Senegal under the guidance of President Senghor, a renowned poet and political philosopher. Even after much of the official support for the arts evaporated, artists continued to thrive in Senegal’s vibrant cultural community. Diouf profiles ten artists, including himself.
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Grabski, Joanna. “Market Logics: How Locality and Mobility Make Artistic Livelihoods in Dakar.” Social Dynamics 37.3 (2011): 321–331.
DOI: 10.1080/02533952.2011.658284Save Citation »Export Citation »E-mail Citation »
This article on the link between artists and market spaces challenges assertions that the Dakar market is inadequate or fledgling. Focusing on the practices of two Dakar-based artists, Grabski illustrates how artists are able to gain mobility and access to multiple networks and opportunities through the employment of market logics.
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Harney, Elizabeth. In Senghor’s Shadow: Art, Politics, and the Avant-Garde in Senegal, 1960–1995. Durham, NC: Duke University Press, 2004.
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Illustrated with nearly one hundred images, this survey examines a wide range of Senegalese art from the standard-bearing École de Dakar of the 1960s to the politically charged Set Setal muralists in the 1990s. Harney reconsiders the impact of Senghor on Senegalese art, revealing how avant-gardists broke with established artistic forms to challenge his legacy.
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Mustafa, Hudita. “Ruins and Spectacles: Fashion and City Life in Contemporary Senegal.” Nka: Journal of Contemporary African Art 15 (Winter 2001): 47–53.
DOI: 10.1215/10757163-15-1-47Save Citation »Export Citation »E-mail Citation »
Mustafa profiles Oumou Sy, one of Africa and Senegal’s preeminent fashion and costume designers. Mustafa explains how Sy’s work stands at the intersection of art, spectacle, and social space. Her Metissacana cybercafé, the first Internet café in West Africa, has helped claim a place for Africans, whose marginalization in the global economy is typically intensified by the digital divide.
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Roberts, Allen F., and Mary Nooter Roberts. A Saint in the City: Sufi Arts of Urban Senegal. Los Angeles: University of California at Los Angeles Press, 2003.
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This study provides a rich analysis and array of illustrations of the devotional art surrounding Sheikh Amadou Bamba, founder of Senegal’s Muridiyya Sufi movement. The authors explain how a single portrait of Bamba has become iconic, with images based upon it believed to offer protection and prosperity.
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Sylla, Abdou. Arts plastiques et état: Trente-cinq ans de mécénat au Sénégal. Dakar: IFAN-CH. A. Diop, Université CH. A. Diop de Dakar, 1998.
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This treatise presents a detailed analysis of President Senghor’s ambitious post-independence cultural program, its elaborate state apparatus, and extensive governmental funding that comprehensively covered the arts. Despite the fading of Senghor’s vision and, with it, state funding, Sylla describes how the Biennale des Arts de Dakar (Dak’Art) invigorated contemporary art in both Senegal and across the continent.
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Music and Performance
Senegal has a vibrant history of music and performance that reflects its ethnic diversity and intimate relationship with politics and society. Both local performances and popular expressions of music and dance, such as Wolof Sabar drumming (Tang 2007) and masquerading at Jola initiation ceremonies (de Jong 2007), continue to evolve in content and meaning given their dynamic local, national, and global contexts. Meanwhile, new art forms arise, such as the hip-hop artists/activists profiled in Herson, et al. 2008, a documentary, that are influenced by other artistic traditions and global trends that are reinterpreted through a local lens. The influence of politics on music and performance and their reciprocal impact on politics in Senegal can also be seen in Castaldi 2006, a study of négritude and the National Ballet, and Tenaille 2002, a work that discusses some of Senegal’s many Afropop stars, including Youssou N’dour, who was recently named minister of tourism and culture.
Castaldi, Francesca. Choreographies of African Identities: Négritude, Dance, and the National Ballet of Senegal. Urbana: University of Illinois Press, 2006.
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Employing the metaphor of a dancing circle, Castaldi covers the full spectrum of performance, from production to circulation and reception, in this analysis of Senegal’s National Ballet. She examines the evolution of the company in relation to the cultural politics of Senghor’s négritude as well as dance’s more popular expression in the streets of Dakar.
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de Jong, Ferdinand. Masquerades of Modernity: Power and Secrecy in Casamance, Senegal. Bloomington: Indiana University Press, 2007.
DOI: 10.3366/edinburgh/9780748633197.001.0001Save Citation »Export Citation »E-mail Citation »
While both heavily anthropological and political, de Jong’s study of the role of masquerading in Jola initiation ceremonies begins with an analysis of the expressive form of performance itself before considering its political manifestations as an assertion of locality in the face of the forces of globalization.
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Herson, Ben, Magee McIlvaine, and Christopher Moore, dirs. African Underground: Democracy in Dakar. DVD. New York: Notable Productions, 2008.
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Herson’s documentary about hip-hop youth and Senegal politics examines musical activism during the controversial reelection of President Wade in 2007. After supporting Wade’s historic election in 2000, the disenchanted musicians refused to sing his praises despite political pressure and economic enticement; instead, they wrote powerful critiques of contemporary politics.
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Tang, Patricia. Masters of the Sabar: Wolof Griot Percussionists of Senegal. Philadelphia: Temple University Press, 2007 (with accompanying CD).
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Tang’s biography of several generations of percussionists in a Wolof griot (gewel) family documents the complex and changing rhythms of traditional drumming. While the lowest caste in Wolof society, performance by these masters of the Sabar (“talking”) drum plays a critical role in cradle-to-grave ceremonies, sporting events, and political meetings.
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Tenaille, Frank. Music Is the Weapon of the Future: Fifty Years of African Popular Music. Chicago: Lawrence Hill, 2002.
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In this retrospective work, Tenaille traces the history of Afropop through thirty portraits, including three prominent Senegalese musicians: Doudou N’diaye Rose, Toure Kounda, and Youssou N’dour. In the absence of a comprehensive history of Senegalese music, this work provides insight into Afropop music, the lives of some of its stars, and the political-cultural context in which their works have thrived.
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