L'appelle de Layenne
Today (Sept 5) is L'appelle de Layenne, a festival of the local Islamic brotherhood. It marks the 125th anniversary of the first sermon given by the Mahdi, a man from Yoff who is believed by the Layenne brotherhod to have been the reincarnation of Mohammad. Mohammad apparently said before his death that he would return as a member of another race, and all the pictures of this man depict his wearing both a white and black cloth to illustrate that Mohammad came once as a "white" (Arab) and once as a "black" (Senegalese).
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I went to L'appelle with my host sisters and Janelle, an intern who stayed with my family this summer (and is sadly leaving in a few days). It is traditional among the Layenne to wear all white as a symbol of purity; my family lent me the traditional dress, of which I was very glad because, 1) although a bit hot, it allowed me to get into the services, which I could not have done without wearing a headscarf and 2) I either stood out less as a "toubab" (white person), or people appreciated my effort to integrate into the community and didn't approach me nearly as much as they typically do when I go out. (A lot of people come up to me, either to ask me for money or for my number, whenever I leave the house. Toubabs are a bit of a novelty here.)
Me, in traditional Layenne garb
Although I couldn't understand the singing at all, the songs were beautiful. It reminded me a bit of being at synagogue when I was young, because although I never understood the Hebrew, there was the same sense of community that I still find at Jewish services (although I admit it has been quite some time since I have attended synagogue). I realized in a new way what my mother has always told me - that the religious tradition you grew up in is a part of who you are in a way that is difficult to attain if one converts. Everyone there had clearly heard all these songs many times before, since they were very young children, the same way that I know certain melodies and prayers by heart. The boy sitting in front of me couldn't have been more than ten years old (if that) but he sang along as confidently as the grownups.
In general it seems to me that, while religion is very important to people here, people don't make a big fuss about it and seem to be more accepting of different beliefs than I have found elsewhere. You can believe in spirits, or not; you can believe that the Mahdi was the reincarnation of the prophet, or not; what is important to everyone is simply that one believes in Gd. It is a nice change for me, to have the majority of people share with me at least a basic belief in the divine, and to be interested in discussing religion in a non-confrontational way. I hope that being here will give me a chance to re-examine my own beliefs - at the moment I am trying to think about how, if at all, I want to observe the high holidays, as there is no Jewish community here. Guess I'll just have to see how it all shakes out.
A bientot, Deb.
L'appelle de Layenne
My host sisters, Fama and Marie
Posted by: Deborah Galaski on Sep 06, 05 | 10:58 am
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