Which Names Are Associated With Witchcraft In Senegal, Africa?

African witchcraft traditions, such as Vodun, Hoodoo, Santería, the Ifá/Orisha religion, and Candomblé, have a unique blend of African, indigenous, and sometimes Christian or Catholic influences. Despite the strong media and educational influence of secularism and modernity, the African commitment to witchcraft has not been eroded. The African concept of witchcraft has been interwoven over time with western traditional spiritualities, promoting collective life in the community.

The analysis of African occult belief systems provides a unique example for demonstrating that seemingly outdated and exotic African modes of thought, such as the belief in magic and witchcraft, are modern and diverse. Witchcraft powers are inherent and can be transmitted through either parent. Witches can be discovered through the revelations of seers or through various means. In Africa, witchcraft refers to various beliefs and practices that often play a significant role in shaping social dynamics.

In Western Africa, magic and witchcraft are increasingly being commercialized, comparable to indulgence. Witchcraft is a form of sorcery that can be deemed instrumental, distinguishing it from cannibalistic witchcraft (dëmm). Today, followers of certain types of modern paganism self-identify as witches and use the term witchcraft for their beliefs and practices. Other neo-pagan beliefs, such as witch-hunters, counter-agents to witches whose practice of witchcraft is not a threat or concern for the Commission.

What is the African name for voodoo?

Vodun, also known as Vodoun, Voudou, Voodoo, or Sevi Lwa, is a religion with roots dating back 6, 000 years in Africa. It is a diverse religion with various spiritual paths and a distinct pantheon of spirits. One major form of Vodun is called Loa, which means “mystery” in the Fon language. Dahomean traditional beliefs include a supreme being called Nana Buluku, who is remote and unknowable. She is believed to have generated Mawu-Lisa, who in turn created the earth and all life forms. Other spirits also originate from her-him. Vodun is a religion of many traditions, each with its own spiritual path and pantheon of spirits.

What is the belief in witches among the rural wolof of the Gambia?

The Wolof people adhere to the tenets of DOMA, which espouses the aggressive consumption of one’s fellow beings. This article elucidates DOMA’s modus operandi and proposes strategies for deterring its assaults.

What is the religious practice in Senegal?

About 97 percent of the Senegalese population is Muslim, with various denominations including Ahmadiyya, Sufism, and the Layenes. The NabyAllah movement has recently emerged and constructed the Mosque of the Divinity in Ouakam. The Layenes, a Muslim brotherhood based in Mahdism, originated in Yoff, a Lebou village that has become a commune d’arondissement of Dakar.

Tijanism is the most important Sufi brotherhood in Senegal, with its principal holy city being Tivouane, home to marabout Malick Sy, who left a legacy of pacifist teachings. Other important cities include Kaolack, where marabout Baye Niass also taught a pacifist message. The first propagators of Tijianism were Oumar Tall, who tried to lead a holy war against the French, and Mouhammadoul Hâmet BA. After the 2002 general census, Tijianism constitutes around 60 of all Senegalese, making it the most represented brotherhood in the country.

What are the four main Sufi orders?

The Chishti order, primarily associated with the Suhrawadi, Qadri, and Naqshbandi branches of South Asia, has merged with other branches, allowing most Sufi masters to initiate disciples in all four major orders. However, they still teach devotional practices typical of their own order. The Chishti order has also absorbed influences from antinomian faqiri Sufi groups, particularly the Qalandar. Some Chishtis have lived as renunciants or wandering dervish.

The first Chishti master in the West was Ḥazrat Pīr-o-Murshid ‘Ināyat Khān, who established centers in Europe and the U. S. His lineage-successors include Pīr Vilāyat ‘Ināyat Khān and Pīr Zīa ‘Ināyat-Khān. This tariqat accepts seekers of all faiths without asking conversion to formal Islam, a controversial practice in the Nizāmi branch.

Which African countries are Sufis?

Sufism has been a significant force in various Islamic countries, including Turkey, Persia, and the Indian Subcontinent. The Bektashi, closely associated with the Ottoman Janissaries, have spread to Cyprus, Greece, Albania, Bulgaria, North Macedonia, Bosnia and Herzegovina, Kosovo, and the United States. Sufism is also popular in African countries like Egypt, Tunisia, Algeria, Sudan, Morocco, and Senegal, where it is seen as a mystical expression of Islam.

Morocco has seen a growing revival under contemporary spiritual teachers like Hamza al Qadiri al Boutchichi. The popularity of Sufism in Senegal can be attributed to its ability to accommodate local beliefs and customs.

The lives of Algerian Sufi master Abdelkader El Djezairi, Amadou Bamba, El Hadj Umar Tall, Sheikh Mansur, and Imam Shamil in the Caucasus are notable examples. Some Muslims have criticized Sufism as a superstitious religion that hinders Islamic achievement in science and technology.

Several Westerners have attempted to spread Sufism, with Swedish-born Sufi Ivan Aguéli returning to Europe as an official representative. René Guénon, a French scholar, became a Sufi in the early twentieth century and defined Sufism as the essence of Islam. Spiritualists like George Gurdjieff may or may not conform to the tenets of Sufism as understood by orthodox Muslims.

What is the pagan religion in Africa?

South African Pagan traditions include Wicca, Neopagan witchcraft, Heathenry, and Druidry, with Wicca and contemporary Witchcraft being the predominant practices. Donna Vos defines Paganism as a nature-based religious-spiritual system that acknowledges nature as a manifestation of divinity and celebrates diversity rather than division. Most South African Pagans identify as Wiccans or Witches in a contemporary sense.

Is voodoo practiced in Senegal?

In Abene, a village in southern Senegal, traditional animist beliefs are prevalent, with a focus on genies, spirits, and spells. People wear gris-gris (voodoo amulets) for spiritual protection. West Africa was animistic before Islam and Christianity emerged, and many traditional beliefs were absorbed and maintained within these new religions. The Abrahamic religions gained a foothold in Africa because Christianity and Islam offer an afterlife, while traditional beliefs focus on spirits and ancestors.

What is the African magic called?

Juju, an object that has been deliberately infused with magical power or the magical power itself; it also can refer to the belief system involving the use of juju. Juju is practiced in West African countries such as Nigeria, Benin, Togo, and Ghana, although its assumptions are shared by most African people. It is neither good nor bad, but it may be used for constructive purposes as well as for nefarious deeds. A monkey’s head is probably the most common juju in West Africa. The word juju is believed to be derived from the French joujou (“plaything”), though some sources claim it is from the Hausa language, meaning “fetish” or “evil spirit.”

Juju operates on the principle of spiritual contagious contact based on physical contact. The underlying belief is that two entities that have been in close contact have similar properties even after being separated. It then becomes possible to manipulate one in order to reach the other. Thus, in that context, a person’s hair, fingernails, a piece of clothing, a shoe, a sock, or a piece of jewel worn by them are all perfect candidates for juju because they are believed to retain the spiritual aura of their owner.

Likewise, it is thought that spiritual similarity can be created by deliberately placing two things in physical contact. The underlying belief is that spiritual assimilation and fusion will take place, with one entity absorbing the qualities of the other. Amulets, charms, and mascots are all common forms of juju. Usually worn for protective purposes, those objects have been infused with a particular type of energy, and wearing them is expected to create paths and possibilities for the wearer, as well as guard them against ill fortunes and evil spirits.

What are the Sufi orders in Senegal?

Islam is the predominant religion in Senegal, with 97% of the population being Muslim. The religion has been present in the region since the 11th century, with Sufi brotherhoods expanding with French colonization. The main Sufi orders include the Tijaniyyah, Muridiyyah, Mourides, Qadiriyyah, and Layene order. Shiites are approximately one of the main Sufi orders. Islam’s influence in Senegal began with the conversion of King War Jabi in 1040, likely due to the Trans-Saharan trade between North and West Africa. Other empires, such as the Jolof empire, were more resistant to Islam.

During the 17th and 18th centuries, Islam was used as a structure of power and militarism. In the 17th century, Islam became the religion of the elite and merchant classes. In 1776, the Tukulors overthrew the Denianke Dynasty and constructed a theocratic oligarchy. Influenced by other Islamic movements throughout West Africa, they worked militaristically to convert traditional religious states and establish Muslim theocratic states.

However, this expansion ceased temporarily when the Tukulors failed to convert the traditional states of the Serer, who defeated them and killed their leader Maba Diakhou Ba at the Battle of Fandane-Thiouthioune to preserve their Serer religious faith.

What is the gamou in Senegal?

The Maouloud, an ancient Serer religious festival, is celebrated annually in Tivaouane, a city and urban commune in the Thiès Region of Senegal. Originally part of the Wolof kingdom of Cayor, Tivaouane was first described to Europeans in the 15th century. In 1904, it was the fifth largest city in Sénégal, after Saint-Louis, Dakar, Rufisque, and Gorée. Visitors flock to the festival to find the lost heart.

What was the original religion of Senegal?

The Serer religion, also known as a ƭat Roog (“the way of the Divine”), is the original religious beliefs, practices, and teachings of the Serer people of Senegal in West Africa. The Serer people believe in a universal supreme deity called Roog, also known as Koox, Kopé Tiatie Cac, and Kokh Kox. The Serer people are found throughout the Senegambia region and have converted to Islam in the 20th century. Traditional Serer religious practices include ancient chants, poems, veneration of deities, spirits, initiation rites, folk medicine, and Serer history.

Roog, also known as Roog Sene or “Roog The Immensity” or “The Merciful God”, is the supreme deity of the Serer people. The religion deals with various dimensions of life, death, space and time, ancestral spirit communications, and cosmology. Other lesser gods, goddesses, and supernatural spirits or genies are also present, such as the fangool Mendiss, Tiurakh, and Takhar. Roog is considered the Lord of creation, not the devil or a genie.