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Serer Religion
The Serer religion, or ''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 religion believes in a universal supreme deity called Roog (or ''Rog''). In the Cangin languages, Roog is referred to as ''Koox'' (or ''Kooh''), Kopé Tiatie Cac, and Kokh Kox. The Serer people are found throughout the Senegambia region. In the 20th century, around 85% of the Serer converted to Islam (Sufism), but some are Christians or follow their traditional religion. Traditional Serer religious practices encompass ancient chants and poems, veneration of and offerings to deities as well as spirits (pangool), initiation rites, folk medicine, and Serer history. Beliefs Divinity The Serer people believe in a supreme deity called Roog (or ''Rog'') and sometimes referred to as ''Roog Sene'' ("Roog The Immensity" or "The Merciful God"). Serer tradition deals with various dimensions of life, deat ...
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Serer People
The Serer people are a West African ethnoreligious group."Charisma and Ethnicity in Political Context: A Case Study in the Establishment of a Senegalese Religious Clientele"
Leonardo A. Villalón, Journal of the , Vol. 63, No. 1 (1993), p. 95, on behalf of the International African Institute
They are the third-largest ethnic group in Senegal, making up 15% of the Senegalese pop ...
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Supernatural
Supernatural refers to phenomena or entities that are beyond the laws of nature. The term is derived from Medieval Latin , from Latin (above, beyond, or outside of) + (nature) Though the corollary term "nature", has had multiple meanings since the ancient world, the term "supernatural" emerged in the Middle Ages and did not exist in the ancient world. The supernatural is featured in folklore and religious contexts, but can also feature as an explanation in more secular contexts, as in the cases of superstitions or belief in the paranormal. The term is attributed to non-physical entities, such as angels, demons, gods, and spirits. It also includes claimed abilities embodied in or provided by such beings, including magic, telekinesis, levitation, precognition, and extrasensory perception. The philosophy of naturalism contends that nothing exists beyond the natural world, and as such approaches supernatural claims with skepticism. Etymology and history of the concept Occurr ...
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Saltigue
The Saltigue (other spelling: Saltigué, Saltigui or Saltigi in Serer), are Serer high priests and priestesses who preside over the religious ceremonies and affairs of the Serer people, such as the ''Xooy'' (or ''Xoy'') ceremony, the biggest event in the Serer religious calendar. They usually come from ancient Serer paternal families. Such a title is usually inherited by birthright. In Serer country, ''Saltigue'' are always diviners. The scope of this article deals only with the Serer ''Saltigues'' – "diviners" (the high priests and priestesses) and termed by some scholars as "the ministers of the religious cult"; "pastors of the people" or within the remits of these definitions. Etymology In Serer, ''saltigue'' derives from two words: "sal" and "tigui"; ''sal'' means "meeting point of two ways. Place where one branch branches into two other branches. And by analogy, beam on which the roof of the hut rests." ''Tigui'' means "resting the roof of the hut." Tigui: really mean ...
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Sine River
The River Sine or Sine River (Siin in Serer language) is a river in Senegal. It flows into the Atlantic Ocean with the River Saloum in the delta of Sine-Saloum. See also *Saloum Delta National Park, a UNESCO World Heritage site. *Saloum River *Sine-Saloum Sine-Saloum is a region in Senegal located north of the Gambia and south of the Petite Côte. It encompasses an area of 24,000 square kilometers, about 12% of Senegal, with a population in the 1990s of 1,060,000. The western portion contains the ... External links « Le pacte primordial dans la vallée du Sine »(articles n''Éthiopiques'' n° 31) Rivers of Senegal Serer holy places Serer country {{Senegal-river-stub ...
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Adansonia Digitata
''Adansonia digitata'', the African baobab, is the most widespread tree species of the genus ''Adansonia'', the baobabs, and is native to the African continent and the southern Arabian Peninsula (Yemen, Oman). These are long-lived pachycauls; radiocarbon dating has shown some individuals to be over 2,000 years old. They are typically found in dry, hot savannas of sub-Saharan Africa, where they dominate the landscape and reveal the presence of a watercourse from afar. They have traditionally been valued as sources of food, water, health remedies or places of shelter and are a key food source for many animals. They are steeped in legend and superstition. In recent years, many of the largest, oldest trees have died, possibly due to climate change. Common names for the baobab include monkey-bread tree, upside-down tree, and cream of tartar tree. Description African baobabs are trees that often grow as solitary individuals, and are large and distinctive elements of savanna or scrubla ...
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Issa Laye Thiaw
Issa Laye Thiaw (1943 – 10 September 2017''Obituary of Professor Issa Laye Thiaw'' : "Our special tribute to Professor Issa Laye Thiaw", by The Seereer Resource Centre, Seereer Radio and Seereer Heritage Press. Published: 11 September 201/ref>) was a Senegalese historian, theologian and author on Serer religion, Serer tradition and history. Born into a Serer family, himself the son of a Serer High Priest (Saltigue), Thiaw is a specialist in the Serer religion. He was a former researcher at the Centre d’études des civilisations (CEC) de Dakar (Centre for Studies in Civilizations of Dakar). Some of Thiaw's works include: *Issa Laye Thiaw. ''La femme Seereer'', Sénégal, 2005, Sociétés africaines et diaspora. Edition L'harmattan, *Issa Laye Thiaw. "La religiosité Seereer, avant et pendant leur Islamisation." Dans: Ethiopiques, No. 55 (1992)János Riesz, Papa Samba Diop, Hans-Jürgen Lüsebrink, Ute Fendler, Christoph Vatter. Littératures et sociétés africaines, p483. ...
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Devil
A devil is the personification of evil as it is conceived in various cultures and religious traditions. It is seen as the objectification of a hostile and destructive force. Jeffrey Burton Russell states that the different conceptions of the devil can be summed up as 1) a principle of evil independent from God, 2) an aspect of God, 3) a created being turning evil (a ''fallen angel''), and 4) a symbol of human evil. Each tradition, culture, and religion with a devil in its mythos offers a different lens on manifestations of evil.Jeffrey Burton Russell, ''The Devil: Perceptions of Evil from Antiquity to Primitive Christianity'', Cornell University Press 1987 , pp. 41–75 The history of these perspectives intertwines with theology, mythology, psychiatry, art, and literature developing independently within each of the traditions. It occurs historically in many contexts and cultures, and is given many different names— Satan, Lucifer, Beelzebub, Mephistopheles, Iblis—and at ...
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Dakar
Dakar ( ; ; wo, Ndakaaru) (from daqaar ''tamarind''), is the capital and largest city of Senegal. The city of Dakar proper has a population of 1,030,594, whereas the population of the Dakar metropolitan area is estimated at 3.94 million in 2021. The area around Dakar was settled in the 15th century. The Portuguese established a presence on the island of Gorée off the coast of Cap-Vert and used it as a base for the Atlantic slave trade. France took over the island in 1677. Following the abolition of the slave trade and French annexation of the mainland area in the 19th century, Dakar grew into a major regional port and a major city of the French colonial empire. In 1902, Dakar replaced Saint-Louis as the capital of French West Africa. From 1959 to 1960, Dakar was the capital of the short-lived Mali Federation. In 1960, it became the capital of the independent Republic of Senegal. History The Cap-Vert peninsula was settled no later than the 15th century, by the Lebu peop ...
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Henry Gravrand
Father Henry Gravrand (France, 1921 - Abbey of Latrun, Palestine, 11 July 2003) was a French Catholic missionary to Africa and an anthropologist who has written extensively on Serer religion and culture. He was one of the leading pioneers of interfaith dialog and believed that African religion was the "'first covenant between God and man". His works about the Serer people are cited by other historians and scholars writing on Serer history, religion and culture, for instance Martin A. Klein, Charles Becker, Alioune Sarr, Marguerite Dupire, Issa Laye Thiaw, etc. Papa Massène Sene argues that his approach lacks scientific rigor and include fundamental linguistic and historical errors. Alioune Sarr noted that Gravrand reported an oral tradition describing what he called the "Battle of Troubang", a dynastic war between the two maternal royal houses of Ñaanco and the Guelowar, an off-shot and relatives of the ''Ñaanco'' (''Nyanthio'' or ''Nyanco'') maternal dynasty of Kaabu, in moder ...
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Justice
Justice, in its broadest sense, is the principle that people receive that which they deserve, with the interpretation of what then constitutes "deserving" being impacted upon by numerous fields, with many differing viewpoints and perspectives, including the concepts of moral correctness based on ethics, rationality, law, religion, equity and fairness. The state will sometimes endeavor to increase justice by operating courts and enforcing their rulings. Early theories of justice were set out by the Ancient Greek philosophers Plato in his work The Republic, and Aristotle in his Nicomachean Ethics. Advocates of divine command theory have said that justice issues from God. In the 1600s, philosophers such as John Locke said that justice derives from natural law. Social contract theory said that justice is derived from the mutual agreement of everyone. In the 1800s, utilitarian philosophers such as John Stuart Mill said that justice is based on the best outcomes for the gre ...
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Takhar
Takhar or Taahkarr (in Serer and Cangin) is a demi-god in the Serer religion worshipped by many Serers (an ethnic group found in Senegal, the Gambia and Mauritania). "Folk-Lore In The old Testament. Studies In Comparative Religion Legend and Law", Pubslihed by Forgotten Books, pp 317-8,/ref> Takhar is the god of justice and vengeance in Serer religion Kellog, Day Otis, and Smith, William Robertson, "The Encyclopædia Britannica: latest edition. A dictionary of arts, sciences and general literature", Volume 25, p 664, Werner (1902) Newland, H. Osman; Lewin, Evans, "West Africa: a handbook of practical information for the official, planter, miner, financier & trader", D. O'Connor (1922), p 90 and worshipped at the foot of certain trees in the forest deemed to be sacred. The Serer priestly class play a crucial role in the evokation of the demi-god and the implementation of its laws that devotees adhere to. Worship The Serer people worship Takhar in order to appeal to him against ...
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Wealth
Wealth is the abundance of Value (economics), valuable financial assets or property, physical possessions which can be converted into a form that can be used for financial transaction, transactions. This includes the core meaning as held in the originating Old English word , which is from an Indo-European languages, Indo-European word stem. The modern concept of wealth is of significance in all areas of economics, and clearly so for economic growth, growth economics and development economics, yet the meaning of wealth is context-dependent. An individual possessing a substantial net worth is known as ''wealthy''. Net worth is defined as the current value of one's assets less liabilities (excluding the principal in trust accounts). At the most general level, economists may define wealth as "the total of anything of value" that captures both the subjective nature of the idea and the idea that it is not a fixed or static concept. Various definitions and concepts of wealth have been a ...
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