Touba (
Hassaniya Arabic: , 'Felicity';
Wolof: Tuubaa) is a city in central
Senegal
Senegal,; Wolof: ''Senegaal''; Pulaar: 𞤅𞤫𞤲𞤫𞤺𞤢𞥄𞤤𞤭 (Senegaali); Arabic: السنغال ''As-Sinighal'') officially the Republic of Senegal,; Wolof: ''Réewum Senegaal''; Pulaar : 𞤈𞤫𞤲𞤣𞤢𞥄𞤲𞤣𞤭 ...
, part of
Diourbel Region
The Diourbel Region ( Serer and Cangin: ''Jurbel'') is a region of Senegal. The regional capital is the city of Diourbel. The region corresponds roughly to the precolonial Kingdom of Bawol and is still called by that name. Bawol (or ''Baol'' ...
and
Mbacké
Mbacké (Mbàkke in Wolof) is a city in central Senegal, located east of Dakar. It is the capital of an administrative department in the Diourbel region. Along with the nearby city of Touba, Mbacké forms an urban conurbation whose population ...
district. With a population of 529,176
[ in 2010, it is the second most populated Senegalese city after ]Dakar
Dakar ( ; ; wo, Ndakaaru) (from :wo:daqaar, daqaar ''tamarind''), is the capital city, capital and List of cities in Senegal, largest city of Senegal. The city of Dakar proper has a population of 1,030,594, whereas the population of the Dakar ...
. It is the holy city of Mouridism
The Mouride brotherhood ( wo, yoonu murit, ar, الطريقة المريدية ''aṭ-Ṭarīqat al-Murīdiyyah'' or simply , ''al-Murīdiyyah'') is a large ''tariqa'' ( Sufi order) most prominent in Senegal and The Gambia with headquarters in ...
and the burial place of its founder, Shaikh
Sheikh (pronounced or ; ar, شيخ ' , mostly pronounced , plural ' )—also transliterated sheekh, sheyikh, shaykh, shayk, shekh, shaik and Shaikh, shak—is an honorific title in the Arabic language. It commonly designates a chief of a ...
Ahmadou Bàmba Mbàcke. Next to his tomb stands a large mosque
A mosque (; from ar, مَسْجِد, masjid, ; literally "place of ritual prostration"), also called masjid, is a place of prayer for Muslims. Mosques are usually covered buildings, but can be any place where prayers ( sujud) are performed, ...
, completed in 1963.
Etymology
The origin of the name is not certain and according to the '' Encyclopaedia of Islam'', 'various etymologies have been current for the name', including Arabic ''tawba'' ('repentance').[J. L. Triaud, 'Ṭūbā', in ''Encyclopaedia of Islam'', ed. by P. Bearman and others, 2nd edn (Leiden: Brill, 1954–2005), ; .] The name is also superficially identical to the name of a tree in Paradise
In religion, paradise is a place of exceptional happiness and delight. Paradisiacal notions are often laden with pastoral imagery, and may be cosmogonical or eschatological or both, often compared to the miseries of human civilization: in parad ...
in Islamic tradition, '' Ṭūbā'', and in Sufism, this symbolic tree represents an aspiration for spiritual perfection and closeness to God
In monotheistic thought, God is usually viewed as the supreme being, creator, and principal object of faith. Swinburne, R.G. "God" in Honderich, Ted. (ed)''The Oxford Companion to Philosophy'', Oxford University Press, 1995. God is typically ...
. But the ''Encyclopaedia'' concludes that the name of the place 'most likely stems from a reference to ''ṭūbā'' “blessing”'.
History
The city began life as a simple hamlet of the 'Baol
The Kingdom of Baol or Bawol in central Senegal was one of the kingdoms that arose from the split-up of the Empire of Jolof (Diolof) in 1555. The ruler ( Teigne or Teen) reigned from a capital in Diourbel.
The Kingdom encompassed a strip of l ...
'. Shaikh
Sheikh (pronounced or ; ar, شيخ ' , mostly pronounced , plural ' )—also transliterated sheekh, sheyikh, shaykh, shayk, shekh, shaik and Shaikh, shak—is an honorific title in the Arabic language. It commonly designates a chief of a ...
Aamadu Bàmba Mbàkke, commonly known as "Cheikh Amadou Bamba" (1853-1927), is said to have led to the ascendance of the settlement to prominence when, in a moment of transcendence under a large tree there, he experienced a cosmic vision of light. In Arabic, ''ṭūbā'' means "felicity" or "bliss" and evokes the sweet pleasures of eternal life in the hereafter.
Aamadu Bàmba founded Touba in 1887. The holy site remained a tiny isolated place in the wilderness until his death and burial at the site of the Great Mosque, 40 years later. Along with the neighboring town of Mbacké
Mbacké (Mbàkke in Wolof) is a city in central Senegal, located east of Dakar. It is the capital of an administrative department in the Diourbel region. Along with the nearby city of Touba, Mbacké forms an urban conurbation whose population ...
(founded by Aamadu Bàmba's great-grandfather in 1796), the Mouride conurbation is Senegal
Senegal,; Wolof: ''Senegaal''; Pulaar: 𞤅𞤫𞤲𞤫𞤺𞤢𞥄𞤤𞤭 (Senegaali); Arabic: السنغال ''As-Sinighal'') officially the Republic of Senegal,; Wolof: ''Réewum Senegaal''; Pulaar : 𞤈𞤫𞤲𞤣𞤢𞥄𞤲𞤣𞤭 ...
's second largest urban area, after the capital region of Dakar
Dakar ( ; ; wo, Ndakaaru) (from :wo:daqaar, daqaar ''tamarind''), is the capital city, capital and List of cities in Senegal, largest city of Senegal. The city of Dakar proper has a population of 1,030,594, whereas the population of the Dakar ...
.
Legal status
''Ṭūbā'' is a sacred area, and enjoys a quasi-extraterritoriality within the Republic of Senegal. It is under the sole control of a ''khalīfa''-general, his helpers, and ''Bāy Fall'' (a militia of the Mouride order), rather than agents of the Senegalese state. As well as having religious consequences, this has made Touba a free-trade zone; in particular, imports from neighbouring Gambia are exempt there from state taxes. In the assessment of the ''Encyclopaedia of Islam'',under a very modern apparent exterior, one thus finds an ancient form of Senegalese, indeed, West African, Islamic life: the constituting of “maraboutic villages”, enclaves which bring together the most keen devotees and which, through the force of the charisma of their directors, are able to escape from the exactions, pressures and constraints of the warrior and temporal authorities.
During the Great Magal pilgrimage, official representatives of the Senegalese state make official delegations, recognising the distinctive status of Touba and the Mourides within Senegal.
Geography
Overview
Located in central Senegal, Touba forms an urban agglomeration with the contiguous city of Mbacké
Mbacké (Mbàkke in Wolof) is a city in central Senegal, located east of Dakar. It is the capital of an administrative department in the Diourbel region. Along with the nearby city of Touba, Mbacké forms an urban conurbation whose population ...
.
Climate
Depending on the location of the weather station in Touba, the Köppen-Geiger climate classification system classifies the city's climate either as tropical wet and dry (Aw) or hot semi-arid (BSh).
Mouridism
Touba is the holy city
A holy city is a city important to the history or faith of a specific religion. Such cities may also contain at least one headquarters complex (often containing a religious edifice, seminary, shrine, residence of the leading cleric of the religi ...
of Mouridism
The Mouride brotherhood ( wo, yoonu murit, ar, الطريقة المريدية ''aṭ-Ṭarīqat al-Murīdiyyah'' or simply , ''al-Murīdiyyah'') is a large ''tariqa'' ( Sufi order) most prominent in Senegal and The Gambia with headquarters in ...
. Aamadu Bàmba Mbàkke, Senegal's most famous Sufi, was more than a spiritual master; he had a social mission as well, that of rescuing society from colonial
Colonial or The Colonial may refer to:
* Colonial, of, relating to, or characteristic of a colony or colony (biology)
Architecture
* American colonial architecture
* French Colonial
* Spanish Colonial architecture
Automobiles
* Colonial (1920 au ...
alienation and returning it to the "Straight Path" of Islam. The city of Touba played a major role in both these endeavors.
Life in Touba is dominated by Muslim practice and Islamic scholarship. A major annual pilgrimage, called the Grand Magal of Touba
The Grand Magal of Touba is the annual religious pilgrimage of the Senegalese Mouride Brotherhood, one of the four Islamic Sufi orders of Senegal. On the 18th of Safar, the second month of the Islamic calendar, pilgrims gather in the holy Mouride ...
, attracts around two million people from all over Senegal and beyond, principally Mourides, from as far away as Europe
Europe is a large peninsula conventionally considered a continent in its own right because of its great physical size and the weight of its history and traditions. Europe is also considered a subcontinent of Eurasia and it is located entirel ...
and America. Other, minor pilgrimages occur throughout the year.
For Mourides, Touba is a sacred place. Forbidden in the holy city are all illicit and frivolous pursuits, such as the consumption of alcohol and tobacco
Tobacco is the common name of several plants in the genus '' Nicotiana'' of the family Solanaceae, and the general term for any product prepared from the cured leaves of these plants. More than 70 species of tobacco are known, but the ...
. The Mouride order controls its "capital" to the exclusion of usual state-run civil and administrative services. The city constitutes an administratively autonomous zone with special legal status within Senegal
Senegal,; Wolof: ''Senegaal''; Pulaar: 𞤅𞤫𞤲𞤫𞤺𞤢𞥄𞤤𞤭 (Senegaali); Arabic: السنغال ''As-Sinighal'') officially the Republic of Senegal,; Wolof: ''Réewum Senegaal''; Pulaar : 𞤈𞤫𞤲𞤣𞤢𞥄𞤲𞤣𞤭 ...
. Every aspect of its city's life and growth is managed by the order independently of the state, including education, health, supply of drinking water, public works, administration of markets, land tenure, and real estate development.
Great Mosque
At the heart of the Mouride holy city lies its Great Mosque, purported to be one of the largest in Africa. Since its completion in 1963 it has been continuously enlarged and embellished. The mosque
A mosque (; from ar, مَسْجِد, masjid, ; literally "place of ritual prostration"), also called masjid, is a place of prayer for Muslims. Mosques are usually covered buildings, but can be any place where prayers ( sujud) are performed, ...
has five minarets and three large domes and is the place where Amadou Bamba, founder of the Mouride brotherhood, lies buried. The mosque's high central minaret, called ''Lamp Fall'', is one of Senegal's most famous monuments. The name ''Lamp Fall'' is a reference to Sheikh Ibrahima Fall, one of Bamba's most influential disciples. The mosque is frequently visited by tourists and worshippers alike.
The immediate vicinity of the mosque houses the mausolea
A mausoleum is an external free-standing building constructed as a monument enclosing the interment space or burial chamber of a deceased person or people. A mausoleum without the person's remains is called a cenotaph. A mausoleum may be consid ...
of Aamadu Bàmba's sons, the caliph
A caliphate or khilāfah ( ar, خِلَافَة, ) is an institution or public office under the leadership of an Islamic steward with the title of caliph (; ar, خَلِيفَة , ), a person considered a political-religious successor to th ...
s of the Mouride order. Other important institutions in the center of the holy city include a library, the Caliph's official audience hall, a sacred "Well of Mercy", and a cemetery. Serigne Mountakha Mbacké is the current leader of the Mourides. He is the eighth Caliph of Mouridism and is the third caliph to not be a son of Ahmadu Bamba Mbacké. Like his predecessors, he resides in a large compound on the main square facing the Mosque.
Notable people
*Amadou Bamba
Ahmadou Bamba Mbacke ( wo, Ahmadu Bamba Mbacke, ar, أحمد بن محمد بن حبيب الله ''Aḥmad ibn Muḥammad ibn Ḥabīb Allāh'', 1853–1927) also known to followers as Khādimu 'al-Rasūl () or "The Servant of the Messenger" a ...
(1853-1927), Muslim Sufi religious leader
See also
* Mouridism
The Mouride brotherhood ( wo, yoonu murit, ar, الطريقة المريدية ''aṭ-Ṭarīqat al-Murīdiyyah'' or simply , ''al-Murīdiyyah'') is a large ''tariqa'' ( Sufi order) most prominent in Senegal and The Gambia with headquarters in ...
* Islam in Senegal
Islam is the predominant religion in Senegal. 97 percent of the country's population is estimated to be Muslim. Islam has had a presence in Senegal since the 11th century. Sufi brotherhoods expanded with French colonization, as people turned to r ...
* Muslim brotherhoods of Senegal
This is a list of Sufi orders (Tariqas) in Senegal (and also the Gambia). They are active Muslim organizations that can also be found in many other parts of Africa and the Islamic world. Their members are mainly Wolofs, Fulas and Tocouleurs.
...
* Qasida
The qaṣīda (also spelled ''qaṣīdah''; is originally an Arabic word , plural ''qaṣā’id'', ; that was passed to some other languages such as fa, قصیده or , ''chakameh'', and tr, kaside) is an ancient Arabic word and form of writin ...
References
*Guèye, Cheikh. 2002. ''Touba: La capitale des Mourides''. Paris: Karthala.
*Ross, Eric S. 1995. "Touba: a spiritual metropolis in the modern world," ''Canadian Journal of African Studies'' 29.2.
*Ross, Eric S. 2006. ''Sufi City: Urban Design and Archetypes in Touba''. Rochester: University of Rochester Press.
External links
pictures of Touba
wikimouridia.org
{{Coord, 14, 52, N, 15, 53, W, type:city, display=title
Populated places in Diourbel Region
Holy cities
Diourbel Region
Populated places established in 1887
Theocracies