The Xooy
(meaning "macerate" in
Serer, sometimes spelled Xoy
[Africa Consultants International (2000), ''Yëgóo: magazine d'échanges inter-culturels, Issues 0-11'', p. lix] or Khoy) is a
Serer divination
Divination (from Latin ''divinare'', 'to foresee, to foretell, to predict, to prophesy') is the attempt to gain insight into a question or situation by way of an occultic, standardized process or ritual. Used in various forms throughout histor ...
ceremony held once a year in
Fatick
Fatick ( wo, Fatik, srr, Fatik) is a town in Senegal, located between M'bour and Kaolack and inhabited by the Serer people. Its 2005 population was estimated at 24,243. It is the capital of the Fatick Region and the Fatick Department.
Toponymy ...
,
Senegal
Senegal,; Wolof: ''Senegaal''; Pulaar: 𞤅𞤫𞤲𞤫𞤺𞤢𞥄𞤤𞤠(Senegaali); Arabic: السنغال ''As-Sinighal'') officially the Republic of Senegal,; Wolof: ''Réewum Senegaal''; Pulaar : 𞤈𞤫𞤲𞤣𞤢𞥄𞤲𞤣𞤠ðž ...
. The Xooy is one of the most important and well known ceremonies in the
Serer religious calendar, and is a national event in Senegal's cultural calendar which attracts government officials and dignitaries. The ceremony is held yearly at the Centre
MALANGO in
Sine
In mathematics, sine and cosine are trigonometric functions of an angle. The sine and cosine of an acute angle are defined in the context of a right triangle: for the specified angle, its sine is the ratio of the length of the side that is oppo ...
, Senegal and attracts a large crowd from Senegal, and Serers from neighbouring
Gambia
The Gambia,, ff, Gammbi, ar, غامبيا officially the Republic of The Gambia, is a country in West Africa. It is the smallest country within mainland AfricaHoare, Ben. (2002) ''The Kingfisher A-Z Encyclopedia'', Kingfisher Publicatio ...
and the diaspora. It is somewhat of a yearly pilgrimage. The
Lebou
The Lebu (Lebou, ''Lébou'') are an ethnic group of Senegal, West Africa, living on the peninsula of Cap-Vert. The Lebu are primarily a fishing community, but they have a substantial business in construction supplies and real estate.Keese, Alexan ...
also attend the ceremony in homage to their Serer ancestors. The Lebou ''genies'' are actual the Serer
pangool
Pangool (in Serer and Cangin) singular: Fangool (var : ''Pangol'' and ''Fangol''), are the ancient saints and ancestral spirits of the Serer people of Senegal, the Gambia and Mauritania. The Pangool play a crucial role in Serer religion and hist ...
. The Xooy takes place around late May early June before the rainy season where the Serer high priests and priestesses—the
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 ev ...
dressed in their traditional gowns and hats takes centre stage to divine the future. There is a master of ceremonies, and as the public are seated in a circle, each Saltigue enters the circle in turn and give their divination on matters relating to the weather, politics, economics, health, etc. The ceremony goes on for two days (sometimes more)—and throughout the night—accompanied by the rhythm of drums.
[Kalis, Simone, ''Médecine traditionnelle, religion et divination ches les Seereer Siin du Sénégal'' – ''La connaissance de la nuit'', ]L'Harmattan
Éditions L'Harmattan, usually known simply as L'Harmattan (), is one of the largest French book publishers. It specialises in non-fiction books with a particular focus on Sub-Saharan Africa. It is named after the Harmattan, a trade wind in W ...
(1997), pp. 51, 60, 139, 173, 177, 213 The Serer people have traditionally been
farmers
A farmer is a person engaged in agriculture, raising living organisms for food or raw materials. The term usually applies to people who do some combination of raising field crops, orchards, vineyards, poultry, or other livestock. A farmer mi ...
,
cattle herders,
boat builders
This is a list of boat builders, for which there is a Wikipedia article.
Motorboats (<50 feet)
*American Skier
*Andrée & Rosenqvist
*Bayliner
*Beneteau
*Boston Whaler
*Brunswick Boat Group
*Carter Safari 28, Carter Marine
*Carver Yach ...
and
fisher people. The Xooy therefore serves both a religious and
agricultural
Agriculture or farming is the practice of cultivating Plant, plants and livestock. Agriculture was the key development in the rise of Sedentism, sedentary human civilization, whereby farming of Domestication, domesticated species created food ...
function.
The Xooy should not be confused with the Raan festival, which is another major event in the Serer religious calendar. The Xooy is organized by MALANGO, whilst the Raan is organized and presided over by the
Joof family
Joof (English spelling in the Gambia) or Diouf (French spelling in Senegal and Mauritania) is a surname that is typically Serer.
This surname is also spelt Juuf or Juf (in the Serer language). They are the same people. The differences in spe ...
—at
their ancestral home in
Tukar
Tukar ( Serer : A Tukaar, other variations : ''Toukar'' or ''Toucar'') a large village in Senegal. Attached to the rural community of Ngayokhem, it is located in the area of the pre-colonial Kingdom of Sine, west of Senegal. The population is ove ...
. The Xooy takes place in late May early June, whilst the Raan takes place yearly on the second Thursday in April after the appearance of the
new moon
In astronomy, the new moon is the first lunar phase, when the Moon and Sun have the same ecliptic longitude. At this phase, the lunar disk is not visible to the naked eye, except when it is silhouetted against the Sun during a solar eclipse.
...
On the last day of the Xooy ceremony, the Serer cosmological star ''
Yoonir'' is drawn on the ground and surrounded by saltigues and watchers. A fire is lit, and a
calabash
Calabash (; ''Lagenaria siceraria''), also known as bottle gourd, white-flowered gourd, long melon, birdhouse gourd, New Guinea bean, Tasmania bean, and opo squash, is a vine grown for its fruit. It can be either harvested young to be consumed ...
containing
sacred water is placed by its side. A priest would then sip some of the water and blow it onto the fire. This ritual pays homage to the elements of
earth
Earth is the third planet from the Sun and the only astronomical object known to harbor life. While large volumes of water can be found throughout the Solar System, only Earth sustains liquid surface water. About 71% of Earth's surfa ...
, water and
fire
Fire is the rapid oxidation of a material (the fuel) in the exothermic chemical process of combustion, releasing heat, light, and various reaction Product (chemistry), products.
At a certain point in the combustion reaction, called the ignition ...
, and the significants of the star in
Serer primordial time. This in essence signals the beginning of the Serer
New Year
New Year is the time or day currently at which a new calendar year begins and the calendar's year count increments by one. Many cultures celebrate the event in some manner. In the Gregorian calendar, the most widely used calendar system to ...
which starts in the month of ''O nGool É“etaafoleng'' (in Serer; ''Gam'' in
Saafi)—corresponding to the month of June in the Gregorian calendar. The Serer saying ''Ngam jam, o yas jam'' (Rain in peace! Sow in peace!) are the first words Serer farmers say to one another during the first rain. It is also the way Serers wish each other Happy New Year! This saying is also a prayer.
The late Saltigue Biram Pouye from Diobass, Senegal, was one of the renowned saltigues of his generation. However, he stopped attending the event, but instead, used to send his messenger every year to Fatick MALANGO to deliver his divination to the public.
Saltigue Khane Diouf is another revered Saltigue who historically have had a high accuracy record in her predictions.
The Xooy was added to
UNESCO
The United Nations Educational, Scientific and Cultural Organization is a specialized agency of the United Nations (UN) aimed at promoting world peace and security through international cooperation in education, arts, sciences and culture. It ...
's
Intangible Cultural Heritage List in 2013.
[Biagetti, Stefano; Lugli, Francesca; ''The Intangible Elements of Culture in Ethnoarchaeological Research'', ]Springer
Springer or springers may refer to:
Publishers
* Springer Science+Business Media, aka Springer International Publishing, a worldwide publishing group founded in 1842 in Germany formerly known as Springer-Verlag.
** Springer Nature, a multinationa ...
(2016), p. 78,
(retrieved 3 March 2020)
Controversy
In recent years, some followers of Serer religion, as well as Serer organizations like the Seereer Resource Centre (SRC) and Seereer Radio have criticised the organizers (MALANGO) for their over-commercialization of this sacred ceremony, and for the ceremony not being a true reflection of how their Serer ancestors used to do it. In this regard, the Seereer Resource Centre has been extremely vocal about some of the Saltigue allowed to participate in this sacred ceremony, who proclaim themselves as bona fides saltigues—but whom the SRC refer to as "charlatans proclaiming themselves as genuine saltigis." Yet, "have neither been initiated nor do they adhere to the tenets of Seereer/
traditional African religions, African spirituality."
[The Seereer Resource Centre, Seereer Radio and Seereer Heritage Press, ''Our special tribute to Saltigi Biram Pouye''. 16 September 1940 (Sanghe, Jooɓaas) - 2 February 2019 (Sanghe) nSeereer Radio (9 February 2019]
(retrieved 3 March 2020)
See also
*
Lamane
Lamane or laman (also ''laam'' or ''lam'') means "master of the land" in the Mandingue, Wolof, and Serer languages. The name was also sometimes the title of chiefs or kings of the Serer people of the Senegambia region which includes modern day Sen ...
*
Serer creation myth
The Serer creation myth is the traditional creation myth of the Serer people of Senegal, the Gambia and Mauritania. Many Serers who adhere to the tenets of the Serer religion believe these narratives to be sacred. Some aspects of Serer religious a ...
*
African divination
African divination is divination practiced by cultures of Africa.
Divination is an attempt to form, and possess, an understanding of reality in the present and additionally, to predict events and reality of a future time.
Cultures of Africa ...
References
Bibliography
*Kalis, Simone, ''Médecine traditionnelle, religion et divination ches les Seereer Siin du Sénégal – La connaissance de la nuit'',
L'Harmattan
Éditions L'Harmattan, usually known simply as L'Harmattan (), is one of the largest French book publishers. It specialises in non-fiction books with a particular focus on Sub-Saharan Africa. It is named after the Harmattan, a trade wind in W ...
(1997), pp. 51, 60, 139, 173, 177, 213. 300
*
UNESCO
The United Nations Educational, Scientific and Cultural Organization is a specialized agency of the United Nations (UN) aimed at promoting world peace and security through international cooperation in education, arts, sciences and culture. It ...
, ''Xooy, a divination ceremony among the Serer of Senegal''. UNESCO Culture Secto
(retrieved 3 March 2020)
*Biagetti, Stefano; Lugli, Francesca; ''The Intangible Elements of Culture in Ethnoarchaeological Research'',
Springer
Springer or springers may refer to:
Publishers
* Springer Science+Business Media, aka Springer International Publishing, a worldwide publishing group founded in 1842 in Germany formerly known as Springer-Verlag.
** Springer Nature, a multinationa ...
(2016), p. 78,
(retrieved 3 March 2020)
*Africa Consultants International (2000), ''Yëgóo: magazine d'échanges inter-culturels, Issues 0-11'', p. lix
*Dione, Salif, ''L'appel du ndut: ou, L'initiation des garçons seereer'',
Institut Fondamental d'Afrique Noire, IFAN (2004), pp. 43, 144,
*Galvan, Dennis Charles, ''The State Must Be Our Master of Fire:'' How Peasants Craft Culturally Sustainable Development in Senegal. Berkeley, University of California Press, 2004, p. 202,
*
Gravrand, Henry, ''La Civilisation Sereer'' - "
Pangool
Pangool (in Serer and Cangin) singular: Fangool (var : ''Pangol'' and ''Fangol''), are the ancient saints and ancestral spirits of the Serer people of Senegal, the Gambia and Mauritania. The Pangool play a crucial role in Serer religion and hist ...
", vol. 2. Les Nouvelles Editions Africaines du Senegal (1990),
External links
*Xooy on
UNESCO
The United Nations Educational, Scientific and Cultural Organization is a specialized agency of the United Nations (UN) aimed at promoting world peace and security through international cooperation in education, arts, sciences and culture. It ...
's official YouTube Channel: ''Xooy, a divination ceremony among the Serer of Senegal'
(retrieved 3 March 2020)
*''Xoy'' : 5 June 2016;;, by The Seereer Resource Centre and Seereer Radio on the Seereer Resource Centre and Seereer Radio's official YouTube Channe
(retrieved 3 March 2020)
*Sene News, ''Les « Saltigués » sérères prédisent la réélection de Macky Sall et annoncent un décès'' (25 June 2018
(retrieved 3 March 2020)
*''Meurtres à la chaîne: "le Sénégal sous l'emprise des djinns'' (30 Nov 2016
(retrieved 3 March 2020)
*The Seereer Resource Centre, Seereer Radio and Seereer Heritage Press, ''Our special tribute to Saltigi Biram Pouye''. 16 September 1940 (Sanghe, Jooɓaas) - 2 February 2019 (Sanghe)
nSeereer Radio (9 February 2019
(retrieved 3 March 2020)
*LeQuotidien, ''Séance de xoy : Les Saltigués voient le pire partout'' (25 Jun 2018
(retrieved 3 March 2020)
Further reading
*École pratique des hautes études (France). Section des sciences économiques et sociales, École des hautes études en sciences sociales, ''Cahiers d'études africaines, Volume 42, Issues 1-2; Volume 42, Issues 165-166'', Mouton (2002)
*Diouf, Marcel Mahawa, ''Lances mâles: Léopold Sédar Senghor et les traditions sérères'', Centre d'études linguistiques et historiques par tradition orale (1996)
*Diarra, Malick, ''Echos d'un regard lointain'', Editions Publibook (2006),
*Samb, Djibril, ''Clef alphabétique des songes'' (ed. 2), Nouvelles éditions africaines du Sénégal (1998)
{{Serer topics, state=collapsed
Serer religion
Divination
Intangible Cultural Heritage of Humanity