The Njuup tradition is a Serer style of

music Music is generally defined as the The arts, art of arranging sound to create some combination of Musical form, form, harmony, melody, rhythm or otherwise Musical expression, expressive content. Exact definition of music, definitions of mu ...

rooted in the

Ndut initiation rite The Ndut is a rite of passage as well as a religious education commanded by Serer religion that every Serer (an ethnic group found in Senegal, the Gambia and Mauritania) must go through once in their lifetime. The Serer people being an ethnorel ...

, which is a

rite of passage A rite of passage is a ceremony or ritual of the passage which occurs when an individual leaves one group to enter another. It involves a significant change of status in society. In cultural anthropology the term is the Anglicisation of ''rite ...

that young Serers must go through once in their lifetime as commanded in the

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 ( ...

. The Culture trip
"Youssou N'Dour: An Unlikely Politician"
(Retrieved : 28 June 2012)

History

Njuup songs are

religious Religion is usually defined as a social- cultural system of designated behaviors and practices, morals, beliefs, worldviews, texts, sanctified places, prophecies, ethics, or organizations, that generally relates humanity to supernatural, ...

in nature. For a large part of its history, Njuup was only used within the Ndut ritual. The history of Njuup comes from the older Ndut style of teachings. Young Serer boys in the ndut (nest) were required to create religious tunes during their rite of passage to take their minds off the transitional experience, build their aesthetic skills, and enhance their spirituality. The veneration of 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 h ...

influenced the songs of the Ndut, including Njuup. Gravrand, Henry
Le Ndut dans « L'héritage spirituel sereer : valuer traditionnelle d'hier, d'aujourd'hui et de demain »
n''Éthiopiques'' n° 31 Modern

Senegambia The Senegambia (other names: Senegambia region or Senegambian zone,Barry, Boubacar, ''Senegambia and the Atlantic Slave Trade'', (Editors: David Anderson, Carolyn Brown; trans. Ayi Kwei Armah; contributors: David Anderson, American Council of Le ...

n artists who sing the purest form of Njuup in the

Serer language Serer, often broken into differing regional dialects such as Serer-Sine and Serer saloum, is a language of the kingdoms of Sine and Saloum branch of Niger–Congo spoken by 1.2 million people in Senegal and 30,000 in the Gambia as of 2009. It i ...

include Rémi Jegaan Dioh Ferlo
"Rémi Jegaan Dioh : Sur un air culturel et cultuel "
(Retrieved : 28 June 2012) and

Yandé Codou Sène Yandé Codou Sène (also ''Yande Codou Sene'') was a Senegalese singer from the Serer ethnic group. She was born in 1932 at Somb in the Sine-Saloum delta and died on July 15, 2010 at Gandiaye in Sénégal. She was the official griot of pre ...

. All Afric
"Sénégal: Commémoration du dixième anniversaire du décès de Senghor - Les héritiers de Yandé Codou Sène et de Julien Jouga assurent les partitions"
/ref>

Influence

Njuup is the

progenitor In genealogy, the progenitor (rarer: primogenitor; german: Stammvater or ''Ahnherr'') is the – sometimes legendary progenitor, legendary – founder of a family, Kinship, line of descent, clan or tribe, Nobility, noble house, or ethnic group. ...

Mbalax Mbalax (or mbalakh) is the national popular dance music of Senegal and the Gambia. In the 1970s, mbalax emerged as the distinctive sound of postcolonial Senegal. Derived from a fusion of indigenous Wolof sabar drumming with popular music princip ...

music. Mbalax music originated when prominent

Senegal Senegal,; Wolof: ''Senegaal''; Pulaar: 𞤅𞤫𞤲𞤫𞤺𞤢𞥄𞤤𞤭 (Senegaali); Arabic: السنغال ''As-Sinighal'') officially the Republic of Senegal,; Wolof: ''Réewum Senegaal''; Pulaar : 𞤈𞤫𞤲𞤣𞤢𞥄𞤲𞤣� ...

ese artists, such

Youssou N'Dour Youssou N'Dour (, wo, Yuusu Nduur; also known as Youssou Madjiguène Ndour; born 1 October 1959) is a Senegalese singer, songwriter, musician, composer, occasional actor, businessman, and politician. In 2004, ''Rolling Stone'' magazine describe ...

, began to incorporate Njuup into their works Unlike Njuup, which is religious, Mbalax is party music. All Mbalax artists are strongly influenced by the Njuup tradition. Senegalese artists who specialize in Mbalax include

Mbaye Dieye Faye Mbaye Dieye Faye (born 1 October 1960) is a singer and a Senegalese percussionist. Overview Mbaye Dieye Faye is a singer and percussionist in Senegal. Although patrilineally from the noble Serer Faye family, he was born to a modest family of g ...

, and Thione Seck.

History

Influence

See also

References

Further reading