African Diaspora 9 (2016) 77–99 brill.com/afdi Transnational Baye-fallism Transformation of a Sufi Heterodoxy through Diasporic Circulation* Ester Massó Guijarro Universidad de Granada [email protected] Abstract This article examines the transformation of the Baye-fall movement (Baye-fallism, henceforth), a particular form of Senegalese Muridism, as it extends into the Senegalese diaspora. In particular, the article explores shifts in understandings of what it means to be a ‘good’ Baye-fall, as Senegalese migrants in Spain become confronted with hostility in their new social context, and as the need for spiritual engagement and community belonging intensifies. Starting with the origins of Baye-fallism as a Sufi heterodoxy in Senegal, the paper then focuses on Senegalese migrants in Lavapiés (Madrid, Spain) and in Granada (Andalusia, Spain). The central argument is that in this diasporic context, adhesion to Baye-fallism becomes more intense, and that the performance of Sufi orthodoxy takes on new meaning, which also informs discussions about being a ‘good’ Baye-fall in Senegal. Keywords Baye-fall movement – Sufism – diaspora – Senegal – Spain * The research for this article was undertaken in the framework of the research project “Human Rights and Global Justice in the context of international migrations” (ffi2013–42521-p), funded by the Spanish Ministry of Science and Innovation in the National Plan for Research and Development and whose principal investigator is Juan Carlos Velasco Arroyo. I would like to thank Juan Antonio Estrada Diaz and Ubric Rabaneda Purification for the kind revision of the original manuscript as well as the invaluable work of Linda van de Kamp, which substantially and unreservedly improved it, and Hélène Neveu Kringelbach for her helpful comments. © koninklijke brill nv, leiden, 2017 | doi: 10.1163/18725465-00901007 Downloaded from Brill.com10/01/2021 11:10:17AM via free access 78 massó guijarro Résumé Cet article aborde le développement du mouvement Baye-fall, une forme particulière du mouridisme sénégalais, dans le cadre de la diaspora sénégalaise. Il traite plus spé- cifiquement de l’évolution du concept de ‘bon’ Baye-fall en tant qu’immigré séné- galais vivant en Espagne dans un climat d’hostilité grandissante, confronté à un besoin grandissant d’engagement spirituel. Abordant dans un premier temps les origines du Baye-fallisme, une secte soufie hétérodoxe du Sénégal, l’article examine dans un sec- ond temps les immigrés sénégalais de Lavapiés, un quartier de Madrid, et ceux de Grenade en Andalousie. L’article défend l’idée centrale selon laquelle l’adhésion au Baye-fallisme se renforce dans le contexte de la diaspora, donnant à la performance de l’orthodoxie soufie un sens nouveau, qui en retour influence les débats sur ce que doit être un «bon» Baye-fall au Sénégal. Mots-clés mouvement Baye-fall – soufisme – diaspora – Sénégal – Espagne Introduction: The Antinomy and Diaspora of Baye-fallism1 The primary objective of this article is to address the Baye-fall diaspora in Spain, especially because the number of Baye-fall in the country appears to be growing as part of the migration from Senegal to Spain. This will be dealt with as the discussion considers who is a Baye-fall, in particular who are considered to be “good” or “bad” Baye-fall in the urban areas of Senegal today, then the context of migration and the implications for the Murid Baye-fall diaspora in Spain. It is important to emphasize that the debate about being a good or a bad Baye-fall does not only appear in the literature, but is also referred to frequently in the conversations of Baye-fall migrants in Spain. Baye-fallism is a way of life, a holistic commitment to live life in all its dimensions; one can be “born” Baye-fall (“you’ve seen it since infancy in your family, your grandparents, you 1 This article is the result of the study of bibliographic and ethnographic sources. Empirically, it resides in ethnographic fieldwork developed intermittently from January 2011 to June 2013, primarily in Madrid (especially Lavapiés), but also in Alicante and Granada. Anonymity of sources has been respected at all times, especially since there were many cases of people with an irregular legal status. African Diaspora 9 (2016) 77–99 Downloaded from Brill.com10/01/2021 11:10:17AM via free access transnational baye-fallism 79 have lived it with your parents … and you also want to live this devotion,” according to a Baye-fall; Madrid, 5/2/2011). In particular, you can become or be inclined towards Baye-fall through substantial physical and spiritual work, and this choice implies an existential dimension that deals with many facets of life (“One can make a choice to be Baye-fall … it doesn’t have to be inherited through family. It depends on what each person feels”; Granada, 28/05/2013). This is therefore fertile ground for debates about moral education and that there are a variety of ways to consider yourself, or be considered by others, a “good” Baye-fall.2 In the context of the diaspora, with many non-Baye-fall Sene- galese young people joining the movement after migrating due to its cohesive force and emotional pull, the practice of Baye-fallism has acquired a particular character. On the one hand, we have found an appeal for genuine orthodoxy,3 including the usual Islamic prohibition on drinking alcohol but combined with “skipping prayers,” or the practice of not doing the five demanded prayers daily coupled with fierce criticism of the “bad Baye-fall” who smoke cannabis on the streets. On the other hand, we have found Baye-fall who drink alcohol and use drugs, and claim a powerful faith in Allah, and that precisely such a state of altered consciousness is what allows one to “feel” connected in this way. The Baye-fall community consists of an internal branch within the Muri- diyya,4 a Sufi Muslim brotherhood of Senegalese origin, and today a global diaspora, which has a distinctive idiosyncrasy. Baye-fall have been defined, interpreted, named, worshipped, and condemned in many ways. Its members, originally followers of Sheikh Ibrahima Fall, the right-hand man and personal 2 Regarding the use of the very term “Baye-fallism” instead of “Baye-fall people’s attitudes” for instance, it constitutes a certain form of semantic construction that combines “Baye-fall” with the suffix “ism” – in its Latin meaning of “substantive form,” meaning “attitude” indeed. Thus, the use of Baye-fallism here is not about the belief in a set of clearly articulated principles and practices geared toward fulfilling collective objectives and which set adherents apart from the Muridiyya. In other words, Baye-fall people see themselves as a sub-group within the Muridiyya. 3 Throughout this article, I adopt the terms “heterodoxy” and “orthodoxy” (or “tradition”) from my interlocutors but see them as socially constructed. I do not consider in any way that a more “straight” interpretation (a more Islamic one) of being Baye-fall, which is called “orthodox,” is more or less pure than the one called “heterodox.” 4 Regarding the Muridiyya as an Islamic Sufi order, already in itself unorthodox in its Muslim practice, Iniesta Vernet (2009: 33) sums it up as the opposition or the contrast between “the Daara of the sheiks and daʾwa of the young people trained in the modern rigours of Saudis and Libyans.” See also Costa Dias (2009). African Diaspora 9 (2016) 77–99 Downloaded from Brill.com10/01/2021 11:10:17AM via free access 80 massó guijarro servant of Ahmadou Bamba,5 are primarily charged with manual work in the brotherhood (cooking and cleaning during the Magal6 celebration, for exam- ple).This manual work in turn partially frees them from praying or studying the Quran as other Murids do, as if the path to liberation and piety were through physical work. But on the other hand, they also perform intense religious trance rituals and call themselves “the most Murid amongst all the Murid,” the most authentic and devoted. They perceive themselves to be like Ibrahima Fall, the closest to their master, the most courageous and pious. They follow their own esoteric path – “the way of the heart,”7 which they see as more profoundly Sufi than the other, non-Baye-fall Murid. A significant number of Baye-fall work in dahiras – associations or guilds in which the Murid brotherhood is organized globally, and are often urban and/or transnational in scope8 – during their diasporic journey precisely in order to overcome religious practice through physical effort – as if this physical tasks substitute in some manner the spiritual dedication. However, the non- Baye-fall Murids often perceive the Baye-fall as excessively relaxed with respect to certain Islamic duties, using work as an excuse for not needing to do the five daily prayers. In fact, as said, some Baye-fall not only declare themselves partially exempted from the five daily prayers, but often also drink alcohol and smoke hashish habitually, all of which is forbidden by the Quran. Even their clothing is heterodox compared to other Murids, such as the frequent wearing of dreadlocks, which has stimulated comparative studies between 5 “Baye-fall” literally means “father Fall,” being the usual way that they affectionately address each other. 6 The Magal is the major Murid religious celebration par excellence, which often involves a collective meal or dinner and, above all, a homage to a specific religious leader. These events (places-moments, known as Gueye) are essential for developing the charisma of such leaders (Gueye 2009: 105). They are often linked to key dates in the Muslim calendar, but even these dates are often modified and refined according to the Murid calendar.