Between Prayers: the Life of a West African Muslim Dianna Bell
Total Page：16
File Type：pdf, Size：1020Kb
Florida State University Libraries Electronic Theses, Treatises and Dissertations The Graduate School 2013 Between Prayers: The Life of a West African Muslim Dianna Bell Follow this and additional works at the FSU Digital Library. For more information, please contact [email protected] THE FLORIDA STATE UNIVERSITY COLLEGE OF ARTS AND SCIENCES BETWEEN PRAYERS: THE LIFE OF A WEST AFRICAN MUSLIM By DIANNA BELL A Dissertation submitted to the Department of Religion in partial fulfillment of the requirements for the degree of Doctor of Philosophy Degree Awarded: Spring Semester, 2013 Dianna Bell defended this dissertation on March 1, 2013. The members of the supervisory committee were: Joseph Hellweg Professor Directing Dissertation Michael Uzendoski University Representative Adam Gaiser Committee Member Peter Garretson Committee Member The Graduate school has verified and approved the above-named committee members, and certifies that the dissertation has been approved in accordance with university policy. ii For Hamidou Samaké iii ACKNOWLEDGEMENTS Carrying out ethnographic research depends on the kindness and support of an array of people at different stages of the project. I offer my deepest gratitude to Joseph Hellweg for his unfaltering guidance and encouragement through each stage. Joseph oversaw the early design of this research, read and edited funding proposals, counseled me before my move to Mali, visited me in Ouélessébougou during my fieldwork, and closely guided me through the writing process after my return to the United States. Profound thanks also goes to my other committee members, Adam Gaiser, Michael Uzendoski, and Peter Garretson for offering their time, interest, and input to this project. I extend my gratitude to Bourama Samaké and Kadja Ballo and all of their somɔgɔw, especially Yirigoi and Djègèni, for their hospitality and full inclusion in their lives and family. Special thanks to J’aime, who tirelessly transcribed my interviews by hand in Bamanankan and Miriam for washing my clothes each week, as well as those who worked near Amadou and me, namely Koniba, Lamine, Fulabougouni Dugutigi, Sedou, Karimou, and Miriam, for the friendship and tea. Also, my appreciation to Joe for breaking from his own research demands to visit me in Mali. I am very lucky to have family and friends who have encouraged me to pursue my educational goals. I thank my parents and sister, Shannon, for their personal support and for helping me manage my affairs while in the field. I especially thank my father, Jim, for voluntarily reading and editing drafts of each chapter and for his enthusiasm for my research in Mali. Thank you to Yeah and Marissa Samaké for their friendship and support during my time in Mali. I also wish to thank Susan Stetson, Susan Minnerly, Jon iv Bridges, and Andrew Watson for their administrative assistance, especially during the fieldwork phase of this project. The Center for the Advancement of Human Rights at Florida State University financially supported preliminary field research for this project in 2010. Thank you to Terry Coonan, the executive director of the Center, for encouraging the research. I am grateful for the International Dissertation Fellowship Program at Florida State University, which provided financial support for my fieldwork in 2011. Lastly, my love and thanks to Amadou, for trusting me with his past and including me in his present and future. v TABLE OF CONTENTS LIST OF FIGURES .......................................................................................................... vii ABSTRACT....................................................................................................................... ix CHAPTER ONE ................................................................................................................. 1 Understanding Religious Life and Baraji through Life History ..................................... 9 Fula and Mande Ethnicity in Ouélessébougou.............................................................. 21 Orthography .................................................................................................................. 29 Project Methodology..................................................................................................... 30 Project Outline............................................................................................................... 47 CHAPTER TWO .............................................................................................................. 49 Early Fula Conversion................................................................................................... 50 Nineteenth Century Fula Jihads .................................................................................... 52 Islam in Ouélessébougou .............................................................................................. 59 Religious Leadership among Muslims in Ouélessébougou .......................................... 65 Currents of Islam in Ouélessébougou ........................................................................... 71 Doctrine of Baraji among Muslims in West Africa...................................................... 76 CHAPTER THREE .......................................................................................................... 85 Conclusion................................................................................................................... 127 CHAPTER FOUR........................................................................................................... 128 Conclusion................................................................................................................... 176 CHAPTER FIVE ............................................................................................................ 178 Conclusion................................................................................................................... 217 CHAPTER SIX............................................................................................................... 219 Conclusion................................................................................................................... 255 CHAPTER SEVEN ........................................................................................................ 258 REFERENCES ............................................................................................................... 264 BIOGRAPHICAL SKETCH .......................................................................................... 281 vi LIST OF FIGURES Figure 1: Amadou Diallo crafting a rope at his usual workplace ....................................... 2 Figure 2: Koniba Doumbia works repairing watering cans for a community garden ........ 7 Figure 3: Location of Ouélessébougou............................................................................. 22 Figure 4: Yirigoi washes her young grandson with an elixir she prepared to instill courage in him......................................................................................................................... 35 Figure 5: Amadou Diallo’s home and courtyard .............................................................. 38 Figure 6: Fula jihad states in West Africa, c. 1830........................................................... 56 Figure 7: Exterior of the largest mosque (misiriba) in Ouélessébougou.......................... 64 Figure 8: Yacouba Traoré consulting an Arabic text during an interview ....................... 78 Figure 9: Artistic depiction of a subaga (Drawing by Laye Doumbia)............................ 99 Figure 10: Mosque located in the center of Npièbougou’s Fula district......................... 103 Figure 11: Amadou Diallo and me visiting Amadou’s favorite childhood swimming hole in Npièbougou ......................................................................................................... 107 Figure 12: In 2011 Amadou visited Npièbougou and examined his family’s herd, which was then cared for by Daramani’s grandsons.......................................................... 135 Figure 13: The various forms of West African amulets ................................................. 145 Figure 14: (L –R) Koniba, Amadou and me during a typical workday in 2011............. 162 Figure 15: Amadou picks berries from fruit tree he formerly frequented while herding in Ouélessébougou’s forest as a young man................................................................ 174 Figure 16: Amadou’s wife, Nouhouba Bagayoko, in 2011 ............................................ 188 Figure 17: The 1,127-kilometer one-way route Amadou routinely walked from Bamako to Monrovia ............................................................................................................. 193 Figure 18: The interior of Fousseyni’s eclectic shop...................................................... 224 vii Figure 19: Amadou (center) sitting among town elders and Muslim leaders and studying the Qur’an during a posthumous sacrifice............................................................... 231 Figure 20: Amadou demonstrates raising his hands to his ears for a call to prayer ....... 235 Figure 21: A group of slender cattle enter a forest on the outskirts Ouélessébougou for grazing ..................................................................................................................... 247 Figure 22: Muslim women in Ouélessébougou participate in a special prayer meeting