I S I M NEWSLETTER 8 / 0 1 Features 7

Production of Knowledge SOPHIE BAVA The Dahira

Mouridism is a contemporary Sufi religious move- ment originating in at the end of the 19t h century. Its founder, Ahmadou Bamba, was exiled several times by the colonizers, who saw the between Marseille movement as a danger to their enterprise. Initially trained in prayer and in working in the fields in the d a a r a1 and pioneers in the cultivation and sale of groundnuts in Senegal, the Mouride t a a l i b é s ( d i s c i- ples) became great merchants. The drought of the and Touba 1970s led them to organize new economic activities, notably those related to commerce, initially in The Mouride religious practices (recitations of the k h a s s a ï d e s, z i k h r Marseille and with the future of their chil- and later in the cities to which they migrated. e n t e r p r i s e sessions, organization of Mouride events dren. For them, the d a h i r a must provide a The Mouride economic enterprise that such as the m a g a l festival, receiving , means through which their children can re- Today Mouride migrants, found all over the was organized in various countries is the etc.), towards social monitoring of the Sene- main informed about Mouridism and world, lead a transnational commercial net- point of departure of yet another enterprise galese in France and towards the possibility through which they can maintain ties with work that is linked to the brotherhood net- – a religious one – which de-localized and of having a place to meet and exchange their culture – thus a simultaneously reli- work (Mouridiyya) they transport to each city recomposed itself according to the fluidity goods, the d a h i r a today – while maintaining gious and cultural space that will remain of migration. The latter is executed by the of migrants and their migratory routes. their original functions – are increasingly should they (the parents) return to Touba. founding of d a h i r a.2 Circulating amongst These Mouride merchants in migration becoming cultural places: places where one They know many people in the local society several territories, these migrants transport stimulated both the constitution of places can transmit the history of Mouridism and and have always maintained links between knowledge and religious experience. A vital of worship abroad and the elaboration of the translated texts of Sheikh Ahmadou the Mouride d a h i r a and the local authorities question to be dealt with is how this knowl- decentralized (i.e. with respect to Touba) rit- Bamba to younger generations born in when the organize events. They edge actually circulates and how it is recom- uals. While the central authority of the France, to converts or to non-Mourides. In reproached the ‘old’ Mourides for not hav- posed between the local societies of the brotherhood is constantly called upon, the this framework, the youth (students in ing done so and for always speaking in places of migration and the holy city of initial initiative came from the migrants France) often take charge in debates on Wolof. They feel that in the face of this new T o u b a . themselves and from their need to maintain Mouridism and politics, Mouridism and sec- mission sent from Touba, the words of the a bond (spiritual and material) with the holy ularism, the commentaries of the k h a s s a ï d e s future president of the federation best ex- The birth of an economic city of Touba. Today the migrants readily of Sheikh Ahmadou Bamba, Mouridism on press their views: ‘We should not fight Mouride territory transmit the religious and social knowledge the internet and other social issues, allow- against one another, that is what I told them The history of Marseille and the Sene- proper to Mouride migrants in Marseille to ing for the transmission and popularization [the ‘old’ Mourides]. Now we have to unite galese migrants is a very old one, dating their children and to the new t a a l i b é s. of Mouride religious thought. for an international cause and especially for back to the Senegalese infantrymen and sea- In recent years, only the major events have the children who are their future’. men who were generally recruited by mar- Evolution of the Marseille- remained a unifying force for the Mouride For the t a a l i b é migrants of Marseille, even itime companies during World War II. The T o u b a d a h i r a migrants in Marseille. The influx and number if they are capable of being here and there central quarters of Marseille were where the The Marseille-Touba d a h i r a ,3 found at the of Senegalese migrants have decreased, and at the same time, those who have their fam- Mouride Senegalese merchants were to set- centre of the small islet of Belsunce, was re- a power struggle between generations and ilies with them are more or less anchored in tle in the 1960s and 1970s. Here they joined ferred to by the Senegalese in the 1980s as over social and religious status has begun to France, mainly because of their children. the retired seaman and infantrymen, and the the ‘Darou Salam’ of Marseille.4 This d a h i r a play a role. According to the initiators of the The question is one of adapting the Mouride recently arrived African labourers, a situation was the result of one group of Mouride mer- d a h i r a, who are younger but more educated: religious system in such a way that the mi- that offered the merchants a base for their chants anxious to have one central place for ‘The elders only dealt with the prayers and grants are accepted as much by the Mou- c o m m e r c e . p r a y e r ,5 a place at which they could also the readings of the k h a s s a ï d e s,8 but the rest ride hierarchy as by the mayor of Marseille. The majority of the Senegalese migrants gather to organize debates, meetings, and was not well organized.’ The current problem of the migrants is the arriving in Marseille during this period were dhikr s e s s i o n s ,6 host passing , After an incident in the organization of a difficulty in giving sense to their migration, merchants who alternated between ambu- hold the m a g a l ,7 and exchange both mater- visit by Sérigne Mourtada Mbacké in Sep- that is, in integrating the global Mouride re- lating sales during the tourist season and ial and spiritual goods. The d a h i r a, a simple tember 2000, the members of the d a h i r a ligious project with the migrant culture and labouring in the textile factories of Marseille room in an apartment, was created in the found themselves mandated by the brother- their dynamic, mobile way of living their re- during the low season. These merchants, liv- early 1980s. Every Sunday evening the mer- hood to provide better organization. If this ligion with their local reality. ing between a mobile and sedentary exis- chants ritually united for prayer. The young was not obeyed, the sheikh would never tence, comprised the great majority. During merchants who had initiated the project come again. Sérigne Mourtada is the son of the 1980s some of them became whole- conferred the management of the d a h i r a, Sheikh Ahmadou Bamba and brother of the salers or (immobile) merchants, furnishing after a few generation-conflicts but also be- current caliph, and the fact that he circulates N o t e s their more mobile colleagues with merchan- cause they were too mobile, to the eldest of between the different cities of migration 1 . A d a a r a is a Maraboutic agricultural community in dise. It is thus that a network was organized the Mourides, who considered themselves makes him a sort of guarantor of the conti- which one learns the Qu’ran in addition to amongst cities in Europe, Africa, and later the most legitimate for the task. nuity and legitimacy of the various spaces working in the fields. America and Asia. Within these economic During the last 30 years in France, these invested by members of the brotherhood. 2 . The dahira is an association that groups Mouride networks, in addition to the common affilia- structures of hosting t a a l i b é s (the d a h i r a) disciples either on the basis of tion to the brotherhood, a logic can be deci- have changed. Not only have the spaces From the d a h i r a t o allegiances or on the basis of the location at which Taalibés a w a i t i n g phered in the circulation, the inter-relational been transformed, expanded, and modern- t h e f e d e r a t i o n they are found. Sérigne Mourtada and transnational network, and the relation- ized, their very functions have also evolved. Following these events, those who had 3 . In Marseille there is a central d a h i r a, the Marseille- at the train station ship between territories, juridical systems, While their services were originally directed created the d a h i r a decided to take affairs Touba d a h i r a, and other d a h i r a formed on the in Marseille. and other non-Mouride individuals. towards perpetuating the Mouride religious back into their own hands and to found a basis of Marabout allegiances. federation of all the d a h i r a in the south of 4 . Considered the most important Mouride village France. This implied 24 d a h i r a, which meant (outside of Africa) after Touba. The very fact that approximately 3000 people, the seat of this name is used indicates a way of expanding which would be in Marseille. The setting up Mouride territory by conferring a sacred meaning of the federation is very interesting to ob- to it. serve as we can witness negotiations be- 5 . In general, the Mourides prefer to pray amongst tween Mouride merchants and students, themselves at the d a h i r a rather than at the alone or with their families in France: in m o s q u e . short, groups that have neither similar plans 6 . D h i k r: lit. r e c o l l e c t i o n . for the future nor the same understanding 7 . M a g a l: festival that celebrates an important event of the brotherhood. in the brotherhood. The most important m a g a l The first are the oldest merchants, who commemorates the departure into exile of the live alone in Marseille and for whom the brotherhood’s founder, Sheikh Ahmadou Bamba, d a h i r a is a place that above all should allow and is accompanied annually by a pilgrimage. for the development of Sheikh Ahmadou 8 . K h a s s a ï d e s: poems authored by Sheikh Ahmadou Bamba’s work abroad and comprise a link B a m b a . with the holy city of Touba, but should also be a place worthy of hosting Mouride This article is an extract of a paper given at the ISIM events. For them, leaving a legacy in France in April 2000. is of utmost importance, even if they focus strongly on Touba. Sophie Bava is a Ph.D. candidate in the religious The others are those at the origin of the anthropology of urban migration at the EHESS of d a h i r a who brought their families over, and Marseille, France. who are preoccupied today with settling in E-mail: [email protected]