Grand Magal of Touba

The Grand Magal of Touba is the annual religious pilgrimage of the Senegalese Mouride Brotherhood, one of the four tariqa (Islamic Sufi orders) of Senegal. On the 18th of Safar, the second month of the Islamic calendar, pilgrims gather in the holy Mouride city of Touba to celebrate the life and teachings of Cheikh Amadou Bamba, the founder of the brotherhood.[1]

The Great Mosque of Touba (Touba, Senegal)

The Grand Magal has been recognized as "one of the most popular pilgrimages in the world," with over 3 million participating in 2011.[2] The pilgrimage dates back to 1928 (one year after Bamba's death) and commemorates his 1895 exile to Gabon by the French colonial government.[3]

Etymology and history

"Magal" is a Wolof word derived from the verb "mag," which means "to be important" or "to be old"; the noun form is translated as "celebration" or "anniversary."[3] There are other Mouride magals annually, such as the Magal of Saint Louis, which commemorates a prayer performed by the saint in 1895 in defiance of colonial authorities.[4] However, the Grand Magal is the most important and widely attended of the Mouride magals. It is the largest celebration in Senegal, both religious and secular.[2]

The Grand Magal originates in a request of Cheikh Amadou Bamba's in which he asked that his followers celebrate the anniversary of his exile to Gabon.[1] However, after the Cheikh's death in 1927, his son and successor Serigne Moustapha Mbacke organized the first Mouride gathering on the anniversary of his death rather than his exile (the first of these early Magals occurred in 1928, with an estimated participation of 70,000).[3] This date remained until 1946, when Serigne Moustapha Mbacke's successor, Falilou Mbacke, changed the date of the Magal to the anniversary of Bamba's exile, in accordance with the Cheikh's original wishes.[1] The period of exile in Gabon holds great importance to Mourides: it is seen as a time of persecution and testing of Bamba's spiritual strength and resolve.[5]

The Grand Magal has grown over the years, from hundreds of thousands of pilgrims attending in the later decades of the twentieth century to nearly 2 million in 2000 and over 3 million in 2011.[1][6] The event is televised, with coverage in part serving the Mouride Brotherhood's proselytizing mission; video cassettes of the Magal are sold domestically and internationally as well.[7]

Dates of the Grand Magal

The date of the Grand Magal is determined by the Islamic calendar (known as the Hijri calendar), which is based on the lunar year. Each year, the events of the pilgrimage begin on the 18th of Safar and last for two days. Because the Islamic calendar is lunar and the Islamic year is about eleven days shorter than the Gregorian year, the date for the Grand Magal changes from year to year. Thus, each year in the Gregorian calendar, the pilgrimage starts eleven days (sometimes ten days) earlier than the preceding year. This makes it possible for the pilgrimage season to fall twice in one Gregorian year, and it does so every 33 years, most recently in 2013. The Grand Magal of 2017 will begin on November 7, 2017 (with the small possibility of a one-day error).[8] The table below shows the Gregorian dates of the Grand Magal of recent years:

Year	Date (Gregorian calendar)
2011	22 January
2012	12 January
2013	1 January, 21 December
2014	11 December[9]
2015	1 December[10]
2016	19 November[11]
2017	9 November[12]
2018	27 October[13]
2019	17 October[14]
2020	6 October[15]
2021	26 September[15]
2022	14 September[15]

Rites and rituals

The Grand Magal is at once a ceremony and a festival, containing both religious rituals and entertainment. "No other event in Senegal, religious or secular, attracts as much attention", writes Villalón;[16] it is "anticipated for weeks and generates a general effervescence."[4] The rites of the pilgrimage bear similarities to those of the Islamic Hajj pilgrimage to Mecca: the two central events of the Magal are visits to the Great Mosque of Touba, which involves a partial circumambulation of the mosque,[1] and to the mausoleum of Cheikh Amadou Bamba, which is believed to be infused with the barakah, or spiritual power, of the Cheikh. Pilgrims pray with outstretched hands and touch the walls and doors of the mausoleum, and some drop coins inside the area around the tomb, which is fenced off.[17] They may wait for over six hours for a few minutes of prayer at these locations.[3]

Pilgrims also visit the mausoleums of other important Mouride leaders, many of whose tombs are located near the mosque. Other common sites to visit include the "Well of Mercy," said to have been created by God to flow for Cheikh Amadou Bamba, and the central library of Touba, which contains the many writings of the Cheikh and other influential Mourides.[1] Lastly, pilgrims visit their personal Mouride spiritual guides, or marabouts. Each prominent Mouride marabout has a residence in the city from which he accepts visits. During the night, pilgrims gather to sing Arabic poetry (or qaṣāʾid) written by the Cheikh.[2]

There is also a political dimension to the Grand Magal, in which the most prominent Mouride leaders - including the head of the Brotherhood, or Caliph General (currently Serigne Sidy Mokhtar Mbacké[18]) – grant audiences to official government delegations and others of political importance. The tradition has roots in the colonial period, when it was created to defuse tension and demonstrate mutual recognition between the powerful Mourides and the French colonial government.[3]

Informally, pilgrims also visit Touba's renowned marketplace, one of the biggest in the country. Because of the minimal government presence in the city (due to its religious character), business is conducted with little state regulation or oversight; a wide range of products can thus be found with prices lower than those of any other market in Senegal.[3]

Logistics and facilities

The large number of pilgrims in Touba during the Grand Magal demands an intense degree of organization and logistical management. Traffic jams and road accidents are common as heavy crowds descend on Touba each year; during the November 2016 Magal, 16 people were killed and 572 injured while travelling to the pilgrimage, according to the lieutenant-colonel of the National Fire Brigade.[19]

In Touba, workers must act with a high degree of discipline, solidarity, and single-mindedness. The Mouride Baye Fall sect are the principle drivers of this effort and provide much of the logistical manpower.[1] Additionally, different local associations of Mourides (called da'iras) are responsible for maintaining different pilgrimage sites[3] and residents of Touba house and feed the pilgrims.[20] The Senegalese government also provides some technical support, although this is generally kept to a minimum due to the religious nature of the event and site. In 2014, 1300 policemen and 160 healthcare workers were deployed to Touba during the Magal, and the army gave out bread rolls and coffee.[9]

Preparations for the pilgrimage begin officially on 1 Safar each year, seventeen days prior to the pilgrimage, and are led by the Committee of Organization of the Grand Magal of Touba.[21]

Special health measures were planned for the October 2020 pilgrimage because of the COVID-19 pandemic in Senegal.[22]

International presence

By the late 1970s, significant numbers of Mourides were living abroad;[23] this presence has only grown with the intensifying globalization of the past decades. Community associations of disciples, known as dahiras (a Wolof term derived from the Arabic word for "circle"), have arisen in many international cities with robust Mouride communities: in 2011, researchers found 47 cities across western Europe and 16 cities in North America with active Mouride dahiras.[23] According to Ross, "Murid dahiras abroad are intended as both extensions of, and conduits to, the holy city itself" and they organize celebrations of the Grand Magal annually.[23]

In these gatherings, the singing of sacred Mouride poetry and watching of televised footage from Touba is especially important, as these practices connect expatriate Mourides to their spiritual brethren in Touba.[2] With the organizational support of the dahiras, the Grand Magal and can now be accurately characterized as a truly global phenomenon.[23]

References

1. Bava, Sophie; Gueye, Cheikh (September 1, 2001). "Le grand magal de Touba: exil prophétique, migration et pèlerinage au sein du mouridisme" (PDF). Social Compass. 48 (3): 421–438. doi:10.1177/003776801048003008. ISSN 0037-7686.
2. Dang, Christine Thu Nhi (June 3, 2013). "Pilgrimage Through Poetry: Sung Journeys Within the Murid Spiritual Diaspora". Islamic Africa. 4 (1): 69–101. doi:10.5192/21540993040169. ISSN 2154-0993.
3. Coulon, Christian (January 1, 1999). "The Grand Magal in Touba: A Religious Festival of the Mouride Brotherhood of Senegal". African Affairs. 98 (391): 195–210. doi:10.1093/oxfordjournals.afraf.a008007. JSTOR 723626.
4. De Jong, Ferdinand (2010). "Remembering the Nation the Murid Maggal of Saint-Louis Senegal (Mémoire de la nation. Les Maggal mourides de Saint-Louis, Sénégal)". Cahiers d'Études Africaines. 50 (197): 123–151. doi:10.4000/etudesafricaines.15810. JSTOR 29782748.
5. Abdour-Rahmane, Sam Bousso (2012). "Grand Magal de Touba: Dimension religieuse et sociale" (PDF). Archived from the original (PDF) on November 30, 2016.
6. "Senegal: helping lost children at the Magal in Touba - ICRC". www.icrc.org. February 20, 2012. Retrieved November 29, 2016.
7. Guèye, Cheikh (2003). "New Information & Communication Technology Use by Muslim Mourides in Senegal". Review of African Political Economy. 30 (98): 609–625. doi:10.1080/06. JSTOR 4007009.
8. "Islamic Date Converter, Hijri calculator | IslamicFinder". www.islamicfinder.org. Retrieved December 6, 2016.
9. Trichet, Thomas Delattre, correspondent in Dakar, Senegal, translated by Marie-Caroline. "The Grand Magal, Senegal's greatest pilgrimage". Le Journal International - Archives. Retrieved November 29, 2016.
10. "Senegal Bank and Public Holidays News Update". www.qppstudio.net. Retrieved November 29, 2016.
11. AnydayGuide. "Magal de Touba in Senegal / November 19, 2016". AnydayGuide. Retrieved November 29, 2016.
12. "Comité d'Organisation du Magal de Touba". magal-touba.org. Archived from the original on January 6, 2019. Retrieved October 1, 2018.
13. "Public Holidays Global". www.publicholidays.africa. Retrieved October 1, 2018.
14. "Public Holidays Global". www.publicholidays.africa. Retrieved October 1, 2018.
15. "Grand Magal of Touba in Senegal in 2020". Office Holidays. Retrieved September 14, 2020.
16. Villalón, Leonardo A. (1995). Islamic Society and State Power in Senegal: Disciples and Citizens in Fatick. Cambridge University Press.
17. Villalón, Leonardo A. (1994). "Sufi Rituals as Rallies: Religious Ceremonies in the Politics of Senegalese State-Society Relations". Comparative Politics. 26 (4): 415–437. doi:10.2307/422024. JSTOR 422024.
18. "Qui est qui : Serigne Sidy Mokhtar MBACKÉ – Mourides.info". www.mourides.info. June 22, 2016. Retrieved November 29, 2016.
19. Buchanan, Elsa (November 21, 2016). "At least 16 killed travelling to Sufi Muslim pilgrimage in Senegal town of Tuba". International Business Times UK. Retrieved January 13, 2017.
20. Editorial, Reuters. "Million Muslim pilgrims flock to Senegal's "Mecca"". Reuters UK. Retrieved January 13, 2017.
21. "Touba / Mbacké". www.magal-touba.org. Retrieved November 29, 2016.
22. SAKHANOKHO, Salif. "Magal de Touba 2020-Covid-19: les organes de presse se préparent à couverture médiatique pas comme les autres". PRESSAFRIK.COM , L'info dans toute sa diversité (Liberté - Professionnalisme - Crédibilité) (in French). Retrieved September 14, 2020.
23. Ross, E. (February 9, 2011). "Globalising Touba: Expatriate Disciples in the World City Network". Urban Studies. 48 (14): 2929–2952. doi:10.1177/0042098010391300.