A Search for the Heart of West Africa 1

The so-called voice with which these blog entries are composed varies widely, as if written by different personalities.  Some are studious and probing;  others are more journalistic, reporting events, as a travelogue;  others are just plain silly, a spoof, clever and a little manipulative.  One person, multiple voices:  it is a psychological reality that we are, in fact, a multiple, despite our common use of the personal pronoun "I".  This is not a new idea, and does not fall into the realm of the psychopathology;  it is the reality of our highly complex, interactive natures.

This entry is the first in a series that aim to approach the core that underlies West African culture.  

There are assumptions that frame this work.  First, I assume that core beliefs are manifest through traditional forms, readily available here in Dakar:  traditional medicine;  fetish, juju, and the practice of what we in the West associate with magic;  a particular form of fetish, called the gris-gris, used to ward off evil;  and the role of the marabout, or spiritual teacher.   

Today, a small group of us are heading into Dakar on what I've termed the Magical Mystery Tour, visiting the Mali Market, Sandaga, and the Medine, guided by Almamy B., about whom I'll write more later.  I'm in search of individual vendors of medicine, incense, and fetish, with whom I might strike up a conversation, who might be willing to share their expertise with this interested toubab (white) North American over a longer period.

I do not come to this exercise empty-handed, as it were.  I have a frame of reference, from a long interest in related ideas:  the power of the mind, as manifest through belief and prayer, placebo, and psychogenic states produced through hypnosis and mediation.   

I am aware that we as beings are readily susceptible to suggestion, imagination, and magical thinking;  we are beings of habit, conditioning, and imitation;  and we tend to be passive, reactive, responding through patterns of association, in thought, feeling, and movement.

It is with this context that I begin this exploration. 

I'm searching neither for the Truth, nor a guru.  Rich religious traditions are available at home. I am very interested in applying my training and experience to this cultural context, if applicable.  I welcome being surprised, if not shocked, slapped in the face.  This is part of the accepted risk.  I, too, am fragile.  But whether my fragility stems from my susceptibility to suggestion (juju as entirely psychological), or something external, material (juju as an independent energy capable of being transfered, for good or ill), or both, is of great interest.  It's perhaps like visiting the haunted house as a kid.  What could be more terrifying than the images conjured by our own imaginations?  

The approach here is more in the vein of classic participant-observer anthropological research, rather than a spiritual search for a Teacher, though I expect they'll overlap.

I'd like to make all this public, through writing, given the constraints of time, energy and access.  I also appreciate that knowledge is shared according to one's level of being and demonstrated commitment to the teaching.  This, too, will limit what I can learn.  I'm here for a relatively short time;  signposts work for me.