The Traditional Lebou Conception of Jinns & the N'Deup Healing Ceremony

I had read about the n'deup ceremony while still in Carmel Valley. It was, I learned, a form of trance healing, in which jinns, or genies, were exorcised from patients suffering with forms of mental illness by n'deup masters, consistent with the traditional animistic view of the Lebou.

Last fall, while exploring local history, my sixth grade class met with Mr. Omar Gueye, a Lebou historian widely recognized for his expertise. He was very impressive, demonstrating an encyclopedic recollection of names, dates, and events in the history of the Lebou migration from the Near East to the Cap Vert Peninsula.

Almamy and I met with Omar yesterday morning at his home in Yoff. He had agreed to share his knowledge of jinns, rabs, tuur, and the n'deup ceremony. You can listen to extended excerpts of the interview here:

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We will meet again in two weeks with the aim of visiting locales around Yoff and the Dakar peninsula associated with jinns. I have offered my help with Omar's aim of publishing a history of the Lebou. He is retiring in several months, and plans to devote much more time to the task of recording and sharing what he's learned. This may lead to a rich collaboration in my final year in Senegal.

Omar has also offered to set-up a meeting with the individual who leads the n'deup ceremony, a woman who was chosen by the jinn of the Lebou community to serve her. Making sense of this requires a good deal of cultural context and explanation. For the time being, I refer you to the following on-line references, most translated from the French:

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Needless to say, herein is the richness of living and working in West Africa, and the source of a great mystery.