Farewell to Oumar N'Galla Gueye 6.13

Gaucher and I visited with Oumar and his family last weekend, both to say goodbye and to chat little further about the n'doep ceremony and the provenance of the drum I've acquired with Oumar's help. The notes of that conversation follow.

From a western perspective, psychiatric disorders are categorized by type or syndrome, and catalogued in a manual called the DSM-IV.

But the Lebou traditionally have no such manual. All forms of so-perceived aberrant behavior are attributed to jinn or spirits. As a teaching colleague who grew up in Ziguinchor and Yoff reminded me yesterday, there is a very different worldview at work here, easily overlooked by the bias of my rational, scientific-centered, western mind.

I am very pleased to have contact with two authorities on the n'doep ceremony now, at a time, ironically, when I'm about to leave Senegal. It is equally ironic that while these two sources have very different frames of reference, they are both Lebou, friends, and neighbors in Yoff.

Dr. Omar NDoye is a psychiatrist at Fann Hospital and author of a book which I've just acquired, The N'Doep: Trance Therapuetic Healing Amongst the Lebou of Senegal. Fortunately, I've been able to contact him by email, though, unfortunately, he is out of the country, and our paths, at least in the near term, will not cross.

Dr. NDoye is just the person I'd hoped to find: a western-trained psychiatrist whose cultural roots are in West Africa, and thus, presumably, of two minds -- traditional and western. That he would be Lebou and from Yoff is remarkable. Hearing his perspective would be of great personal value.

The contact with Oumar N'Galla Gueye will continue through Gaucher, who is Lebou, resides in Yoff, and who plans to create a website devoted to Lebou history and culture.

CONVERSATION NOTES

Re N’Doep drum

Type of drum: Sabar bung-bung

Owner of drum: Ran M’Bey, born 1900 in village of Deng, close to Barney, grew up with uncle, Samba N’Daw Seck, in Yoff. Seck was the official grio in Yoff at the time, and his family continues to serve as official drumming for Yoff events, except for rab/tuur stuff.

Ran M’Bey family still responsible for N’Doep drumming in Yoff.

Common for sabar drums to be given names, more as tributes than ceremonial; this drum inscribed with M’Bey’s wife, Fat N’Dioye.

Re N’Doep ceremony

Douda Seck, from Yoff, consulted as a traditional healer on cases presented at Fann Hospital until his death.

Magget N’Bow (MN) has replaced him. She works closely with Bintun N’Diere (BD). NM is a sort of screener/triage, using divination (throwing shells) to diagnose a patient to determine cause and a recommended course of action, whether going on to consult with BD, or like recognized traditional community healer, and a simple, more commonplace sacrifice.

BD’s personal rab is Mame M’Bisaan, from her mother’s side; this rab is unique in being able to treat patients of all cultures.

MN & BD work in collaboration. BD always refers potential patients first to MN for screening. MN diagnoses, but does not conduct the healing, while BD does not diagnose but does heal.

While a patient is welcome to consult with anyone specializing in rab divination, BD prefers MN.

The three main types of divination include use of shells, sand, and the Koran. Many other methods exist.

It is good to check with several doing divination for confirmation of diagnosis and cause (as pact made with jinn in family history); if one knows this family hx already, one could go directly to BD, but is good to get confirmation.

MN can inform BD whether a tuur can be placed in the home of the patient, or should be situated in BD’s home; the tuur attracts the jinn, then a conversation may take place with the jinn to see what it wants. MN makes a recommendation of a course of action, whether the patient work it out themselves in their home, or seek a specialist, BD.

Not all jinn’s have a place to reside, some wander, and a tuur offers both room and board.

If a pact was signed with a jinn (this was more common historically when families sought their protection from malevolent jinns) and not respected, a sump might be created n the home.

A sump is an anchor for a jinn, then a tuur can be brought in to provide a home and food.

BD may construct a sump (the room) and a tuur (food); requires a specialist to do this, as does most jinn-related activities, because you’re treating not only a patient’s symptoms, but protecting future generations; the consequences require a specialist.

If one has a headache, might be prescribed a jinn incense called shay-tan (shey-tan is the name of a wicked jinn).

Sump only used in matters of possession, draws jinn within reach, then one can communicate with it; the jinn can still travel, but will eventually come home.

A jinn can be killed. Oumar shares story of someone who was able to do this for a neighbor.

If a person is possessed by a rab, then as a consequence is susceptible to sump; if a rab refuses to enter, then indicates there really isn’t a need.

A sacrifice always precedes a sump; the patient opens the mouth of a goat and speaks directly to the jinn, as: I am sick, and I am asking you (the jinn by name) to help me and my family heal, with God’s help.

The goat is then slaughtered, and the communication travels directly to the jinn.

Six items are required for the sump (each representing a part of the body of the jinn, as if you’re assembling the jinn):

1. 2 pounders, representing the feet of the jinn

2. a large ceramic calabash, representing the body of the jinn

3. a smaller ceramic calabash with plant roots (of a particular plant called djender, the same name of the oldest Lebou village, located neat Thies), representing the head and brains of the jinn; when one talks to the jinn, one speaks to this object

4. tel-lich = an intact gourd, representing the world of the jinn’s

5. toop = a gourd with two holes, representing the jinn house in that world (houses typically have more than one door, one to enter, one to exit)

6. ta-ch = a gourd with one hole, representing the jinn room in that house in that world

one speaks to the jinn only when in the ta-ch; if the jinn is in the toop, then one wait until it has moved into the ta-ch, with it’s one door.