Western Senegal welcomes the rain with an ancient hunt
Serer men hope to bring rain to Senegal with a centuries old hunt believed to protect the community, reports Africanews and agencies on July 16th.
On July 13th Ndiaye Ndiyae a district in Fatick, hosted its annual hunt for the 723rd time. As well as bringing the rain, the hunt, Miss de Diobaye, is also meant to trigger the start of the farming season.
The hunt is a tradition of the Serer ethic minority group in Senegal and participation is limited exclusively to Serer men who have completed the initiation rites.
The saltigue, a traditional seer predicts which animal must be hunted to bring the rain, a day before the event. Initiated men participating in the hunt are the only ones the saltigue shares this information with.
“We chase the animals on motorbikes” and “when we’re 100 metres from the animal, we shoot at it and sometimes we hit it head-on” says Ousseynou Laye Diobaye who has participated in seven Diobaye hunts.
When the men return from the hunt they are met with a martial procession with drums and chanting. Pistols are fired to ward off evil spirits.
Sobel Dione, an anthropologist specialising in Serer culture says “the Miss is a moment of catharsis, a violent purification of space, entrusted to the youngest men”. Hunters then dance with family in front of religious leaders and state officials.
The hunt is said to have begun when a seer prophesied a drought overtaking the district at the time would cease if hunters killed a specific animal. When the animal was successfully hunted, Ndiaye Ndiaye received heavy rainfall and the harvest that year was plentiful.
The Miss de Diobaye has had to adapt several times over its centuries long lifetime. The method of hunting has moved with the invention of motorbikes. Ousseynou Ndour, a 56 year old resident says “In the past we walked barefoot through the bush, without guns”.
Additionally, climate change has affected the hunt with shorter periods of rainfall occurring each year. This shift marks a change in the timing of the hunt but Dione says the tradition has “the capacity to evolve”.
Mamour Diaw, a 19 year old man said the hunt is “a source of pride for me to represent my community and take part in the culture”.
Africanews plus agencies, Maghrebi.org
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