Existenseness without existence

Introduction

The Grand Magal is the annual festival of the Mourides, an important Muslim brotherhood in Senegal. It takes the form of a pilgrimage to the holy place of the brotherhood, the town of Touba which contains the Mausoleum of Cheikh Amadu Bamba (1850-1927), the founder of Mouridism (1883), a Sufi order. The Grand Magal brings together hundreds of thousands of devotees each year, or even as many as two to three million according to some observers. Touba and the tomb of the Cheikh is thus the symbolic centre of the brotherhood. The stewards of this holy site almost all of whom are Baye Fall, soldier-monks devoted to Amadou Bamba and distinguished by their Rasta-style appearance and dreadlocks. Baye Falls are young men with some women in general having a specific material and spiritual preferential system. They are fully– almost fanatically- devoted to their marabouts, religious leaders whom they consider sacred and mystical. This devotion is without border. Many of them dedicate their lives, their skills and capacities to the marabouts.