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‘We are all the same, because we all Worship God.’ The Controversial Case of a Female Saint in the Gambia

Published online by Cambridge University Press:  03 March 2011

Marloes Janson
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Abstract

Based on ethnographic field research, this article explores religious discourses about proper ritual observance in The Gambia, a country where our understanding of processes of Islamization is largely lacking. These discourses centre upon the case of Berekuntu, a shrine guarded by a female saint in the village of Kartong. On the basis of three ‘texts’, the female saint's biographical narrative, a series of sermons delivered by reformist scholars, and a newspaper article based on an interview with the Supreme Islamic Council, the article shows that shrine and saint veneration are not relics of the past, but are part of a lively contemporary dispute about ‘authentic’ Islam and who represents it. While reformist Muslims seem to have conquered the public sphere during the last decade under the influence of President Jammeh's rule, the Sufi understanding of Islam, as embodied by the saint, still enjoys great support among the Gambian population. Although ‘reformists’ and ‘Sufis’ seem at first sight to be diametrically opposed, they sometimes borrow from each other. An analysis of the (re)negotiation of Muslim identities indicates that Islamization is not a single monolithic movement but, rather, a diffuse process happening at different levels.

Résumé

À partir de travaux ethnographiques menés sur le terrain, cet article examine les discours religieux sur la bonne observance rituelle en Gambie, un pays dont on connaît très mal les processus d'islamisation. Ces discours se concentrent sur le cas de Berekuntu, un tombeau gardé par une sainte dans le village de Kartong. Se basant sur trois textes, à savoir le récit biographique de la sainte, une série de sermons délivrés par des savants réformistes et un article de journal basé sur un entretien avec le Conseil islamique suprême, cet article montre que le tombeau et la vénération de la sainte ne sont pas des vestiges du passé, mais font partie d'une controverse contemporaine animée concernant l'islam ≪authentique≫ et son (ou ses) représentants. Alors que les musulmans réformistes semblent avoir conquis la sphère publique au cours de la dernière décennie sous l'influence du régime du Président Jammeh, l'interprétation soufie de l'islam, telle qu'incarnée par la sainte, continue de jouir du soutien important de la population gambienne. Bien que les réformistes et les soufis semblent à première vue diamétralement opposés, il leur arrive de s'emprunter mutuellement. Une analyse de la (re)négociation des identités musulmanes indique que l'islamisation n'est pas un simple movement monolithique, mais plutôt un processus diffus survenant à différents niveaux.

Type
Research Article
Information
Africa , Volume 76 , Issue 4 , November 2006 , pp. 502 - 525
Copyright
Copyright © International African Institute 2006

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