Islam in Africa 
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| Title: | 'In the name of God I will sing again, Mawdo Malik the Good': Popular music and the Senegalese Sufi 'tariqas' |
| Author: | McLaughlin, Fiona |
| Year: | 2000 |
| Periodical: | Journal of Religion in Africa |
| Volume: | 30 |
| Issue: | 2 |
| Pages: | 191-207 |
| Language: | English |
| Geographic term: | Senegal |
| Subjects: | marabouts Sufism African religions religious songs popular music Religion and Witchcraft Peoples of Africa (Ethnic Groups) Architecture and the Arts music |
| External link: | https://www.jstor.org/stable/1581800 |
| Abstract: | In recent years a new genre of popular song devoted to the praise of marabouts or Sufi leaders has emerged on the musical horizon in Senegal. As a form of popular expression, the ultimate role of these songs is to provide a commentary on religious leadership. Sufi popular song may take the form of a panegyric, exalting the spiritual qualities of a marabout, or it may extend equally to criticism of inappropriate conduct on the part of a religious leader. As such, the Sufi popular song mirrors other genres of creative expression that offer critiques of Senegalese Islam, and specifically the role of the marabout, including folktales, literature, films, and murals. This shows the extent to which creative discourse in Senegal addresses Islam, revealing the central role that the Sufi 'tariqas' and their leaders play in all forms of cultural expression. Finally, as an experimental form in which the delineation of the sacred and the secular is negotiated through intertextuality and intercontextuality, the Sufi popular song illustrates how artistic expression can shape a society's experience of religion. Bibliogr., notes, ref. |
