Senegal

Senegal is located on the western tip of Africa. Senegalese place great social importance on their ethnic, kin, and religious affiliations, especially in rural areas, although there is also a national identity. Senegalese society is hierarchical and communal, with prescribed rules governing social behavior. Social, economic, and cultural networks play a key role in social welfare and development as well as in recreational activities.

Senegalese society is comprised of more than 20 ethnic groups, the largest and most dominant of which is the Wolof. There are also sizable French and Lebanese populations. There is a sense of national identity and little ethnic conflict, with the exception of a rebel insurgency against the Islamic majority among the Diola peoples of the Casamance region. Traditional kinship networks remain important determinants of social structure, although urbanization and migration for educational and economic opportunities have separated families. In rural villages, extended kin networks traditionally live clustered together in compounds, with social support and the socialization of children seen as [Page 770]communal responsibilities. Kal, a form of relationship based on joking, helps maintain harmony between kin and ethnic groups.

A new clean-water pump connects people in Carabane, where people no longer have to import water from the mainland.

Senegalese are predominantly Muslim, with many belonging to three key Muslim brotherhoods of the Mourides, the Tijaniyya, or the Qadiriyya. The Mourides was able to gain control of land through socialist reforms that allowed the federal government to offer land to groups committed to its development, which has led to criticism. Orthodox Muslim religious teachers known as Marabouts also hold social and political importance. Christianity and indigenous religions are also practiced, and many Senegalese blend different faiths. Important traditional religious leaders include healers known as Jabaran-kat, who people turn to when they fear witchcraft. Traditional practices also include coming-of-age initiation rituals and circumcision, although female circumcision (genital mutilation) is increasingly controversial. Senegalese society is communal in nature, with many villages containing common social areas known as pencha. Greetings are governed by elaborate social rules. Traditional social values include respect, known as kersa, etiquette, known as tegin, and hospitality, known as terranga. Traditional rural societies often initiate boys into secret societies who are thereafter required to aid one another, maintain group social norms, and punish nonconformists. Traditional society consisted of a hierarchical caste system. An elite class remains but is based on modern markers of social status such as business success, educational attainment, real estate and business investments, the French language, Western material possessions and lifestyle, and the ability to travel abroad or send their children to overseas universities. Social outcasts include lepers, beggars, street children, and thieves.

Informal social networks based on kin, friendship, ethnicity, religion, or neighborhoods, as well as nongovernmental organizations (NGOs), provide important social welfare services. Groups that have organized include women, farmers, and students. Issues addressed include human immunodeficiency virus and acquired immune deficiency syndrome (HIV/AIDS) women's health and employment opportunities, rural school construction, irrigation projects, female genital mutilation, violence against women, and increased alcohol and drug use. Rising crime rates have resulted in urban vigilante mobs.

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