Seyni Awa Camara
Seyni Awa Camara was a Senegalese sculptor from the Jola ethnic group. She was born in Oussouye, Senegal, and resided in Bignona, where she worked with clay creating statues that range from 30 cm to 2.4 m tall.
Background
Seyni Awa Camara's father, a man named Sousou, was originally from Guinea and moved to Ziguinchor. Her mother, a woman named Sereer, was from Oussouye, Ziguinchor Region, Senegal, where Camara was born c. 1945. It is unknown how many siblings she had, although it is known that she was the only daughter of her family.According to Michèle Odeyé-Finzi, a sociologist, at the age of 12 Camara, alongside her brothers, wandered into the woods. After being lost for four months, she and her brothers returned within days of one another, each holding the same sculpture. Both Camara and her brothers claim during their time in the woods, God taught them how to make statues and sculptures such as the ones they brought home with them. In contrast, Moustapha Sall, an anthropologist, states that Seyni learned from her mother's practice of pottery as a child. Fatou Kandé Senghor, a Senegalese film director who knew Camara for several years and interviewed her, also agrees with this narrative, stating that the mystical tale of Camara being lost is a made-up narrative to appeal to White people who might buy Camara's work.
She was married to Samba Diallo until his death. Diallo had multiple wives, as his Islamic faith, which Camara shared, permitted. Those wives had children, but Camara struggled with child-bearing and did not produce any biological children.
Camara died on 26 January 2026, at the age of 81.