Saltigue


The Saltigue, are Serer high priests and priestesses who preside over the religious ceremonies and affairs of the Serer people, such as the Xooy ceremony, the biggest event in the Serer religious calendar. They usually come from ancient Serer paternal families, and the title is inherited by birthright. In Serer country, Saltigue are always diviners.

Etymology

In Serer, Saltigue and its spelling variations derive from two Serer words: "sal" and "tigui"; sal means "meeting point of two ways, place where one branch branches into two other branches. And by analogy, beam on which the roof of the hut rests." Tigui means "resting the roof of the hut." The combination of these two terms gave its name to "saltigue". The term is also reported to be of Serer origin meaning "soothsayer". In Serer society, the term is reserved for those who communicate with the invisible world.
In Mande, the term "Silatigi" is used, which according to Oumar Kane derives from the Mande term "sili" meaning road, and "tigi" meaning master or leader. Thus, in Mande, the "silatigi" is the one who leads the community in following the right path, physical or spiritual. The Fula borrowed the term from the Mande. Massing claim that, the Serer religious title Saltigue or Saltigi is etymologically linked to the Mande title Silatigi, whose usage he claim spread extensively across West Africa, including in Sine-Saloum.
In Serer society, the Saltigi/saltigue are the heirs of the ancient Serer lamanes. UNESCO, who have inscribed the annual Xooy religious ceremony into its List of Intangible Cultural Heritage of Humanity since 2013, a Serer religious ceremony which is presided over by the Saltigues, describes the Serer Saltigues as "master seers" and writes that:
Amongst the [Palor people|Serer Palor people], the term "Sili" or "Sili-Sili" is the name for their language, Palor, which is one of the Serer Cangin languages. In their language, "Sili" mean Serer.

Role of Saltigues in Serer society

The Saltigues were responsible for predicting the future of kings, the weather, any natural disaster or political catastrophe that could befall the country, etc. As such, they were frequently consulted by the Serer kings preferably at the beginning of the rainy season.
Before a king launched a war, he would consult the great assembly of Saltigues to predict the outcome of the battle.
The assembly of Saltigues would predict the outcome, offer precautionary advice on when to launch the attack, the route to take to the battlefield and the animals to be sacrificed, etc. The role of Saltigue was not political. They were not government ministers or politicians, but spiritual advisors and elders. They are the Serer "hereditary rain priests" – guardians of the Serer religion and customs, a birthright they inherited from their ancient Serer Lamanic ancestors.

Raan Festival

In the precolonial period, during the Raan Festival which takes place in Tukar annually on the second Thursday after the onset of the new moon in April, the kings attended the Festival, making their way from the capital of Diakhao. The king was extremely careful never to arrive before the Lamane and always avoided direct encounters with the Lamane of Tukar. Whilst the Lamane was busy meditating, touring Tukar and making offerings to the pangool, Lunguñ Joof, the Chief Saltigue and his associates drink sum-sum alcohol all morning before the Festival. It is reported that drinking sum-sum improves the Saltigue's vision of the future and the supernatural world. Having prepared himself sufficiently, the Saltigue and his close associates leave the house and mount their horses, then start their own tour of some of the sacred places of the country. The Saltigué's tour is programmed to follow the king, but ultimately to cross his path at a location known as "Nenem". In this location, the king, aware that the Saltigue is coming, stops the royal entourage. The king and the royal entourage must wait for the Saltigue and his companions to pass. After these high priests and priestesses have passed, the king then gives the signal to the royal entourage to pass as they proceed to their next destination. This is the kind of respect that is afforded to the Saltigue. The Raan Festival is precided over by the Joof family, descendants of Lamane Jegan Joof.

Some notable Serer Saltigues