Serer religion
The Serer religion or Serer spirituality, is the original religious beliefs, practices, and teachings of the Serer people living in the Senegambia region in West Africa. The Serer religion believes in a universal supreme deity called Roog. In the Cangin languages, Roog is referred to as Koox, Kopé Tiatie Cac, and Kokh Kox. Doctor of ethnology and lecturer in ethnosciences, Professor Simone Kalis writes that:
The Serer people are found throughout the Senegambia region. In the 20th century, around 85% of the Serer converted to Islam, but some are Christians or follow their traditional religion. Despite resisting Islamization and jihads for almost a millennium, having been persecuted for centuries, most of the Serers who converted to Islam converted as recently as the 1990s, in part, trying to escape discrimination and disenfranchisement by the majority Muslim groups surrounding them, who still view the Serers as "the object of scorn and prejudice."
Traditional Serer religious practices encompass ancient chants and poems, veneration of and offerings to spirits, Serer initiation rites, folk medicine, divination, and preservation of Serer history, culture, and identity which includes forbidding mixed-marriages, and preserving one's sexual purity until marriage – a practice that is strongly adhered to by the Serer-Noon, where the consequence of breaking this custom could mean being sentenced to celibacy for the rest of one's life.
Beliefs
Divinity
The Serer people believe in a supreme deity called Roog and sometimes referred to as Roog Sene. Serer tradition deals with various dimensions of life, death, space and time, ancestral spirit communications and cosmology. There are also other lesser gods, goddesses and supernatural spirits or genie such as the fangool Mendiss, a female protector of Fatick Region and the arm of the sea that bears her name; the god Tiurakh – god of wealth, and the god Takhar – god of justice or vengeance. Roog is neither the devil nor a genie, but the "Lord of creation".Roog is the very embodiment of both male and female to whom offerings are made at the foot of trees, such as the sacred baobab tree, the sea, the river, in people's own homes or community shrine, etc. Roog Sene is reachable perhaps to a lesser extent by the Serer high priests and priestesses, who have been initiated and possess the knowledge and power to organise their thoughts into a single cohesive unit. However, Roog is always watching over its children and always available to them.
Divinity and humanity
In Serer, Roog Sene is the lifeblood to which the incorruptible and sanctified soul returns to eternal peace after they depart the living world. Roog Sene sees, knows and hears everything, but does not interfere in the day-to-day affairs of the living world. Instead, lesser gods and goddesses act as Roog's assistants in the physical world. Individuals have the free will to either live a good and spiritually fulfilled life in accordance with Serer religious doctrines or waver from such doctrines by living an unsanctified lifestyle in the physical world. Those who live their lives contrary to the teachings will be rightfully punished in the afterlife.Ancestral spirits and saints
Ordinary Serers address their prayers to the pangool as they are the intermediaries between the living world and the Divine. An orthodox Serer must remain faithful to the ancestral spirits as the soul is sanctified as a result of the ancestors' intercession between the living world and the Divine. The pangool have both a historical significance as well as a religious one. They are connected to the history of the Serer by virtue of the fact that the pangool is associated with the founding of Serer villages and towns as a group of pangool would accompany village founders called "lamane" as they make their journey looking for land to exploit. Without them, the lamane exploits would not have been possible. In the religious sense, these ancient lamanes created shrines to these pangool, thereby becoming the priests and custodians of the shrine. As such, "they became the intermediaries among the land, the people and the pangool".Whenever any member of the lamanic lineage dies, the whole Serer community celebrates in honour of the exemplary lives they had lived on earth in accordance with the teachings of the Serer religion. Serer prayers are addressed to the pangool who act as intercessors between the living world and the Divine. In addressing their prayers to the pangool, the Serers chant ancient songs and offer sacrifices such as bull, sheep, goat, chicken or harvested crops.
Afterlife
The immortality of the soul and reincarnation is a strongly held belief in Serer religion. The pangool are viewed as holy spirit/saints, and will be called upon and venerated, and have the power to intercede between the living and the Divine. The Serer strive to live a righteous life so they can be accepted by their ancestors who have long departed. To be righteous, means one has the opportunity to enter Jaaniiw, to be able to reincarnate, and to intercede with the Divine. Being rejected by the ancestors upons one's death means one become a lost and wandering soul. Serer spirituality rejects the notion of heaven and hell. In Serer spirituality, acceptance by the ancestors, and the ability to enter Jaaniiw so one can be closer to the Divine is as close to the notion of heaven. Being rejected by the ancestors is equivalent to hell. However, Serer spirituality rejects the notion of "hell fire". The soul's inability to enter Jaaniiw means that it cannot return to its purest and natural form, and peace. Thus, it won't be able to fly from Jaaniiw to ciiɗ, and return to earth for a new course of human evolution.Family totems
Each Serer family has a totem. Totems are prohibitions as well as guardians. They can be animals and plants among other beings. For example, the totem of the Joof family is the antelope. Any brutality against this animal by the Joof family is prohibited. This respect gives the Joof family holy protection. The totem of the Njie family is the lion; the totem of the Sène family is the hare and for the Sarr family is the giraffe and the camel.The secret order of the Saltigue
Both men and women can be initiated into the secret order of the Saltigue. In accordance with Serer religious doctrines, for one to become a Saltigue, one must be initiated which is somewhat reserved for a small number of insiders, particularly in the mysteries of the universe and the unseen world. The Xooy ceremony is a special religious event in the Serer religious calendar. It is the time when the initiated Saltigue come together to literally predict the future in front of the community. These diviners and healers deliver sermons at the Xooy Ceremony which relates to the future weather, politics, economics, and so on. The event brings together thousands of people to Holy Sine from all over the world. Ultra orthodox Serers and Serers who "syncretise" as well as non-Serers such as the Lebou people among others gather at Sine for this ancient ceremony. Serers who live in the West sometimes spend months planning for the pilgrimage. The event goes on for several days where the Saltigue take centre stage and the ceremony usually begins in the first week of June at Fatick.Holy ceremonies and festivals
|
Raan festival
The Raan festival of Tukar takes place in the old village of Tukar founded by Lamane Jegan Joof around the 11th century. It is headed by his descendants. The Raan occurs every year on the second Thursday after the appearance of the new moon in April. On the morning of Raan, the Lamane would prepare offerings of millet, sour milk and sugar. After sunrise, the Lamane makes a visit to the sacred pond – the shrine of Saint Luguuñ Joof who guided Lamane Jegan Joof after he migrated from Lambaye. The Lamane would make an offering to Saint Luguuñ and spends the early morning in ritual prayer and meditation. After that, he makes a tour of Tukar and perform ritual offerings of milk, millet and wine as well as small animals at key shrines, trees, and sacred locations. The people make their way to the compound of the chief Saltigue.Religious law
Day of rest
In Serer religion, Monday is the day of rest. Cultural activities such as Njom or "Laamb" and weddings are also prohibited on Thursday. Monday and Thursday are religious days. The Serers make offerings and libations to the pangool on Mondays and Thursdays. On Mondays, religious prayers and libations starts early during the day as it is a day of prayer, reflection, and family amongst the orthodox followers of the faith. In keeping with the societal aspect of the Serer "Jom" philosophy, family life such as meals, rest, and receptions takes place in the open air, and Serer dances and folk songs such as the njuup are organized every Saturday. The "Jom" is a Serer code of values which includes religious, societal, economic, political, and ecological values.Marriage
Courting for a wife is permitted but with boundaries. Women are given respect and honour in Serer religion. The woman must not be dishonoured or engaged in a physical relationship until after she has been married. When a man desires a woman, the man provides the woman gifts as a mark of interest. If the woman and her family accept, this then becomes an implied contract that she should therefore not court or accept gifts from another man whose aim is to court her.The Serer are an ethnoreligious group and nation, and forbids interfaith, interethnic and interracial marriages, and often marry amongst themselves for religious and cultural reasons―especially those who practice the faith. There are however, Serers who marry into the other Senegambian ethnic groups and faiths, but most often, they are either non-practicing Serers or have converted to the Abrahamic religions. In Serer tradition, banishment and disinheritance are just some of the punishments that could be levied on a Serer for marrying out. The Serer-Noon adhere strongly to these teachings. Described by David Boilat in his Sketches of Senegal as "the most beautiful black people... tall and beautiful posture... who are always well dressed, very strong and independent", the Serer-Noon are ultra-conservative and rarely marry out. They only tend to marry amongst themselves or with other Serers. In Serer society, marriage alliances are also formed between the Serer maternal and paternal clans. The "tokoor", the head of a Serer matriclan - who is usually the oldest male, tend to arrange marriages. For more on that, see Serer maternal clans.