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AEGIS European Conference on African Studies
11 - 14 July 2007
African Studies Centre, Leiden, The Netherlands
Sacred or Simulacrum? Tradition and Conflict Resolution in Senegal
| Panel |
13. Memory and Heritage in Post-conflict Societies
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| Paper ID | 681 |
| Author(s) |
Jong, Ferdinand de
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| Paper |
No paper submitted
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| Abstract | After more than twenty years of civil war in the Casamance region of Senegal, another peace agreement was signed on 30 December 2004. While the peace thus established is rather insecure, it was a major achievement for President Wade and various other parties involved in the peace process. Among the parties involved were “the women of the sacred groves,” an association organised around sacred groves. Local priest-kings were also involved in furthering the peace process. And at some occasions “traditional” performances authorised political meetings. Acknowledging the omni-presence of “tradition”, this paper looks into the various ways in which traditional authority was presented and represented in the peace process. Examining several secret ceremonies and public festivals performed in the period leading up to the peace agreement, this paper will argue that “tradition” is a product of colonial ethnography and Pan-African nationalism, and constitutes Senegal’s creolised heritage. As such, “tradition” should be acknowledged as a source of authority that legitimizes the political process in a postcolony bereft of any other legitimacy.
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