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Culture of Senegal
Music
Further information: Music of
Senegal
Kora player from Senegal
Senegal is known across Africa
for its musical heritage, due to the popularity of mbalax, which originated
from the Serer percussive tradition especially the Njuup, it has been
popularized by Youssou N'Dour, Omar Pene and others. Sabar drumming is
especially popular. The sabar is mostly used in special celebrations like
weddings. Another instrument, the tama, is used in more ethnic groups. Other
popular international renowned Senegalese musicians are Ismael Lô, Cheikh Lô,
Orchestra Baobab, Baaba Maal, Akon Thione Seck, Viviane, Fallou Dieng Titi and
Pape Diouf.
Cinema
The cinema of Senegal is a
relatively small film industry which experienced its prime from the 1960s
through to the early 1980s, but has since declined to less than five feature
films produced in the last ten years
Media
Newspapers
See also: List
of newspapers in Senegal
The reading public for Senegal's diverse press is largely limited to Dakar and Thies. The
quasi-official Le Soleil is a daily newspaper. Other major popular independent
newspapers include the dailies Sud Quotidien, WalFadjri, Le Quotidien, Le
Matin, Le Populaire, Il
Est Midi, and the economic weekly Nouvel
Horizon. National newspapers are in French. English-language newspapers such as
the International Herald Tribune are also available at many newsstands.
Various trade organizations
publish bulletins and newsletters such as those of the Dakar Chamber of
Commerce and the periodical Entreprendre issued by the National Council of
Business Leaders.
Hospitality
Hospitality, in theory, is
given such importance in Senegalese culture that it is widely considered to be
part of the national identity. The Wolof word for hospitality is
"teranga" and it is so identified with the pride of Senegal that the national football
team is known as the Lions of Teranga.
Sport
Senegalese play many sports.
Wrestling and football are the most popular sports in the country. Senegal will host the 2022 Summer Youth Olympics
in Dakar, making Senegal the first African country
to host the Olympics.
Wrestling is Senegal's most
popular sport and has become a national obsession. It traditionally serves many
young men to escape poverty and it is the only sport recognized as developed
independently of Western culture.
Senegalese football fans at
the 2018 FIFA World Cup in Russia
Football is a popular sport
in Senegal.
In 2002 and 2019, the national team were runners-up at the Africa Cup of
Nations and became one of only three African teams to ever reach the
quarter-finals of the FIFA World Cup, defeating holders France in their first
game. Popular players for Senegal
include El Hadji Diouf, Khalilou Fadiga, Henri Camara, Papa Bouba Diop, Salif
Diao, Kalidou Koulibaly, Ferdinand Coly, and Sadio Mané, all of whom have
played in Europe. Senegal
qualified for the 2018 FIFA World Cup in Russia,
in Group H alongside Japan, Colombia, and Poland.
Basketball is also a popular
sport in Senegal.
The country has traditionally been one of Africa's
dominant basketball powers. The men's team performed better than that of any
other African nation at the 2014 FIBA World Cup, where they reached the
playoffs for the first time. The women's team won 19 medals at 20 African
Championships, more than twice as many medals as any competitor. When the
country hosted the 2019 FIBA Women's AfroBasket, 15,000 fans flocked to the
Dakar Arena which is registered as a record attendance for basketball in Africa.Senegal
was one of the continent's pioneers in basketball as it established one of
Africa's first competitive leagues.
In 2016, the NBA announced
the launch of an Elite's Academy in Africa, and more precisely in Senegal.
The country hosted the
Paris–Dakar rally from 1979 until 2007. The Dakar Rally was an off-road
endurance motorsport race which followed a course from Paris,
France, to Dakar, Senegal.
The competitors used off-road vehicles to cross the difficult geography. The
last race was held in 2007, before the 2008 rally was canceled a day before the
event due to security concerns in Mauritania.
Demographics
of Senegal
Languages
French is the official
language, spoken at least by all those who enjoyed several years in the
educational system that is of French origin (Koranic schools are even more
popular, but Arabic is not widely spoken outside of the context of recitation).
During the 15th century, many European territories started to engage in trade
in Senegal.
In the 19th century, France
increased its colonial influence in Senegal and thus the number of
French-speaking people multiplied continuously. French was ratified as the
official language of Senegal
in 1960 when the country achieved independence.
Most people also speak their
own ethnic language while, especially in Dakar,
Wolof is the lingua franca. Pulaar is spoken by the Fulas and Toucouleur. The
Serer language is widely spoken by both Serers and non-Serers (including President
Sall, whose wife is Serer); so are the Cangin languages, whose speakers are
ethnically Serers. Jola languages are widely spoken in the Casamance. Overall Senegal is home
to around 39 distinct languages. Several have the legal status of
"national languages": Balanta-Ganja, Hassaniya Arabic, Jola-Fonyi,
Mandinka, Mandjak, Mankanya, Noon (Serer-Noon), Pulaar, Serer, Soninke, and
Wolof.
English is taught as a
foreign language in secondary schools and many graduate school programs, and it
is the only subject matter that has a special office in the Ministry of
Education.[86] Dakar hosts a couple of Bilingual schools which offer 50% of
their syllabus in English. The Senegalese American Bilingual School (SABS),
Yavuz Selim, and The West African College of the Atlantic (WACA) train
thousands of fluent English speakers in four-year programs. English is widely
used by the scientific community and in business, including by the Modou-Modou
(illiterate, self-taught businessmen).
Portuguese Creole, locally
known as Portuguese, is a prominent minority language in Ziguinchor, regional
capital of the Casamance, spoken by local Portuguese creoles and immigrants
from Guinea-Bissau.
The local Cape Verdean community speak a similar
Portuguese creole, Cape Verdean Creole, and standard Portuguese. Portuguese was
introduced in Senegal's
secondary education in 1961 in Dakar
by the country's first president, Léopold Sédar Senghor. It is currently
available in most of Senegal
and in higher education. It is especially prevalent in Casamance as it relates
with the local cultural identity.
Aerial view of Yoff Commune, Dakar
A variety of immigrant
languages are spoken, such as Bambara (70,000), Kabuverdiano (34,000), Krio
(6,100), Mooré (937,000), Portuguese (1,700) and Vietnamese (2,500), mostly in Dakar.
While French is the sole
official language, a rising Senegalese linguistic nationalist movement supports
the integration of Wolof, the common vernacular language of the country, into
the national constitution.
Senegalese regions of Dakar, Diourbel, Fatick, Kaffrine, Kaolack, Kedougou,
Kolda, Louga, Matam, Saint-Louis,
Sedhiou, Tambacounda, Thies and Ziguinchor are members of the International
Association of Francophone regions.
Largest cities
Dakar, the capital, is by far the largest city in Senegal, with
over two million residents. The second most populous city is Touba, a de jure
communaute rurale (rural community), with half a million.
Religion
Religion in Senegal (2013)
Islam (95.9%),Christianity
(mostly Catholicism) (4.1%)
The Great Mosque of Touba; home of the Mouride Sufi
brotherhood, it is also one of the finest examples of Islamic architecture in
Africa.
Dakar Cathedral
Health
Life expectancy at birth was
estimated to be 66.8 years in 2016 (64.7 years male, 68.7 years female).Public
expenditure on health was at 2.4 percent of the GDP in 2004, whereas private
expenditure was at 3.5 percent. Health expenditure was at US$72 (PPP) per
capita in 2004.The fertility rate ranged 5 to 5.3 between 2005 and 2013, with
4.1 in urban areas and 6.3 in rural areas, as official survey (6.4 in 1986 and
5.7 in 1997) point out.There were six physicians per 100,000 persons in the
early 2000s (decade).Infant mortality in Senegal was 157 per 1,000 live births
in 1950., but since then it has declined five-fold to 32 per 1,000 in 2018.In
the past 5 years infant mortality rates of malaria have dropped. According to a
2013 UNICEF report.26% of women in Senegal have undergone female
genital mutilation.
Education of Senegal
Articles 21 and 22 of the
Constitution adopted in January 2001 guarantee access to education for all
children.Education is compulsory and free up to the age of 16.The Ministry of
Labor has indicated that the public school system is unable to cope with the
number of children that must enroll each year.
Illiteracy is high,
particularly among women.The net primary enrollment rate was 69 percent in
2005. Public expenditure on education was 5.4 percent of the 2002–2005 GDP.
Economy of Senegal
The economy of Senegal is
driven by mining, construction, tourism, fishing and agriculture, which are the
main sources of employment in rural areas, despite abundant natural resources
in iron, zircon, gas, gold, phosphates, and numerous oil discoveries recently. Senegal's
economy gains most of its foreign exchange from fish, phosphates, groundnuts,
tourism, and services. As one of the dominate parts of the economy, the
agricultural sector of Senegal is highly vulnerable to environmental
conditions, such as variations in rainfall and climate change, and changes in
world commodity prices.
The former capital of French West Africa, is also home to banks and other
institutions which serve all of Francophone West Africa, and is a hub for
shipping and transport in the region.
Senegal also has one of the best developed tourist industries
in Africa. Senegal's economy depends on
foreign assistance. It is a member of the World Trade Organization.
The main obstacles to the
economic development of the country are among others a great corruption with
inefficient justice, very slow administrative formalities, a failing education
sector.
Geography of Senegal
Climate
Senegal has a tropical climate with pleasant heat throughout
the year with well-defined dry and humid seasons that result from northeast
winter winds and southwest summer winds. The dry season (December to April) is
dominated by hot, dry, harmattan wind. Dakar's annual rainfall of about 600 mm
(24 in) occurs between June and October when maximum temperatures average 30 °C
(86.0 °F) and minimums 24.2 °C (75.6 °F); December to February maximum
temperatures average 25.7 °C (78.3 °F) and minimums 18 °C (64.4 °F).
Interior temperatures are
higher than along the coast (for example, average daily temperatures in Kaolack
and Tambacounda for May are 30 °C (86.0 °F) and 32.7 °C (90.9 °F) respectively,
compared to Dakar's 23.2 °C (73.8 °F) ),and rainfall increases substantially
farther south, exceeding 1,500 mm (59.1 in) annually in some areas.
In Tambacounda in the far
interior, particularly on the border of Mali where desert begins,
temperatures can reach as high as 54 °C (129.2 °F). The northernmost part of
the country has a hot desert climate, the central part has a hot semi-arid
climate and the southernmost part has a tropical wet and dry climate. Senegal is
mainly a sunny and dry country.
Economic impact of 2°C in Senegal
Climate change in Senegal will have wide reaching impacts on many
aspects of life in Senegal.
Climate change will cause an increase in average temperatures over west Africa
by between 1.5 and 4 °C (3 °F and 7 °F) by mid-century, relative to 1986–2005.
Projections of rainfall indicate an overall decrease in rainfall and an
increase in intense mega-storm events over the Sahel.The sea level is expected to
rise faster in West Africa than the global average.Although Senegal is
currently not a major contributor to global greenhouse gas emissions, it is one
of the most vulnerable countries to climate change.
Extreme drought is impacting
agriculture, causing food and job insecurity, since more than 70% of the
population being employed in the agricultural sector. Sea level rise and
resulting coastal erosion is expected to cause damage to coastal infrastructure
and displace a large percentage of the population living in coastal areas.
Climate change also has the potential to increase land degradation that will
likely increase desertification in eastern Senegal,
leading to expansion of the Sahara.
Politics of Senegal
Political culture
Currently, Senegal has a quasi-democratic political
culture, one of the more successful post-colonial democratic transitions in Africa. Local administrators are appointed and held
accountable by the president. Marabouts, religious leaders of the various
Muslim brotherhoods of Senegal,
have also exercised a strong political influence in the country especially
during Wade's presidency. In 2009, Freedom House downgraded Senegal's
status from "Free" to "Partially Free", based on increased
centralisation of power in the executive. By 2014, it had recovered its Free
status.
In 2008, Senegal
finished in 12th position on the Ibrahim Index of African Governance.The
Ibrahim Index is a comprehensive measure of African governance (limited to
sub-Saharan Africa until 2008), based on a number of different variables which
reflect the success with which governments deliver essential political goods to
their citizens. When the Northern African countries were added to the index in
2009, Senegal's 2008
position was retroactively downgraded to 15th place (with Tunisia, Egypt
and Morocco placing
themselves ahead of Senegal).
As of 2012, Senegal's
rank in the Ibrahim Index has decreased another point to 16 out of 52 African
countries.
On 22 February 2011, Senegal severed diplomatic ties with Iran, saying it
supplied rebels with weapons which killed Senegalese troops in the Casamance
conflict.
The 2012 presidential election
was controversial due to President Wade's candidacy, as the opposition argued
he should not be considered eligible to run again. Several youth opposition
movements, including M23 and Y'en a Marre, emerged in June 2011. In the end,
Macky Sall of the Alliance
for the Republic won, and Wade conceded the election to Sall. This peaceful and
democratic transition was hailed by many foreign observers, such as the EU as a
show of "maturity".
On 19 September 2012,
lawmakers voted to do away with the Senate to save an estimated $15 million.
In August 2017, the
ruling party won a landslide victory in the parliamentary election. President
Macky Sall's ruling coalition took 125 seats in the 165-seat National Assembly.In
2019 president Macky Sall easily won re-election in the first round.
Foreign relations
Senegal has a high profile in
many international organizations and was a member of the UN Security Council in
1988–89 and 2015–2016. It was elected to the UN Commission on Human Rights in
1997. Friendly to the West, especially to France
and to the United States, Senegal also is a vigorous proponent of more
assistance from developed countries to the Third World.
Senegal enjoys mostly cordial
relations with its neighbors. In spite of clear progress on other fronts with Mauritania (border security, resource
management, economic integration, etc.), an estimated 35,000 Mauritanian
refugees (of the estimated 40,000 who were expelled from their home country in
1989) remain in Senegal.
Senegal is part of the Economic
Community of West African States (ECOWAS). Integrated with the main bodies of
the international community, Senegal
is also a member of the African Union (AU) and the Community of Sahel-Saharan States.
Military
The Armed Forces of
Senegal consist of about 17,000 personnel in the army, air force, navy, and
gendarmerie. The Senegalese military force receives most of its training,
equipment, and support from France
and the United States.
Germany
also provides support but on a smaller scale.
Military
noninterference in political affairs has contributed to Senegal's stability since
independence. Senegal
has participated in many international and regional peacekeeping missions. Most
recently, in 2000, Senegal
sent a battalion to the Democratic Republic of Congo to participate in MONUC,
the United Nations peacekeeping mission, and agreed to deploy a United
States-trained battalion to Sierra
Leone to participate in UNAMSIL, another UN
peacekeeping mission.
In 2015, Senegal participated in the Saudi Arabian-led
military intervention in Yemen
against the Shia Houthis.
Law
Senegal is a secular state, as defined in its Constitution.
To fight corruption,
the government has created the National Anti-Corruption Office (OFNAC) and the
Commission of Restitution and Recovery of Illegally Acquired Assets. According
to Business Anti-Corruption Portal, President Sall created the OFNAC to replace
the Commission Nationale de Lutte Contre la non Transparence, la Corruption et
la Concussion (CNLCC). It is said that the OFNAC represents a more effective
tool for fighting corruption than the CNLCC established under former President
Wade.The mission of OFNAC is to fight corruption, embezzlement of public funds
and fraud. OFNAC has the power of self-referral (own initiative investigation).
OFNAC is composed of twelve members appointed by decree.
Homosexuality is
illegal in Senegal.[48] According to 2013 survey by the Pew
Research Center,
96% of Senegalese believe that homosexuality should not be accepted by society.LGBTQ
community members in Senegal
report a strong feeling of being unsafe.
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