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The concept of ndigël (the order or instruction) in line 15 is a central precept of the Murid belief system. It entails submission to one’s leader and scrupulous respect of his instructions.
Sheikh Ibra Fall (the founder of Baay-faalism, an offspring of Muridism that theoretically embodies the Murid work ethic) appears as the central symbol of submission to Bamba and the apostle of hard work (Robinson 1999:199). Murid sources emphasize the fact that Bamba regarded his own children as disciples and expected them to live by the ndigël.

It is for this reason that Bamba gave to Serigne Muhammadu Mustafa the ndigël to start the construction ofthe mosque of Touba, a task to which he devoted his entire life as the first Caliph of the Murid brotherhood. His performance in his mission is regularly discussed in the Murid Wolofal literature (as illustrated in this poem).

Figure 4: Excerpt 2 of the poem [here] Transliteration

1. Mu daaldi jóg woote tasaare baatam, di def di wax ba Bamba am tey mebetam

2. Bañam yi naa du sotti lee ka reelu, jooju jumaa du [h]am jarul wondeelu

3. Ndekete boobu buur yalla moom am ñuuy la, jumaa ju andak Bamba lii ak may la

4. Seex Mustafa jiseek tubaab bi siñe boŋ, ñu daaldi koy tampeel muriid yi defi raŋ

5. Tubaab bi daal ko ni li diy matarjeer, yi wara def jumaa ji ci lëggey bu wóor

6. Deesuko sëf gëléem te wata du ko mën, te ak saxaar amu fi, lee ma war man

7. Seex Mustafa daaldi jiseek siman da feer, ñu daaldi ko waxtaane mbir ma daaldi leer

8. Ñu daaldi koy náttal Jurbel ba Tuubaa, Sëriñ Mustafaay jambaari Sëriñ Tuubaa.

Literal translation

1. Then he (Mustafa) went out and spread his (Bamba’s) word. He worked on it and discussed it to Bamba’s satisfaction.

2. His opponents kept saying that the project would not succeed, that it was ridiculous, that that mosque will not stand, and deserves no attention.
 
3. But they did not know that Almighty God is the master of surprises, and that a mosque intended by Bamba is a blessing.

4. Sheikh Mustafa then met with the European and signed the order (bill/documents). They then stamped the documents, and the Murids lined up.

5. The French told him that the materials needed to build the mosque correctly

6. cannot be transported by a camel or a car, and there is no train here. That is my obligation (Mustafa replied).

7. Then Sheikh Mustafa went and met with the railway (agents), discussed the issue and sorted out everything.

8. Then they measured the distance between Diourbel and Touba for him10. Serigne Mustafa is Bamba’s hero.

The word tubaab in line 4 and 5 of the Wolof text is commonly used to refer to Europeans in Senegal. In this poem, the word specifically refers to the French. Similar to excerpt 1, this expert contains French loanwords: siñe boŋ from signer (un) bon [siɲe-(œ̃)-bɔ̃] (to sign a bill/order), tampeel from estamper [ɛstãpe] (to stamp), raŋ from rang [ʁã] (line/row), matarjeerfrom matériel [matɛʁjɛl] (material), [wata] a phonologically simplified abbreviation of voiture[vwatyr] (car), siman da feer from chemin de fer [ʃəmɛ̃-də-fɛʁ] (railway). As indicated earlier, such French lexical items were borrowed into Wolof to express the constructs that came along with the introduction of French culture in Senegal. However, while such words were borrowed from French, other words were coined in Wolof to express some new French artifacts. Such a coined word is saxaar in line 6 which means ‘smoke’ in Wolof, but is also used to refer to a ‘train’ due the smoke that early locomotives produce.

 

To be continued...

By S. Fallou Ngom

Fallou Ngom is Associate Professor, Department of Anthropology & Director of the African Language Program in the African Studies Center, Boston University.