The Mosque at Touba

On Monday we went to the holy city of Touba to visit the Mosque and see a bit of the city. It was refreshing to get out of Senegal and experience another cultural aspect of the country. The bus ride was about 2 1/2 hours to Touba, and about 4 hours back, but it was worth it.


Touba is the holy city for Mourides, a large Islamic Sufi order that is very large here in West Africa. Today they are known as a brotherhood, and their leader was named Sheikh Amadou Bamba. (I included a picture of him on the right). There are pictures of him all throughout Senegal. He was famous for opposing the French conquest of West Africa by protesting peacefully, working hard for the Mouriddes, and studying the Qur'an instead of submitting to the colonial systems. His tomb is near the mosque, and his descendents and close disciples are buried on the grounds as well.





I really enjoyed visiting the mosque because of the beautiful architecture and details of the buildings. The main buildings were completed in 1963, and have since been added to about every ten years.

As we drove into the city on our white school bus (which we have now named the "Toubab Bus"), the road leads us straight through the town to the mosque.




In fact, the entire layout of the city is based on a sun, with the mosque and the center and all the streets "radiating" out from the center. I thought it was pretty cool. The population is almost entirely muslim, and when we exited the bus, we were told that we had to remain covered up when entering the grounds in respect to the locals.


When you enter the grounds, you are supposed remove your shoes in respect to the holy people that are burried there and to the holy ground which the mosque was built upon. It was very hot the day we visited Touba, around 95°. The stone (or marble) that was used was something imported from Italy that is resistant to heat, so it wasn't unbearable walking around on the stone. Although the mosque does not have air conditioning, it was surprisingly cool inside.
The buildings include a main square one in the middle where worshippers are called to pray five different times a day. People come and wash their hands, faces, and feet with sacred water that arrives from a spring near the town. On Fridays, everyone comes to pray at the mosque during the afternoon around 2:00, and the guide told us that they open the doors at 10:00 and the whole place is full by noon.


Here is a picture of our group in front of the mosque. All the women had to wear long skirts that covered their ankles (no pants, because that is too masculine) and shawls to cover their head and shoulders. I borrowed a shawl from one, of my roommates, but for those who did not bring something to cover up with, the mosque provided wraps that looked pretty heavy.





Our tour guide took us inside the temple to show us the various rooms for praying and meditating. In most of the areas, there is a seperate place for men and women to pray. When all the worshippers gather on Friday, then men are placed at the front of the room and the women at the back. At first I thought that this was totally unfair, but the guide explained that it was for modesty.
During prayer, everyone bends over at the waist and lowers their head in prayer, then kneels on the ground and touches their forehead to the ground in front of them. This makes a little more sense, and I was glad to have someone who was culturally sensitive and knowledgable to provide answers to our questions.








In Islamis teachings, the depiction of animals and people are commonly avoided because these beings are seen as sacred. Therefore, the designs consist mainly of plants and organic designs. Symmetry is a common theme as well, both in the art and in the architecture. In this detail you can seen flowers and vines on the celing. The whole process happened in four parts:


1. Masons came and layered cement/plaster on the surface where the design was to be made
2. Artists drew out designs on surface
3. Artists carved out designs from surface
4. Artists painted designs using paint made from a mixture of plants, roots, water, and local resources





Many of the artists were from Italy and Moracco, which I found very interesting as well.
So, our first program excursion went very well and Im excited for the next one this weekend. Hope you all are doing well and I really appreciate the emails and messages! Wish you all were here!