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Wednesday, September 16, 2015

Senegal, Cool Facts #67

<= 66. Madagascar                                                                                               68. Burkina Faso =>



1. Dakar Rally

Between the years 1979 and 2007 the famous Dakar Rally started from Paris, France and ended in Dakar, Senegal. In 2008 the event was cancelled because of the terrorism threats in Mauritania, through which the route passed in the rally. Since 2009 the Dakar Rally has been organized in South America.  There are four competitive groups in the rally: motorbikes, quads, cars and trucks.




2. Serer Religion

The Serer people comprise almost 15% of the 13 million strong population. In Senegal 92% of the population are Muslims, but the Serers resisted islamization over 1000 years and just recently  the Serers have started converting into Islam or Christianity.

Some of the Muslim festivals in Senegal have been borrowed from Serer culture like: 

Tobaski
Gamo
Koriteh
Weri Kor

The universal supreme deity of the Serers is called "Roog".

In Serer Religion there is no heaven or hell. They believe in reincarnation and the immortality of the soul.

Serer cosmogony, the three worlds: 1. the invisible world 2. the terrestrial world 3. the nocturnal world


3. Africa's westernmost country

Senegal is the westernmost country in the African continent and the capital, Dakar, is the westernmost point in the continent.
If you include the islands then Cape Verde would be the westernmost country in Africa.


Dakar
4. Casamance conflict

The Casamance conflict is a low-level civil war in Senegal. The problem is the discontent by the Jola people in Casamance region towards the Wolof led country. Casamance is connected to East Senegal but it's separated from the north by Gambia. The Jola feel like Dakar, the capital reaps most of the profit made in Casamance, which produces most of Senegal's food, rice and cotton. The majority of the population are Muslims, but in Casamance people are either Christians or Animists. The fights started in 1982 and currently there is a unilateral ceasefire. The bloodiest years were between 1992-2001.




5. No Coups !

Senegal is a really exceptional country in Africa, because during the independence there has been no military coups like in so many other African countries. After the elections, the power has shifted peacefully respecting the voting results. Despite being the peace mediator in Africa, Senegal hasn't managed to solve its own civil war. 

Macky Sall, Senegalese president since 2012

Timeline

700-800 Kingdom of Ghana is the first organized state operating in Senegal 
1300s The Wolofs separate from the Kingdom of Mali 
1400s The Portuguese, Dutch, French and British arrive at Senegal 
1758 The British defeated the French trade posts and established the colony of Senegambia 
1783 Treaty of Versailles, after which the French returned their rule in the area 
1886 The last Wolof king, Lat Dior is defeated 
1895 Senegal was attached to the French West Africa
1958 Senegal got autonomy
1959 Senegal and French Sudan was merged into Mali Federation 
1960 Mali Federation became independent, after 2 months the federation ended and Senegal became a separate country from French Sudan which adopted the name Mali and the flag 
1981 A coup attempt in Gambia was prevented with Senegalese troops 
1989 Gambia left from the federation with Senegal 
1998 Senegal sent troops to Guinea-Bissau to prevent the smuggling of weapons to the rebels of Casamance in Senegal 
2000 The socialist party lost for the first time
2004 Truce after fighting 20 years the civil war 
2009 The fightings erupt again

Sources:
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Senegal
Maailman maat liput ja historia by Kimmo Kiljunen
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Casamance_conflict

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