June 24, 2011
Inside the Tata
People praying at the mosque
What’s so special about Islam that over 90% of people are Muslims in Senegal despite the fact that the land was once colonized by France, in which Christianity is more prevalent?
Today, we had a class on Senegalese religions in the morning and in the afternon we went to Grande Mosque de Dakar on Tata(one of public transportations in Senegal)
When we got there, people were hurrying into the mosque for the prayer but men and women entered the mosque through two different doors. To me, it seemed contradictory to see because one of the basic mottos of Islam is equality. Muslims pray five times a day starting 5 in the morning and the last one at 8:30 at night.
June 25, 2011
As weird as it sounds, although over 90% of people are Islam in Senegal, Christianity coexist without any problems. The Keur Moussa Monastery is one of the well-known monastery in Senegal. The monastery is self-sufficient, which means that they grow and produce their own food that's needed within the monastery. Anyone is welcome to join the monastery to become a monk but for a person to become a monk, he needs to spend at least about 10 years until he can take a final vow to become a real monk. After first two years at the monastery, a person can decide whether he wants to continue or not and if he chooses to not come back there is no pressure on him to return to the monastery. Keur Moussa is also famous for its Kora workshop. A kora is a traditional Senegalese string instrument made of cow skin and calabash. At the workshop, the monk in charge showed us how to play and also the scientific aspect of Kora making. The pitch of each string on Kora varies depending on the tension between the string and the bridge. The sound of Kora is very similar to that of Harp but just smaller and easier to carry to places. Unlike muslims who pray 5 times a day, the monks pray seven times a day and have two mass. Similar to the chapel we went on the first day, the chapel at Keur Moussa also had the paintings of African saints on the wall. I guess I have to google this as soon as I get home to find out why there are paintings of African saints and no Asian saints!!
June 25, 2011
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| Kora |
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| the chapel |
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| Lunch at the monestery |
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| Pamplemousse made in Keur Moussa |
As weird as it sounds, although over 90% of people are Islam in Senegal, Christianity coexist without any problems. The Keur Moussa Monastery is one of the well-known monastery in Senegal. The monastery is self-sufficient, which means that they grow and produce their own food that's needed within the monastery. Anyone is welcome to join the monastery to become a monk but for a person to become a monk, he needs to spend at least about 10 years until he can take a final vow to become a real monk. After first two years at the monastery, a person can decide whether he wants to continue or not and if he chooses to not come back there is no pressure on him to return to the monastery. Keur Moussa is also famous for its Kora workshop. A kora is a traditional Senegalese string instrument made of cow skin and calabash. At the workshop, the monk in charge showed us how to play and also the scientific aspect of Kora making. The pitch of each string on Kora varies depending on the tension between the string and the bridge. The sound of Kora is very similar to that of Harp but just smaller and easier to carry to places. Unlike muslims who pray 5 times a day, the monks pray seven times a day and have two mass. Similar to the chapel we went on the first day, the chapel at Keur Moussa also had the paintings of African saints on the wall. I guess I have to google this as soon as I get home to find out why there are paintings of African saints and no Asian saints!!
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