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Social Representation of Ndut or Traditional Initiation Among Seereer

Language, Literature and Culture
Vol.2 , No. 2, Publication Date: Jun. 11, 2019, Page: 88-92

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Authors

[1]	Daouda Ngom, Department of Linguistics and Language Sciences, Faculty of Arts and Social Sciences, Cheikh Anta Diop University of Dakar, Dakar, Senegal.

Abstract

This article sheds light on the perception of the seereer universe people through a cultural demonstration which is specific to them: the Ndut. It also tries to reinforce the literary and anthropological knowledge on the Seereer ethnic group in general, the oral literature in particular. It provides an ethnographical documentation on this Seereer ritual practice, starting from the age of circumcision to the stay in the box of man by considering the functioning of the Ndut ceremony and the other essential steps of the training of the circumcised boy in Seereer communities. This study particularly stresses on the social representation of this ritual for Seereer linguistic communities by analyzing the parameters of this rite from various angles: material, relational and emotional. The affective states noticed when the circumcised are on the point to join their traditional shelter (ƭiif) to the little forest (o njoc) are analyzed in connection with the participants’ views about the action. The esthetic dressing of the circumcised delivers an encoded message that requires a strong knowledge of the initiatory language for a right interpretation. The article provides a global analysis of these determining factors in the process of this initiatory traditional rite for the social passage of boys’ status to men’s one.

Keywords

Ndut, Seereer, Circumcision, Traditional Education, Initiation

Reference

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