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| Yoff, Dakar, Senegal |
The
N'DEP Ritual of Yoff, Dakar, Senegal
There
are some people who believe in two worlds: the :”human
world” and the “spirit world”. The human world is the world that we live
every day. It's tangible, factual and real. Things in the human world are
consistent, practical and often times provable. In
this world which we all know and embrace, most things are simple and clear - just as night and day. But, many
Westerners have not heard of the spirit world and most of those who have are
not able to conceptualize what it actually means therefore it is easily written
off and disregarded. The spirit world is and entire other world inside of our
own. Here, things are less tangible; ghost, spirits witchcraft, fetishes and
more. For most, the idea of a spirit world is quite preposterous and even
comical. But to their disbelieve, the spirit world is much more than beliefs
and superstitions - it's tradition, a lifestyle and a way to stay connected to
their ancestors. For those who believe, there's lot of respect and fear of this
world. I am convinced that those who don’t believe because continue to do so
because they chose not to understand.
In the village of Yoff, in Dakar, Senegal, I experienced the
spirit world with my own eyes for the first time. Previous to this experience,
I had had several encounters with friends and colleagues telling “stories” of the spirit world, but to
me, there were just that - stories.
My first night in Yoff, I was invited to an N'DEP by Djibi Mbaye,
my new friend who was a traditional Griot drummer. Griots are found throughout
West Africa and are essentially a member of a class or society who are poets, musicians
and/or storytellers and their purpose is to maintain the tradition and oral
history. Often times, most so historically, they are the lower and uneducated
class and it’s a profession passed from father to son. Djibi was to pick me up
at 22:00 - I didn't know what to wear, I didn’t know where we were going, I
didn’t what to expect. I clung to the one sentence of advice I received was
from and friend who had studied abroad a in the same area a few months before I
arrive: "Be ready for some crazy
shit." With empty hands, Djibi and I left my compound.
That night was the first night of the ritual of the N'DEP and it
was to continue for the rest of the week (5 days total), twice a day (once at
noon and once late in the evening). Our pace was slow but I was still sweating,
it was hot season and unless you engulfed yourself with air-conditioning, there
was no escaping the sweltering heat. As we wove through the narrow alleyways I
could feel the hot sand between my toes. Yoff was so close to the Atlantic
Ocean, it was nearly covered in sand. Suddenly, I could hear drums in the
distance. We followed suite. Soon we arrived to a circle type gathering of
about 30 people. Djibi took his place among the drummers and motioned for me to
sit on the bench with the other drummers. I was feeling insecure, clueless and
frankly a bit frightened but nobody seemed to pay attention to me. All of the
drummers were Griot and played together in some sort of "band" where
they are hired for various ceremonies such as an N'DEP or a SABAR. The size of
those watching began to get bigger and drumbeats became stronger. Women wearing
radiant colors and patters started dancing while they would give a kick and
cause sand to go everywhere. The atmosphere was tense and I could tell the
ritual was ready to begin.
Seven women with the same fabric but different styles of clothes
entered the corner from the crowd. I didn't know where they came from but a man
was following them. The women chanted in the microphone and danced around the
circle. At this point, my French was terrible and Djibi didn't speak English so
we weren’t able to really communicate. He leaned over to me and explained that
all of the women in the fabric had at one point been cured by an N'DEP, or at
least that’s what I got out of our broken French. Suddenly there was a cry from
the back and two young women, both looking to be about 20 years of age, appear
in the corner wearing darker pattered dresses and cowrie shelled headbands.
"Who's that?" I ask Djibi motioning towards the two
young girls. Before jumping into the next song he muttered, "Elles sont
malade dans le tete, elles ont besoin l’N'DEP” meaning: Those girls are sick in
the head, they need the N'DEP. And there it began.
The
N'DEP is a ritual of drums, dancing and singing and is used for what the Western
world might call a mental patient. The purpose of the ritual is to extract the “wrab” from the person who is sick. A wrab is a lost ancestral spirit who
sometimes possesses a person, often a young woman. The wrab attacks the person
with a physical or mental illness of any kind. Occasionally, there is even a
sacrifice, for example, a chicken, in addition to the N'DEP. The N'DEP is headed
by a female religious specialist sometimes know as a witch doctor. This is
preformed twice a day and between 3 -7 days to ensure full recovery and full
extraction of the spirit. This was all information I learned prior to my
experience but I thought I should share before continuing with my written
account of what I saw. Djibi’s friend explained to me that wrabs are more
dangerous during the day, especially if you are young woman. The wrab can seep
into your hair and you will become possessed just like that. Since the objective of the N'DEP to remove the evil
spirit, sometimes the spirits are expelled and look for another host to posses
right then and there. As she explained these details, she wrapped a bracelet of
cowrie shells around my hand. “These” she explained, “will protect you from
spirits and witchcraft.” Griot drummers are hired for these ceremonies because
the beats which they play remove the wrap. The witch doctor which prescribes
the ceremony often times will do a protective blessing for the drumming group
to ward off any bad spirits. These were all things I wish I had known before
hand but were useful for my research regardless.
The drumming became more intense and so did the dancing. The
djembe drums shook the sand, I could feel the vibrations internally. One of the
women seemed to fall into some sort of trance and crashed into the sand. She
twisted and rolled across the sand as if she was having a seizure. She paid no
attention to her surroundings. The drumbeat got louder then faster still. The
possessed woman pulled at her hair - she was clearly distraught. Meanwhile,
another woman fell into a trance as she leaped forward in the sand and began trying
to swim. The music was so loud I couldn’t even hear myself think. I could feel
sweat dripping down my body. The drummer to my left hit his drum with such
force that his sweat splashed onto me nearly every note.
Another cry burst out - but this time, it came from the crowd.
While I was searching for where it came from, the woman fell into a trance. All of the women were doing something different at
this point. One was rolling in the sand, another jumping around the circle
waving her arms and another was being held by a woman to ensure her safety.
After a few minutes, the drums became slow and the women grew tired. The
beat stops and everyone took a few moments to recuperate. A cup of water was
passed to everyone in the drumming group to refresh themselves; they looked
exhausted.
At this point, I noticed something
very strange and symbolic. Every drummer dipped their drumstick (which was
essentially a stick from a local hard wooded tree) into the water cup before
they drank it. Perhaps it is for protection against the spirit; I was
never able to figure that out due to my poor French. Someone called into the
microphone and the drums began to play again. Quickly, another woman fell into
a trance: that was the 4th woman to 'lose it'. I thought it was odd that neither of the two young ladies whom the N'DEP
were for had fallen into a trance. I looked at my watch and saw
that it was about 01:00. A woman began passing around two bottles of coke to
all of the women helping to preform the N'DEP. Suddenly they began fighting for
it. The older woman won and began pouring the soda all over her body and
throughout her hair.
One of the women in a mad manner stumbled up to a drummer,
grabbed his drum like the horns of a bull and began violently shaking herself
up and down in a ‘head banging’ sort of manner. The woman who had won the Coke
battle was rolling and twisting about in the sand. Each and every inch of her
body was covered in specs of sand. As if
the heat was too much and her shirt too constricting, she removed it from her
body and threw it across the sand covered platform. The others came to her
rescue by tying a piece of fabric around her waist as they slowly pulled her to
the side. I was finally able to take my eyes off of the N'DEP and turned to look
at the crowds reaction to all of this. It seemed as though no one was surprised
by any of the behavior. I suppose that sort of ceremony was quite common in
Yoff. I was still oblivious to what everything meant and due the language
barrier between Djibi and I – I had no other choice but to wait patiently and
soak in every single movement and gesture which I deemed significant or
puzzling.
A small, old woman stood up from the crowd and began dancing as
she was cheered on by laughter. The two young women finally made their
appearance running wild around the circle with a rope of cowrie shells above
their heads. In an uncontrolled manner, they were jumping and twisting about as
they ran around the open circle. Their wraps had finally seemed to be coming
out; they were now on the ground rolling about. The older women helped keep them
sage and under control with the same fabric wrap around the waist.
Due to my proximity to the drummers, I internally noticed as
their beats began to subside. The vibrations of the drums on my skin diminished
and the intensity of the atmosphere dropped. It seems to be the end of the
ritual. The same woman who had brought them into the circle at the beginning
carried out the young girls. It was as if they had vanished. Djibi signaled for
me and we like that, we were gone.
My mind was racing as we meandered
the narrow paths of sand in Yoff. Due to the extreme heat during the dry
season, many people were still awake. We passed a man sleeping on a mat outside
his home. Before dropping me off, Djibi and I made plans for later that day.
There was another session of the N'DEP to take place around noon. Just as my
head hit the pillow, I was out.
I awoke to the sound of my fan, legs tangled in my sheets, and ears
ringing from the intensity of the drums just hours earlier. Soon noon was upon
me and my friend Abdul Aziz accompanied me to the N'DEP. Again, we could hear
the drumbeat getting louder and louder. My heart
began to beat faster and faster as we approached. I turned to Aziz and said,
“Come with me today.” He replied saying, "I don’t believe in those
things. Plus, they are only for women and children. I cannot go.” He told me
the men of the neighborhood would strongly disapprove if he went: it would be a
risk of their masculinity and their reputation they were seen there. According
to him, things of this are for women because they are the guardians of traditional religion. As I turned to part ways, he
stopped me to advise me, "Antonia, you have to wear your hair up. Do not
allow anyone to touch your hair and do not talk to people who are not friends with
Djibi. This slightly confused me and I wrote it off to paranoia. In hindsight
after my research, I realize he was trying to protect me from the wrab.
I followed the drumming and arrived at the same location where
we were the previous night. I snuck in through the back as the N'DEP was already
underway and greeted Djibi who was out front playing the talking drum. I took
my seat next to drummers. It was mid day and the sun was at its highest. Fortunately for us, the tarp over our heads deflected the
worst of the brutal midday heat. A woman was circling around selling frozen
hibiscus juice; it failed to cool me off.
The
women who were the most hysterical yesterday sat on the side watching with a
surprising calm demeanor. This change really had me puzzled. I had so many unanswered questions about this ceremony
and I began to challenge my own preconceived notions and understanding of the
spirit of the world. After about an hour of the ritual, similar to the
night before, I looked for the nearest exit; I needed to collect my thoughts. At first, I thought this entire experience was
hysterical. But in a very short period of time my ignorant laughter had been
turned into fear and subsequently reconstructed into curiosity and I became
intrigued. Then it dawned on me, I had witnessed the most extraordinary
and idiosyncratic occasions of my life and its events have remain vivid
in my mind ever since.
Keeping
an open mind is at the heart of acceptance, tolerance and infinite knowledge.
During this transformative period of my life, I was able to generate thoughtful questions which I hoped would give me clarity on what I had seen so I could find closure and understanding. To my dismay, often times my questions were unable to be really elucidated. The
unexplainable is sometimes frightening but I encourage everyone to embrace it. It would be unjustifiable to totally write off
what I had seen as if it were some sort of theater piece or a make believe fairytale.
However, it is also foolish in the eyes of many
Westerners to believe that ancestral spirit can possess a person and that drum beats will cure them. For
those who have lived only to the human world, I would urge you to open yourself
up to an alternative world - the spirit world. Embrace mystery, discover
alternative thoughts, listen to the stories of others and always keep and open
mind and an open heart.
