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Politicians of the sacred grove: citizenship and ethnicity in southern Senegal.
From:
Africa
| Date:
March 22, 2002| Author:
de Jong, Ferdinand
| COPYRIGHT 2002 Edinburgh University Press. This material is published under license from the publisher through the Gale Group, Farmington Hills, Michigan. All inquiries regarding rights should be directed to the Gale Group.Copyright information
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ABSTRACT
This article examines the traditional initiation of the former Senegalese Minister of Agriculture. At the age of fifty-five the Catholic Minister was initiated into the secrets of the sacred grove and thus acquired the status of adult man. The article demonstrates that Jola ethnic discourse, in which male initiation has become an important symbol, forced the Minister to enter the grove. His initiation turned him into a full member of the Jola ethnic group and qu...