Portal:Senegal

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The Senegal Portal

Senegal, officially the Republic of Senegal, is a country in West Africa, on the Atlantic Ocean coastline. Senegal is bordered by Mauritania to the north, Mali to the east, Guinea to the southeast and Guinea-Bissau to the southwest. Senegal nearly surrounds the Gambia, a country occupying a narrow sliver of land along the banks of the Gambia River, which separates Senegal's southern region of Casamance from the rest of the country. Senegal also shares a maritime border with Cape Verde. Senegal's economic and political capital is Dakar.

Senegal is notably the westernmost country in the mainland of the Old World, or Afro-Eurasia. It owes its name to the Senegal River, which borders it to the east and north. The climate is typically Sahelian, though there is a rainy season. Senegal covers a land area of almost 197,000 square kilometres (76,000 sq mi) and has a population of around 17 million.0 The state is a unitary presidential republic; since the country's foundation in 1960, it has been recognized as one of the most stable countries on the African continent.

The state was formed as part of the independence of French West Africa from French colonial rule. Because of this history, French is the official language, but it is understood only by a minority of the population. Over 30 languages are spoken in Senegal, and Wolof is the most widely spoken one, with 80% of the population speaking it as a first or second language, acting as Senegal's lingua franca alongside French. Like other post-colonial African states, the country includes a wide mix of ethnic and linguistic communities, with the largest being the Wolof, Fula, and Serer people. Senegalese people are predominantly Muslim.

Senegal is classified as a heavily indebted poor country, with relatively low HDI ranked 170th in the Human Development index. Most of the population is on the coast and works in agriculture or other food industries; other major industries include mining, tourism, and services. The country does not have notable natural resources, but the basis of its development lies in education, where almost half the state's budget is spent. Senegal is a member state of the African Union, the United Nations, the Economic Community of West African States (ECOWAS), Organisation internationale de la Francophonie, the Organisation of Islamic Cooperation, and the Community of Sahel-Saharan States. Internationally, Senegal is best known in the sporting world for the Paris-Dakar Rally. (Full article...)

Location of Senegal

Senegalese life, the well regarded baobab tree, and a lion

The flag of Senegal

The coat of arms of Senegal

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The Casamance conflict is an ongoing low-level conflict that has been waged between the Government of Senegal and the Movement of Democratic Forces of Casamance (MFDC) since 1982. On May 1, 2014 the leader of the MFDC sued for peace and declared a unilateral ceasefire.

The MFDC has called for the independence of the Casamance region, whose population is religiously and ethnically distinct from the rest of Senegal. The bloodiest years of the conflict were during the 1992–2001 period and resulted in over a thousand battle related deaths. (Full article...)

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Image 1The Serer of the Senegambia's representation of the universe. The three worlds : the invisible world, the terrestrial world and the nocturnal world.
Credit: Henry Gravrand - La civilisation sereer : Pangool
For more about this picture, see Serer creation myth and Serer religion (A ƭat Roog).
Image 2The Mbot mask. Symbol of the Serer peoples' Ndut initiation rite.
Credit: Tamsier
More about the Ndut rite of passage....
Image 3The Senegambian stone circles (Wassu section) believed by archaeologists and historians to be built by the Serer people of the Senegambia region. The Senegambia stone circles are the largest concentration of stone circles seen anywhere in the world according to UNESCO. They are sacred burial grounds and a place of ritual offerings (kuur in Serer).
Credits: Sarang, AnonMoos, (and Yoonir file by Tamsier)
For more about the pentagram in Serer spirituality, see Yoonir in Serer religion and Serer creation myth.
Image 4The Queen of Waalo - Lingeer Ndaté Yalla Mbodj (1810–1860) in her royal dress, seating and smoking a pipe.
Credit: Llanta. Lithographer, Abbot P. David Boilat, author of text in his book Esquisses sénégalaises (1853). Source: cote : Gallica, bnf.fr - Réserve DT 549.2 B 67 M Atlas - planche n °5 - Notice n° : FRBNF38495418 - (Illustrations de Esquisses sénégalaises). Uploader to Wiki Commons Patricia.fidi
More about Ndaté Yalla Mbodj...
Touba moschee.jpg

Image 5The Great Mosque of Touba; home of the Mouride Sufi brotherhood, it is also one of the finest examples of Islamic architecture in Africa.
Credit: Tinofrey
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PorteMillénaire.JPG

Image 6The rare of the Third Millennium Gate monument in Médina, Dakar, Senegal. On the left is the Seydou Nourou Tall mosque — named after Seydou Nourou Tall (1862 - 1980) — son of El Hadj Umar Tall. Pierre Atepa Goudiaby was the architect of the Millennium Gate.
Credit: Ji-Elle
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Monument de la renaissance africaine 3.JPG

Image 7The African Renaissance Monument (French: Le Monument de la Renaissance Africaine) is a 49 meter tall bronze statue located on top of one of the twin hills known as Collines des Mamelles, outside Dakar, Senegal. Built overlooking the Atlantic Ocean in the Ouakam suburb, the statue was designed by the Senegalese architect Pierre Goudiaby after an idea presented by president Abdoulaye Wade and built by Mansudae Overseas Projects, a company from North Korea. Site preparation on top of the 100-meter high hill began in 2006, and construction of the bronze statue began 3 April 2008. Originally scheduled for completion in December 2009, delays stretched into early 2010, and the formal dedication occurred on 4 April 2010, Senegal's "National Day", commemorating the 50th anniversary of the country's independence from France. It is the tallest statue in Africa.
Credit: Nightstallion (original uploader, 2005) and Tcfc2349 (latest uploader to Wikimedia Commons, 2016)
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Image 8The flag of Senegal (French: le drapeau du Sénégal) is a tricolour consisting of three vertical green, yellow and red bands charged with a five-pointed green star at the centre. Adopted in 1960 to replace the flag of the Mali Federation, it has been the flag of the Republic of Senegal since the country gained independence that year. The present and previous flags were inspired by French Tricolour, which flew over Senegal until 1960.
Credit: Atamari
For more about this picture, see Senegambian stone circles, Mummification and Cult of the Upright Stones in Serer religion, and Serer ancient history.
Image 9Senegal coucal bird.
Credit: Charlesjsharp
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Image 10The star Yoonir, symbol of the Universe in Serer religion and Cosmogony. The Serer people are one of the main ethnic groups of Senegal, and are also found in The Gambia and Mauritania. The peak of the star (top point) represents their Supreme Deity (Roog). The other four points represent the cardinal points of the Universe. The crossing of the lines ("bottom left" and "top right", and "top left" and "bottom right") pinpoints the axis of the Universe that all energies pass. The top point is "the point of departure and conclusion, the origin and the end". Among the Serers who cannot read or write the Latin alphabet, it is very common for them to sign official documents with the star of Yoonir, as the star also represents "good fortune and destiny". Yoonir also represents the Serer people and their precolonial Kingdom of Sine.
Credit: Fawaz.tairou
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“

And so, for outsiders, Africa today tends to conjure up images of nonstop civil wars, impoverished people, diabolical dictators, rampant disease, and seemingly endless despair. To be sure, it's a generalization, but it is nevertheless based on reality in some places. But then there's Senegal.

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— Debbie Nevins, Elizabeth Berg, and Ruth Wan, Senegal, Cavendish Square Publishing, LLC (2018), p. 6 [1]

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Entries here consist of Good and Featured articles, which meet a core set of high editorial standards.

Positive Black Soul (also known as PBS) is a hip hop group based in Dakar, Senegal, one of the first such collectives in the country. Founded in 1989, the group is composed of Didier Sourou Awadi (alias DJ Awadi) and Amadou Barry (alias Doug E. Tee or Duggy-Tee), both of whom had previously been in other hip hop groups. They perform in the English, French, and Wolof languages and use traditional Senegalese instruments as part of their songs. Political and social activism have played important roles in the group since it was founded. (Full article...)

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Carabane Daara J Mamadou N'Diaye (basketball, born 1993) Faidherbe Bridge Senegal at the 2016 Summer Paralympics Senegal at the 2010 Winter Olympics

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Safi Faye (November 22, 1943 – February 22, 2023) was a Senegalese film director and ethnologist. She was the first Sub-Saharan African woman to direct a commercially distributed feature film, Kaddu Beykat, which was released in 1975. She has directed several documentary and fiction films focusing on rural life in Senegal. (Full article...)

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General images

The following are images from various Senegal-related articles on Wikipedia.

Image 1A map by Guillaume Delisle (1770) (from History of Senegal)
Image 2Beach at N'Gor (from Senegal)
Image 3Location of the Ghana Empire (from History of Senegal)
Image 4Wolof of Waalo, in "war costume" (1846) (from History of Senegal)
Image 5Megalithic alignments in Senegal. (from History of Senegal)
Image 6Saint-Louis in 1780. (from History of Senegal)
Image 7The Portuguese Empire was the first European power to colonize Senegal, beginning with the arrival of Dinis Dias in 1444 at Gorée Island and ending in 1888, when the Portuguese gave Ziguinchor to the French. (from Senegal)
Image 8Senegalese football fans at the 2018 FIFA World Cup in Russia (from Senegal)
Image 9The List of Complaints of Saint-Louis du Sénégal (1789) (from History of Senegal)
Image 10Portuguese colonies and posts under the reign of João III, 16th century. (from History of Senegal)
Image 11Our Lady of Victories Cathedral, a Catholic church in Dakar (from Senegal)
Image 12The short-lived Fédération du Mali. (from History of Senegal)
Image 13Abdoulaye Wade, President of Senegal (2000–2012) (from Senegal)
Image 14A proportional representation of Senegal exports, 2019 (from Senegal)
Image 15Aerial view of Yoff Commune, Dakar (from Senegal)
Image 16Historical development of real GDP per capita in Senegal and Gambia, since 1950 (from Senegal)
Image 17Senegal map of Köppen climate classification (from Senegal)
Image 18Fishing boats in Dakar (from Senegal)
Image 19Macky Sall, President of Senegal (2012–present) (from Senegal)
Image 20A ball signares in St. Louis (burning 1890 ) (from History of Senegal)
Image 21The Dutch West India Company at Amsterdam in 1655 (from History of Senegal)
Image 22Development of life expectancy (from Senegal)
Image 23Maad a Sinig Kumba Ndoffene Fa Ndeb Joof. King of Sine. The Royal House of Boureh Gnilane Joof. (from History of Senegal)
Image 24French West Africa in 1890. (from History of Senegal)
Image 25The short-lived Mali Federation (from Senegal)
Image 26Painting of footballer El Hadji Diouf in Dakar (from Senegal)
Image 27Arrival of Blaise Diagne, Deputy for Senegal, High Commissioner of the Government for the recruitment of black troops in Dakar in March 1918. (from History of Senegal)
Image 28Monument near the Maison des Esclaves on Gorée Island. (from History of Senegal)
Image 29Senegal's population from 1960 to 2017 (from Senegal)
Image 30Land mines were widely used in the Casamance conflict between separatist rebels and the central government. (from Senegal)
Image 31Regions of Senegal (from Senegal)
Image 32Flag of French Senegal (1958–1959) (from History of Senegal)
Image 33French slave traders in Gorée, 18th century (from Senegal)
Image 34« Plan de l'isle de Gorée avec ses deux forts et le combat que nous avons rendu le premier du mois de novembre 1677 » (from History of Senegal)
Image 35Kora player from Senegal (from Senegal)
Image 36Senegalese Wrestling (from Senegal)
Image 37Students in Senegal (from Senegal)
Image 38Landscape of Casamance (from Senegal)
Image 39Extension of the Mali Empire at its height (from History of Senegal)

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... that l'Île de Gorée, a former centre of the Atlantic slave trade from where many Africans were deported to the Americas, is a world heritage site?

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