Sacred trees: a ritual and profane relation between tree and village in Niokolo-Koba National Park, Senegal

Full text

Documented
trees in abandoned villages (Niokolo-Koba)
Latin
French
Mandinka
Poular
Bombax
costatum
kapokier
bukung
diohé,bunbuvi
Sterculia
setigera
kunkousito
boboré
Cordyla
pinnata
manguier
sauvage
duto
douki
Combretum
glutinosum
jambacat
ang
dôki
Strychnos
spinosa
orangier
de brousse
fatakulew
fatakoulay
, ngowal
Ceiba
pentandra
fromagier
, kapotier
bantang
bantanghé
Lannea
acida
lannéa
acide, raisinier
bembo
thingoli
, bembey
Bambusoideae
bambou
boo
kewé
Oxytenanthera
abyssinica
bambou
boo
kewé
Adansonia
digitata
baobab
šitoo
bohé
, boki
Pterocarpus
erinaceus
palissandre
du sénégal
kéno
, guéno
bané,bani
Ficus
gnaphalocarpa
soto
koyo
ini,thiekoy
Parkia
biglobosa
m
imosa pourpre, néré
netoo
neté
Borassus
aethiopium
palmier
rônier
siboo
dube
Vitex
mendiensis
vitex
simbongho
boumé
Khaya
senegalensis
caïcedrat
diala
kahi
Diospyros
mespiliformis
e
bénier de l’Ouest
Africain
koukouo
pouponi
, koukou
Mangifera
indica
manguier
mango
mâgo
Moringa
oleifera
moringa
nebebay
nebeday
Documented
trees by Oral history (Niokolo-Koba)
Latin
French
Mandinka
Poular
Saba
senegalensis
saba
senegalais
kaba
lare
Vitellaria
paradoxa
karité
see
kari
, karé
Tamarindus
indica
tamarinier
timbingho
dabe
Gardenia
erubescens
takangho
busodj
Elaeis
guineensis
palmier
a huile
téngho
tougui
Raphia
sudanica
raphia
, palmier raphia
bang
(fruit=manson)
Mytragyna
inermis
jung
kodi,kotei
Detarium
Senegalensis
tamba
dohoole
Cassia
sieberiana
case
du Senegal
sindian
sindia
Spondias
mombin
p
runier mombin, mombin jaune
ninkôn
thialé
Detarium
microcarpum
vônko
dolé
Afzelia
africana
linké
linké
lingué
Parinari
macrophylla
pommier
du cayor
tambacoumba
hande
Dialium
guineense
tamarinier
noir
kosito
Nauclea
latifolia
batio
boré,bakure
Piliostigma
thonningii
fara
barkevi
, barkellehi
Combretum
reticulatum
k
inkeliba
baro
kinkeli
Zisyphus
mauritiana
jijubier
tomborong
diabé
Cola
cordifolia
taba,tabo
taba
, goumbambé
Anona
senegalensis
sunkung
dukume
Daniela
olvera
santan
thiewé,tevedi
Balanites
aegyptiaca
dattier
du desert
soumpoo
mourteki
Citrus
sinensis
o
rangier
oranso
oranse
Map of Niokolo-Koba National Park in Senegal with the surveyed villages.
Part of the team in front of a baobab (Adansonia digitata))
with a girth of 12 metres.
What is Dialan?
Dialan is an animistic ritual which represents the very close relationship
between local residents and their surrounding nature. When a problem arises
within the village, the residents tend towards the animistic tradition in the
form of a ritual during which an entrusted person brings an offering to dialan
- a tree spirit that can help that person solve the problem. The offering is
often in the form of a white cow, a rooster or a goat. The colour white
represents purity. Together with the meat offering the person also brings some
rice mixed with water inside a kalabas bowl.
Evidence of trees used in the area. The first Table shows the
species we found on the basis of the oral history method.
The second table shows species we have seen in the field.
Use of trees in Niokolo-Koba area:
Satellite images and digitized pictures
show the different organization of villages
newly established and parceled along the
main infrastructure (e.g. Niémeniké) and
long-term inhabited villages with a
continuity of space (e.g. Badon).
The old village of Badon is organised
around two central trees. During our field
prospection the presence of Adansonia
digitata (baobab) and Ceiba pentandra
(kapok) were confirmed. However, the
question remains: which came first –the
village or dominant trees?
In Niokolo-Koba, trees are not only used for
architectural purposes and as a subsistence
resource. In the local languages wolof and
mandinka, the words “garab”and „yiro“which
means tree are often used, and at the same time it
means ‘a medicine’. Trees are an important
resource in local pharmacy; they also serve as
protection from the sun and a place where the local
people meet. Local people respect these trees and
come to them for advice.
Sacred trees: a ritual and profane relation between tree and village in
Niokolo-Koba National Park, Senegal
Tereza Majerovičová1, 2, Jaromír Beneš1, 2, Jan Novák1, Jiří Bumerl1, 2, Pavla Hejcmanová3, Idrissa Manka4, Alioune Deme4
1 - Laboratory of Archaeobotany and Palaeoecology, Faculty of Science, University of South Bohemia,
Branišovská 1760, CZ-37005 České Budějovice, Czech Republic
2 - Institute of Archaeology, Faculty of Philosophy, University of South Bohemia, Branišovská 31a, CZ-37005
České Budějovice, Czech Republic
3 –Faculty of Tropical AgriSciences, Czech University of Life Sciences Prague, Czech Republic
4 -Département d’Histoire, Faculté des Lettres et Sciences Humaines, Université Cheikh Anta Diop de Dakar,
Dakar, Senegal
Photo of the old village Badon. In the rcnter of the
village are two dominant trees. On the left is
Adansonia dogitata (baobab) and on the right is
Ceiba pentandra (kapok).
Photo of Adansonia digitata
(baobab) bark showing traces
of human activity. The
incisions in the bark show that
this bark was probably used to
make ropes. For us it is a
significant indicator of
possible human settlement.
In the photo above the tree are
fruits of the baobab, an
important resource for local
subsistence.
Several biome types, ranging from semi-desert grassland to dense tree-covered
savanna, extend over West African Senegal. The traditional relationship between
trees and people is rooted in agricultural prehistory as well as written history.
Human life is defined here by the co-existence between settled agriculturalists and
pastoralists. Project Traces in Savanna focuses on people and plants in a dynamic
ecosystem and comprises ethnoarchaeology, ethnobotany, vegetation and soil
ecology, and dendrology.
Niokolo-Koba National Park was established in 1954. After Senegal’s emergence
as a state and gaining independence, the National Park was extended in area for its
biodiversity and wildlife protection in 1969. Because of this, local villages were
relocated beyond the extended park’s area. Villages have been linked to the
ecosystem of the woodland savanna for centuries and are constituted as living
functional units. The trees in villages are not only a source of necessary raw
materials for local residents. They also play an important role in their livelihoods
and provide appropriate shelter from the sun. The importance of trees is also
deeply connected with their healing and animistic tradition.
We study the relationship between trees and villages within the long-term continuity of settlement, but also with the newly-relocated villages
outside the extended park. We identify which tree species are most common in abandoned villages and which trees can be an identifier of an
abandoned settlement. Another goal is to map the use of these trees and discover which trees are sacred to the local people. Another question posed
is: how is the environment and structure of the newly-founded villages reflected in the composition and quantity of trees in the immediate vicinity
of these villages - and which trees are concentrated along their infrastructure?
A mask called Kankouran in Mandinka.
The mask is made from the bark of
Piliostigma thonningii . Considered as
a cultural and ritual protector, this mask
occupies an important place in the
mandinka tradition.
In the left-hand photo is one of the largest sacred
trees used for Dialan ritual. This monumental tree
Ceiba pentandra was documented within the area
of the abandoned village Badi.
E-mail address: tmajerovicova@gmail.com
This poster was created with the support of the Grant Agency of the University of
South Bohemia, the project called Ethnoarcheology of farmers in southeastern Senegal.
Abandoned and long-term inhabited villages in the Niokolo-Koba National Park.