Saalaaloo: Incantation
Date
1985
DOI
Authors
Thiam, Imam Nimbaly
Version
OA Version
Citation
Ngom, Fallou, Castro, Eleni, & Diakité, Ablaye. (2018). African Ajami Library: EAP 1042. Digital Preservation of Mandinka Ajami Materials of Casamance, Senegal. Boston: Boston University Libraries: http://hdl.handle.net/2144/27112
Abstract
The manuscript belongs to the genre called Saalaaloo (incantation) in Mandinka. These incantatory texts are common in Mandinka communities as they are common in other West African Muslim societies. They are meant to be recited. They are used for protection from evil eyes, evil tongues, and evil spirits, among others. Like many of the texts in this collection, the text is bilingual. While mostly written in Mandinka Ajami, it includes common Islamic doxologies and litanies in Arabic believed to be potent. The Mandinka language used in the text is also esoteric and is believed to be potent. The Mandinka language used in the text is phonologically and lexically different from the variety commonly used in natural communication.
Description
The entire manuscript is available for download as a PDF file(s). Higher-resolution images may be available upon request. For technical assistance, please contact open-help@bu.edu. Fieldwork Team: Dr. Fallou Ngom (Pricipal Investigator; Director, African Studies Center), Ablaye Diakité (Local Project Manager), Mr. Ibrahima Yaffa (General Field Facilitator), and Ibrahima Ngom (photographer). Technical Team: Professor Fallou Ngom (Principle Investigator, Project Director and former Director of the African Studies Center at Boston University), and Eleni Castro (Technical Lead, BU Libraries). This collection of Mandinka Ajami materials is copied as part of the African Studies Center’s African Ajami Library. This is a joint project between BU and the West African Research Center (WARC), funded by the British Library/Arcadia Endangered Archives Programme. Access Condition and Copyright: These materials are subject to copyright and are distributed under the terms of the Creative Commons Attribution-NonCommercial 4.0 License, which permits non-commercial use, distribution, and reproduction in any medium, provided the original author and source are fully cited using the information below. For use, distribution or reproduction beyond these terms, contact Professor Fallou Ngom (fngom@bu.edu). Citation: Materials in this web edition should be cited as: Ngom, Fallou., Castro, Eleni, & Diakité, Ablaye. (2018). African Ajami Library: EAP 1042. Digital Preservation of Mandinka Ajami Materials of Casamance, Senegal. Boston: Boston University Libraries: http://hdl.handle.net/2144/27112. For Inquiries: please contact Professor Fallou Ngom (fngom@bu.edu). For technical assistance, please contact open-help@bu.edu.
Provenance / Custodial history: The current owner of the manuscript (Abdou Karim Thiam) inherited it from his father (Nimbaly Thiam) who died in the 2015 Mina stampede in Mecca, Saudi Arabia.
Provenance / Custodial history: The current owner of the manuscript (Abdou Karim Thiam) inherited it from his father (Nimbaly Thiam) who died in the 2015 Mina stampede in Mecca, Saudi Arabia.
License
These materials are subject to copyright and are distributed under the terms of the Creative Commons Attribution-NonCommercial 4.0 License, which permits non-commercial use, distribution, and reproduction in any medium, provided the original author and source are credited. For use, distribution or reproduction beyond these terms, contact Professor Fallou Ngom (fngom@bu.edu).