Ismoo Kitaaboo: Book of Solutions
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 is a manual designed to addess many social problems. It contains various numerological figures, prayers, and recipes to address: health-related issues, popularity, chasing away malicious people, protection from witchcraft, enhancing one’s mind and intelligence, protection from thieves, recipes for wealth and a long life, and other issues related to people’s wellbeing. Each page begins with an explanation of the numerological formula and the accompanying special prayer in Arabic, and ends with directions on how to use the formula in Mandinka Ajami. The notes in Mandinka Ajami seem to have been added later. Sometimes, the Mandinka notes are written with the Roman script. Thus, the manual includes three forms of literacies: classical Arabic literacy, Mandinka Ajami literacy, and Latin script literacy. The numerological figures require special mathematical skills. The document is an important working manual for local religious leaders, diviners, and healers. Similar traditions are found across Muslim Africa and in other parts of the Muslim world.
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 credited. 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 owner inherited it from his grandfather, Cheikh Bourama Yaffa. He was a Mandinka scholar. He was born in Gabu, Guinea-Bissau. He had an advanced Islamic education and served as a Quranic teacher and a marabout (healer, religious leader, and diviner) until his death in Soukoutoto in Senegal.
Provenance / Custodial history: The owner inherited it from his grandfather, Cheikh Bourama Yaffa. He was a Mandinka scholar. He was born in Gabu, Guinea-Bissau. He had an advanced Islamic education and served as a Quranic teacher and a marabout (healer, religious leader, and diviner) until his death in Soukoutoto in Senegal.
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).