The Country of Teranga
Senegal. Image credit: The World Factbook
Teranga is part of the national identity of the West African country of Senegal. A Wolof word that roughly translates to ‘hospitality’, teranga is intrinsic to Senegalese culture and extends beyond a smile and welcome. Teranga presumes an absence of barriers between people; instead, it encompasses a broad idea of treating others like family that can be manifested through simple acts of courtesy such as offering to help carry a passerby’s bags, deeper hospitality by welcoming a stranger into one’s home, and including neighbors of a different faith to celebrate religious holidays with family. Teranga sets a norm of sharing and not just respecting but accepting differences, which has contributed to social stability despite multiple ethnic groups and languages within the country.
Senegal declared its independence relatively recently, in 1960, but its diverse population has roots that are centuries old. Tools, pottery, and burial mounds show evidence of prehistoric settlements. Various people migrated from the north and east and both travelers and traders crossed this land that connected empires – Ghana (roughly 1st century to 11th century CE), Mali (1226-1670), Wolof (1350-1550), and Songhai (mid-14th century to late 16th century) - to the ocean. In the 15th century, ships and sailors arrived from England, France, the Netherlands, and Portugal and established trading posts along the Atlantic coast as well as introducing Christianity to the area. Gold, ivory, and humans were transported from further inland as the Europeans usurped each other and Africans from desired posts. Britain and France fought over Senegalese territory in the 17th and 18th centuries until France ‘received’ it in the Treaty of Versailles in 1783. By the mid-1800s, France officially abolished slavery and Senegal became a French colony. The first African member of the French National Assembly, Blaise Diagne, was elected in 1914, and the independence movement developed over the next few decades.
Thiéboudiène boukhonk with tamarind. Image credit: T.K. Naliaka, CC BY-SA 4.0, via Wikimedia Commons
The country’s current population of about 18 million people is comprised of nearly 40% with Wolof ancestry, 27-28% Pulaar (Fula and Toucouleur), 16% Serer, and smaller populations of Mandinka, Jola, Soninke, and other ethnic backgrounds. While the official government language is French, Senegal also recognizes about a dozen ‘national languages’ including Wolof, Fula, and Serer given their prevalence in daily life. Most Senegalese are Muslim and over two million citizens live in or around Dakar, its capital and largest city located at the western tip of the Cap-Vert Peninsula. As the former capital of French West Africa, Dakar is a major African financial center and base for many international organizations such as the Banque Centrale des États de l'Afrique de l'Ouest (BCEAO) which manages the West African CFA franc used by eight African countries as a common currency. It is also home to the Museum of Black Civilisations, a relatively new museum with a mission of celebrating black art, culture, and history from around the globe and across the centuries.
In the cities and in the countryside, meals are communal affairs that bring together not only family and friends but, in the spirit of teranga, welcome the passerby or tourist to share in food and conviviality. Families tend to be of larger sizes so mealtime is an opportunity to bring many people together around a communal bowl or dish. Fish and seafood, of course, are prevalent given Senegal’s miles of coastline and sizeable fishing industry, and serve as the base for the flavorful national dish known as thieboudienne or ceebu jen. Fish is marinated and cooked with tomato paste, herbs, and spices before adding an assortment of locally grown vegetables, typically cassava, carrots, cabbage, eggplant, and okra, and served over rice cooked in the sauce. Ceebu jen is adaptable for regional vegetables or personal tastes and easily serves a crowd.
Idrissa Gueye, Senegalese midfielder. Image credit: Екатерина Лаут, CC BY-SA 3.0 GFDL, via Wikimedia Commons
Teranga also extends to the Senegalese sporting world with its national football (soccer) team affectionately called the Lions of Teranga. Created upon the country’s independence, the Lions of Teranga placed fourth in the 1965 Africa Cup of Nations but was unable to match that performance for the next quarter-century. However, the team has gradually and consistently played its way onto the international scene, reaching the quarterfinals of its first World Cup in 2002 and qualifying again in both 2018 and 2022. In 2022, the Lions of Teranga defeated Egypt in the Africa Cup of Nations to take the title home to its exuberant supporters. Many current national team members play professional football overseas, including Idrissa Gueye, a midfielder for Everton in the English Premier League and Sadio Mané, a past African Footballer of the Year and winner of the English Premier League Golden Boot in the 2018-2019 season.
The spirit of teranga is currently being tested since presidential elections set for late February were recently postponed to December. The current president, Macky Sall, announced last year that he would respect the legal limit of two terms and not attempt to run for a third. However, a pattern of crackdowns on opposition candidates, the press, and protesters over the past year have amplified concerns that the party in power may not uphold the democratic processes and rules currently in place. Senegal has been viewed as one of the most stable political environments in Africa, having never experienced a military coup like many of its neighbors. As of this writing it is too early to tell how this country of teranga will move forward. Let’s hope that the longstanding culture of showing respect and care for others will prevail at every level of politics and society within Senegal.
Jeu de français
There is much more to discover about Senegal by reading further, taking a trip there, or finding a Senegalese friend! Meanwhile, test your knowledge of Senegal in the quiz below, which contains several facts noted in this post.
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