Baal ma aqq

In other Dakar news, Korite, the festival at the end of Ramadan, is coming up on either Thursday or Friday. Apparently the date of this important celebration is fixed in most of the Muslim world, but here, as in so many other cases, Senegal does things a little differently. Each night this week, the 'grand marabout' (head boss) of each Muslim brotherhood will be fixedly watching the moon, trying to discern the exact moment when it is covered entirely by shadow. When this occurs, however late at night, Korite will be declared for the next day. This might appear potentially confusing, as the celebrations are supposed to begin at 6 am in the morning. To make matters worse, the 'grands marabouts' are likely to choose different days, in order to assert their authority over one another. However, like so much in Senegal that at first appears competely unreasonable, things will certainly work themselves out in the end.

You might expect a festival at the end of 30 days of fasting to be loud, colourful, and raucous, as are many such celebrations the world over. However, in classic Senegalese style, Korite is again, a little different. This Thursday/Friday, there will be no fireworks, no bands, and no grand parades. Instead, the day's main activites will consist of: (1) stuffing ourselves continually from dawn until dusk (actually the exact inverse of the current routine during Ramadan) and (2) going to visit all of our neighbors, dressed up in the finest boubous we can possibly (or quite possibly cannot) afford.

(Sunset over roofs near Suffolk University)
But to get away from this friendly mockery, there is a sincere aspect of the festival which I truly admire. When neighbors meet on Korite, they traditionally greet each other by asking pardon for the all the unrealized wrongs they have done one another. In this way, the small slights and annoyances that have built up over the year; the bickering, gossiping, and akward silences that inevitably separate neighbors; all are forgiven and forgotten, and everyone starts with a clean slate. The traditional greeting between neighbors might go something like this:

Dewenti. Baal ma aqq.
(Happy new year. Forgive me my wrongs.)

Baal naa la. Baal ma aqq.
(I have forgiven you. Fogive me my wrongs.)

Baal naa la.
(I have forgiven you.)

[together] Yalla nanu yalla bole baal.
(May God forgive us together.)