Serer religion

The Serer religion or Serer spirituality (Serer: A ƭat Roog, meaning "the way of the Divine", "path of God", or "religious life"^[1]^[2]), is the original religious beliefs, practices, and teachings of the Serer people living in the Senegambia region in West Africa. The Serer religion believes in a universal supreme deity called Roog (or Rog). In the Cangin languages, Roog is referred to as Koox (or Kooh^[3]), Kopé Tiatie Cac, and Kokh Kox.^[4] Doctor of ethnology and lecturer in ethnosciences, Professor Simone Kalis writes that:

"Religious life or "path of God" / a fat Roog is based on the cult of the ancestors / pangool. They are the pivot around which all the rituals that make up religious and therapeutic practices originate. The priest / o yaal pangool, master of the cult, is located halfway between the world of the beyond and the here below; the invisible and the visible, the dead and the living."^[2]

The Serer people are found throughout the Senegambia region. In the 20th century, around 85% of the Serer converted to Islam (Sufism),^[5]^[6] but some are Christians or follow their traditional religion.^[7] Despite resisting Islamization and jihads for almost a millenia - having been persecuted for centuries, most of the Serers who converted to Islam converted as recently as the 1990s,^[7] in part, trying to escape discrimination and disenfranchisement by the majority Muslim groups surrounding them, who still view the Serers as "the object of scorn and prejudice."^[8]^[9]

Traditional Serer religious practices encompass ancient chants and poems, veneration of and offerings to spirits (pangool), Serer initiaion rites, folk medicine, divination, and preservation of Serer history, culture, and identity which includes forbidding mixed-marriages,^[10] and preserving one's sexual purity until marriage ― a pratice that is strongly adhered to by the Serer-Noon, where the consequence of breaking this custom could mean being sentenced to celibacy for the rest of one's life.^[10]

^ Senghor, Léopold Sédar, Éthiopiques, Issues 55-56. Grande imprimerie africaine, 1991, p. 60
^ ^a ^b Kalis, Simone, Médecine traditionnelle, religion et divination chez les Seereer Siin du Sénégal, L'Harmattan, (1997), p.31, ISBN 2-7384-5196-9[in] L'Harmattan (accessed 25 March 2025). Quote:
La vie religieuse ou "chemin de De Dieu" / a fat Roog se fonde sur le culte des ancêtres / pangool . Ils sont le pivot autour duquel s'originent tous les rituels que composent les pratiques religieuses et thérapeutiques . Le prêtre / o yaal pangool, maître du culte, se situe à mi-chemin entre le monde de l'au-delà et de l'ici-bas ; l'invisible et le visible, les morts et les vivants.
^ (in French) Dupire, Marguerite, Sagesse sereer: Essais sur la pensée sereer ndut, Karthala Editions (1994), p. 54, ISBN 2865374874.
^ (in French) Ndiaye, Ousmane Sémou, "Diversité et unicité sérères : l'exemple de la région de Thiès", Éthiopiques, no. 54, vol. 7, 2e semestre 1991 [1].
^ Olson, James Stuart (1996). The Peoples of Africa: An Ethnohistorical Dictionary. Greenwood. p. 516. ISBN 978-0313279188.
^ Leonardo A. Villalón (2006). Islamic Society and State Power in Senegal: Disciples and Citizens in Fatick. Cambridge University Press. pp. 71–74. ISBN 978-0-521-03232-2.
^ ^a ^b James Stuart Olson (1996). The Peoples of Africa: An Ethnohistorical Dictionary. Greenwood. p. 516. ISBN 978-0-313-27918-8.
^ Abbey, M T Rosalie Akouele, "Customary Law and Slavery in West Africa", Trafford Publishing (2011), pp. 481–482, ISBN 1-4269-7117-6
^ Mwakikagile, Godfrey, "Ethnic Diversity and Integration in The Gambia: The Land, The People and The Culture," (2010), p. 241, ISBN 9987-9322-2-3
^ ^a ^b Ndiaye, Ousmane Sémou, "Diversité et unicité sérères : l’exemple de la région de Thiès", Éthiopiques, no 54, vol. 7, 2e semestre 1991

[1] Senghor, Léopold Sédar, Éthiopiques, Issues 55-56. Grande imprimerie africaine, 1991, p. 60

[Kalis_-fa_rog-2] Kalis, Simone, Médecine traditionnelle, religion et divination chez les Seereer Siin du Sénégal, L'Harmattan, (1997), p.31, ISBN 2-7384-5196-9[in] L'Harmattan (accessed 25 March 2025). Quote:
La vie religieuse ou "chemin de De Dieu" / a fat Roog se fonde sur le culte des ancêtres / pangool . Ils sont le pivot autour duquel s'originent tous les rituels que composent les pratiques religieuses et thérapeutiques . Le prêtre / o yaal pangool, maître du culte, se situe à mi-chemin entre le monde de l'au-delà et de l'ici-bas ; l'invisible et le visible, les morts et les vivants.

[3] (in French) Dupire, Marguerite, Sagesse sereer: Essais sur la pensée sereer ndut, Karthala Editions (1994), p. 54, ISBN 2865374874.

[4] (in French) Ndiaye, Ousmane Sémou, "Diversité et unicité sérères : l'exemple de la région de Thiès", Éthiopiques, no. 54, vol. 7, 2e semestre 1991 [1].

[Olson-5] Olson, James Stuart (1996). The Peoples of Africa: An Ethnohistorical Dictionary. Greenwood. p. 516. ISBN 978-0313279188.

[Villalón2006p71-6] Leonardo A. Villalón (2006). Islamic Society and State Power in Senegal: Disciples and Citizens in Fatick. Cambridge University Press. pp. 71–74. ISBN 978-0-521-03232-2.

[olson516-7] James Stuart Olson (1996). The Peoples of Africa: An Ethnohistorical Dictionary. Greenwood. p. 516. ISBN 978-0-313-27918-8.

[8] Abbey, M T Rosalie Akouele, "Customary Law and Slavery in West Africa", Trafford Publishing (2011), pp. 481–482, ISBN 1-4269-7117-6

[Mwakikagile-9] Mwakikagile, Godfrey, "Ethnic Diversity and Integration in The Gambia: The Land, The People and The Culture," (2010), p. 241, ISBN 9987-9322-2-3

[Sémou-10] Ndiaye, Ousmane Sémou, "Diversité et unicité sérères : l’exemple de la région de Thiès", Éthiopiques, no 54, vol. 7, 2e semestre 1991

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