marabout

File:COLLECTIE TROPENMUSEUM Portret van een marabout TMnr 20031376.jpg (now Burkina Faso) {{Circa|1970}}]]

Muslim Sufi brotherhoods were one of the main organizing forms of Islam in precolonial West Africa, and with the spread of Sufism into the area, the marabout's role combined with local practices throughout Senegambia, the Niger River Valley, and the Futa Jallon. Here, Sufi Muslim believers follow a marabout, elsewhere known as a muršid ("guide"). The term marabout was also adopted by French colonial officials, and applied to most any imam, Muslim teacher, or secular leader who appealed to the Islamic tradition.

Today marabouts can be traveling holy men men who survive on alms, religious teachers who take in young talibes at Quranic schools, or distinguished Muslim religious leaders and scholars, both in and out of the Sufi brotherhoods which dominate the Islamic spiritual life in Senegambia.Lamin O. Sanneh, The Crown and the Turban: Muslims and West African. Westview Press (1997) {{ISBN|0-8133-3059-9}}

In the Muslim brotherhoods of Senegal, marabouts are organized in elaborate hierarchies; the highest marabout of the Mourides, for example, has been elevated to the status of a "caliph" or "ruler of the faithful" (Amir al-Mu'minin). Older, North African-based Sufi brotherhoods such as the Tijaniyyah and the Qadiriyyah base their structures on respect for teachers and religious leaders who, south of the Sahara, often are called marabouts. Those who devote themselves to prayer or study, either based in communities, religious centers, or wandering in the larger society, are named marabouts. In Senegal and Mali, these marabouts rely on donations to live. Often there is a traditional bond to support a specific marabout that has accumulated over generations within a family. Marabouts normally dress in traditional West African robes and live a simple, ascetic life.

The spread in sub-Saharan Africa of the marabout's role from the 8th through 13th centuries created in some places a mixture of roles with pre-Islamic priests, local healers, and diviners. Thus, many fortune tellers and self-styled spiritual guides take the name marabout, something rejected by more orthodox Muslims and Sufi brotherhoods alike. The recent diaspora of West Africans (to Paris in particular) has brought this tradition to Europe and North America, where some marabouts advertise their services as fortune tellers. An eshu of Quimbanda, Marabô, is believed to have carried this esoteric and shamanic role into Brazil. Contemporary marabouts in Senegal advertise on television and have hot lines.[http://www.bbc.com/news/magazine-31859284 Contemporary marabouts.]

• Liliane Kuczynski. Les marabouts africains à Paris. CNRS Editions, Paris (2003) {{ISBN|978-2-271-06087-7}}
• [https://www.megabambou.com/encyclopedie/marabouts.html Magopinaciophilie]: An article discussing Europeans who collect calling card like advertisements by "marabouts".
• [http://lofficiel.ouvaton.org/ L'officiel du Marabout]: Parisian advertisement collection.
• [https://web.archive.org/web/20080427222347/http://www.marabout.ouvaton.org/dotclear/ Magopinaciophiles]: A collection of French flyers.

Ahmadou Bamba, Cheikh Ahmadou Bamba Mbacké (1853-1927) (Aamadu Bàmba Mbàkke in Wolof, Shaykh Aḥmad ibn Muḥammad ibn Ḥabīb Allāh in Arabic, also known as Khadīmu 'l-Rasūl or "The Servant of the messenger" in Arabic, and as Sëriñ Tuubaa or "Cheikh of Tuubaa" in Wolof), was a Muslim Sufi religious leader in Senegal and the founder of the large Mouride Brotherhood (the Muridiyya). See Muslim brotherhoods of Senegal.

Cheikh Ahmadou Bamba was a mystic and religious leader who produced a prodigious quantity of poems and tracts on meditation, rituals, work, and Qur'anic study. Politically, Ahmadou Bamba led a pacifist struggle against French colonialism while not waging outright war on the French as several prominent Tijaan marabouts had done.

Marabouts have been prominent members of Wolof society since the arrival of Sufi brotherhoods from the Maghreb in the 15th century. Their advanced knowledge of the Quran and esteemed reputation have often allowed them to act as traders, priests, judges, or magicians in conjunction with their roles of community religious leaders.{{Cite book|last=Cruise O'Brien|first=D.B.|title=The Mourides of Senegal: The Political and Economic Organization of an Islamic Brotherhood|publisher=Oxford University Press|year=1971|isbn=0198216629|location=London, U.K.|pages=[https://archive.org/details/mouridesofsenega0000crui/page/263 263]|url=https://archive.org/details/mouridesofsenega0000crui/page/263}} Additionally, because of their ability to read and write, village chiefs would frequently appoint marabouts as secretaries or advisers as a means to communicate with neighboring rulers.

File:Marabout in Djenné.jpg, Mali]]

The marabouts' expanding influence in politics paired with their unique allegiance of the Muslim community eventually posed a real threat to the chiefs who had appointed them. In 1683, rising tensions between chiefs and the Muslim population led to a Muslim revolt in the Wolof kingdom of Cayor, which concluded with the installation of a marabout as Damel. In the years following the revolt, relations between marabouts and Wolof chiefs remained relatively calm until a period of militant Islam in the Wolof states in the middle of the 19th century. Militant marabouts primarily of Tukulor(l origin, called "warrior marabouts," completely rejected the authority of local chiefs and sought to install a theocratic Muslim state. As the authority of chiefs and royal armies were undermined by propaganda and military force used by the warrior marabouts, Muslim resistors turned to local marabouts for guidance and protection from their oppressors. After three decades of war and conflict, the warrior marabouts were gradually ousted from the Wolof states as French colonists began to take a tighter hold on the region. As confidence in the leadership abilities of chiefs and rulers declined as a result of the conflict, marabouts emerged as the most trusted and revered source of leadership in Wolof communities.

French colonizers had difficulties adjusting to ruling over Muslim societies. Particularly in West Africa, constructing institutions of colonial rule that did not favor certain constituencies while neglecting others proved to be a tricky task. The French opted for forms of indirect rule through the local aristocracy in an effort to maintain order and keep administrative costs down, but found that many subjects detested these colonial chiefs and rulers and tended to gravitate towards their local marabouts. Marabouts were admired for their transparency and righteousness as they were known to renounce political powers, while ensuring economic, social, and religious stability within their communities.{{Cite book|title=Muslim Societies in African History|last=Robinson|first=David|publisher=Cambridge University Press|year=2004|isbn=0521826276|location=Cambridge, U.K.|pages=187}} Since the judgment of marabouts is so influential, the success or failure of a politician would be almost entirely contingent on the support of more prominent marabouts. Because of this, politicians would try to appease marabouts by agreeing to promote their Sufi brotherhood's best interests in turn for their endorsement, with some politicians believing that winning an election would be impossible without the support of a marabout. This political dynamic, based on patronage and exchanges, would lead to a somewhat of an alliance between marabouts and the French colonizers.{{Cite book|title=Saints and Politicians: Essays in the organisation of a Senegalese peasant society|last=Cruise O'Brien|first=D.B.|publisher=Cambridge University Press|year=1975|isbn=9780521205726|location=Cambridge, U.K.|pages=[https://archive.org/details/saintspolitician0000crui/page/177 177]|url=https://archive.org/details/saintspolitician0000crui/page/177}} Along with endorsing certain politicians in exchange for favors, French colonial administrators sought out marabouts and heads of Sufi brotherhoods to act as intermediaries between colonial administrators and West African Muslims to ensure appropriate allocation of power and resources to avoid any potential conflict.{{Cite book|title=Islam and Muslim Politics in Africa|url=https://archive.org/details/islammuslimpolit00soar|url-access=limited|last=Soares|first=Benjamin F.|publisher=Palgrave Macmillan|year=2007|isbn=9781403979636|location=New York City, U.S.A.|pages=[https://archive.org/details/islammuslimpolit00soar/page/n13 3]}}

File:Marabouts citant la fatiah lors d'un baptême au Niger.jpg during a baptism in Niger]]

After Senegal gained its independence from France in 1960, marabouts and leaders of Sufi Brotherhoods (also marabouts), or the Khalife-Général, have continued to play influential roles in Senegalese politics. Some have questioned the utility of having clientelist relationships between marabouts and government officials in a modern democracy.{{Cite journal|last=Beck|first=Linda J.|date=2001|title=Reining in the Marabouts? Democratization and Local Governance in Senegal|journal=African Affairs|volume=100|issue= 401|pages=602|doi=10.1093/afraf/100.401.601}} The new "grandson" generation of marabouts has cultivated a more independent and secular political outlook and have proven that they are willing to question the authority of their predecessors. In Senegal's 1988 presidential election, Khalife-Général Abdou Lahatte Mbakke supported Abdou Diouf for reelection. Both as public endorsement and as a reward for installing new roads and street lamps in Touba while in office, the Khalife-Général declared a ndiggël (a binding command issued by the Khalife-Général to all members of the Mouride Brotherhood) that proclaimed that all men must vote for Diouf. Although multiple Khalife-Général have issued 'ndiggël politique' in support of a presidential candidate in previous elections, several marabouts of the "grandson" generation openly rejected the command by voting for the opposition instead.{{Cite book|title=Islamic Reform in Twentieth Century Africa|last=Loimeier|first=Roman|publisher=Edinburgh University Press|year=2016|isbn=9780748695430|location=Edinburgh, U.K.|pages=96}} These marabouts believed that the ndiggël violated their secular political rights, which was a sentiment shared among many other Mourides in Touba.

In 1997, a rural council of Touba Mosquée in Senegal issued a set of new taxes meant to fund an ambitions development project in the holy city. City merchants promptly voiced their displeasure of the new taxes and threatened to kick the rural council, whose members were all appointed by the Mouride Khalife-Général, out of the city. Although tax revolts are not uncommon elsewhere, this incident was particularly noteworthy as the merchants' blatant refusal exhibited a departure from typical state-society relations in Senegal. Declining economic performance in Senegal may lead to more taxes in the future, which means political actors may have to adjust or fundamentally alter their clientelist relationships with marabouts and Khalife-Général.

Marabout's tomb, southern [[Morocco|thumb]]

The term marabout appears during the Muslim conquest of the Maghreb. It is derived from the Arabic murābiṭ "one who is garrisoned":[http://www.britannica.com/eb/article-9050725/marabout marabout -- Britannica Online Encyclopedia]. religious students and military volunteers who manned ribats at the time of the conquest.[http://www.nuitdorient.com/n23i21.htm "LE SOUFISME: Problèmes de terminologie : soufi, marabout, fakir et derviche" from www.nuitdorient.com], 3 April 2003. Today, marabout means "saint" in the Berber languages and in general refers to Sufi Muslim teachers who head a lodge or school called a zāwiya associated with a specific school or tradition, called a {{transliteration|ar|ṭarīqah}} "way, path" ({{langx|ar|طريقه}}). However, Charles de Foucauld and Albert Peyriguère, both living as Catholic hermits among Berbers in the Maghreb, were called marabouts by the local population due to their saintly lives.{{cite book |last1=Hemminger |first1=William J. |title=African Son |date=26 April 2012 |publisher=University Press of America |isbn=978-0-7618-5844-7 |page=12 |url=https://books.google.com/books?id=9BzDka1ak64C |access-date=10 September 2024 |language=en}}{{cite book |last1=Boucrout|first1=Marc|editor1-last=Ennaji |editor1-first=Moha |title=Culture berbère (amazighe) et cultures méditerrannéeennes: Le vivre-ensemble |date=9 July 2020 |publisher=KARTHALA Editions |isbn=978-2-8111-2574-5 |page=198 |url=https://books.google.com/books?id=X7RZEAAAQBAJ |access-date=3 September 2024 |language=fr}}

The pronunciation of that word varies by language. For example, it is pronounced amrabadh in Tarifit. Marabouts are known as sidi ({{lang|ar|سيدي}}) in Maghrebi Arabic. Many cities in Morocco got their names from local marabouts, and the name of those cities usually begins with "Sidi" followed by the name of the local marabout. Modern Standard Arabic for "saint" is "walī" ({{lang|ar|ولي}}).

A marabout may also refer to a tomb ({{langx|ar|قُبّة}} qubba "dome") of a venerated saint, and such places have become holy centers and places of pious reflection.

Note zāwiyas are not places of formal pilgrimage, which are limited in Islam to the Hajj and to Jerusalem, but are rather places of reflection and inspiration for the pious.

{{Islam}}

In Morocco:

• Sidi Ali el Goumi
• Sidi Rhaj Amar (Arabda)
• Sidi Allal el Behraoui
• Sidi Abdelah ben Hassoun
• Sidi Moulay Idriss
• Sidi fath
• Sidi el Arbi ben sayyeh
• Sidi Ahmed Tijani
• Sidi Moulay Ali {{not a typo|sherif}}
• Sidi Hajj Hamza Qadiri Boutchichi
• Sidi Sheikh Abdul Qadir Jilani
• Sidi Abdel Kader el Alami
• Sidi Moulay Ibrahim
• Sidi Mohammed Ben Aissa
• Sidi Ahmed Ben Idris Al-Fassi (Idrissiya and Sanoussiya)
• Ahmad u Musa
• Sidi Abu Lhcen Shadili
• Sidi Moulay Abdeslam ibn Mchich Alami (Jbala)
• Sidi Muhammad al-Arabi al-Darqawi
• Sidi Muhammad ibn Sulayman al-Jazuli al-Simlali
• Sidi Abu Abdallah Mohammed Amghar
• Sidi Abu Abdallah al-Qaim bi Amrillah
• Sidi Muhammad ben Issa al-Barnusi al-Fasi Zarruq
• Sidi Moulay Outman (Khaldy-yeen, Beni Arouse), Morocco
• Sidi Mbarek (Khaldy-yeen, Beni Arouse), Morocco
• Sidi Heddi (Khaldy-yeen, Beni Arouse), Morocco
• (alternatively) Zawiyas:
• Zaouïa Naciria
• Zaouïa Cherqaouia
• Zaouia Aïssaouia
• Zaouia Tidjaniya
• Zaouia Idrissiya
• Zaouia Sanoussiya
• Zaouia Al Qadiriya
• Zaouia Al Alamiya
• Zaouia Jazouliya semlaliya
• Zaouia Hamdouchia
• Zaouia Sidi Outman (Khaldyeen, Beni Arouse), Morocco

File:MaraboutToucouleur.jpg marabout (1853)]]

In Algeria:

• sidi Mohand Rezag Ou Assous from akfadou bejaia
• Sidi Ahmed al Tijani of 'Aïn Madhi, around Laghouat Province founder of Tijaniyyah
• Sidi Ahmed ou Saïd du hameau Mestiga, village of Adeni in Kabylia (between Tizi Ouzou and L'Arbaâ Nath Irathen)
• Sidi M'hamed Bou Qobrine Founder of the Rahmaniya (Algiers and Bounouh)
• Sidi Abder Rahman El Thaelebi, founder of the Thaalibiya (Algiers)
• Sidi M'hend oumalek (Tifrit nait oumalek)
• Sidi Moh'Ali oulhadj (Tifrit n'Aït el Hadj)
• Sidi Harrat Benaissa El Idrissi (Zemmora, Relizane)
• Sidi Abd-Allah ben Mançour
• Sidi Abdelkader djilali (tizi-ouzou)
• Sidi Abid Echerrif (Guentis)
• Sidi Abou AbdAllah Ech Choudi El Halloui
• Sidi A'hmed el Mejdoub
• Sidi Bel Abbes (namesake of Sidi Bel Abbès)
• Sidi Ben-Ali (Aïn el Hout - Tlemcen)
• Sidi Ben-Ali (Nédromah)
• Sidi Ben-Azzouz (Borj Ben Azzouz)
• Sidi Bicinti el basco
• Sidi Bou Adjami
• Sidi Boudarga
• Sidi Boudjemaa
• Sidi Brahim
• Sidi Daoudi
• Sioud anta' El-Eubbad es-Saffi
• Sidi En-Naceur
• Sidi Et Toumi
• Sidi Hamadouche
• Sî ibn 'Alî Sharîf (Akbou)
• Sidi Mohammed Ben Omar El Houari
• Sidi Mohammed bou Semah'a,
• Sidi Moh'amed Ou'l Il'afian.
• Sidi Moulebhar
• Sidi Qadir
• Sidi Bel-Ezrag
• Sidi Serhane
• Sidi ghiles (tipaza)
• Sidi Soumeymane Ben Abdallah
• Zaouia de Sidi Benamar (Fillaoussenne)
• Sidi-Wahhab
• Sidi Yahia el Aidly (Akbou)
• Sidi Yakkout
• Oulad bel Kacem [https://books.google.com/books?id=xPorAQAAMAAJ&dq=laoubi+algerie&pg=PA245 Exploration scientifique de l'Algerie pendant les annees 1840,1841,1842]. Volume 5, Imprimerie Nationale Publisher(1848).

In Tunisia:

• Zaouïa de Sidi Ben Azzouz. Nefta
• Zaouïa de Sidi Bouteffaha. Béja
• Zaouïa de Sidi Salah Zlaoui. Béja
• Zaouïa de Sidi Abdelkader. Béja
• Zaouïa de Sidi Bou Arba. Béja
• Zaouïa de Sidi Taieb. Béja
• Zaouïa de Sidi Baba Ali Smadhi. Béja
• Zaouïa de Sidi Ali El Mekki
• Zaouïa de Sidi El Mazri. Monastir
• Zaouïa de Sidi Bou Jaafar. Sousse
• Zaouïa de Sidi Abdel Hamid. Sousse

In France:

• Sidi Bel Hadj El Maafi, French-Algerian imam and marabout who saved Jews during World War II

• Touray, Gambian surname indicating descent from a marabout
• Traditional Berber religion

{{Reflist}}

• {{in lang|fr}} Christian Coulon, Pouvoir maraboutique et pouvoir politique au Sénégal, Paris, Université de Paris, 1976, 2 vol. 594 p. (Thèse d’État, remaniée et publiée en 1981 sous le titre Le marabout et le prince. Islam et pouvoir au Sénégal, Paris, Pedone, XII-317 p.)
• {{in lang|fr}} Bassirou Diop, Le rôle joué par les marabouts toucouleurs dans l’islamisation du Sénégal, Dakar, Université de Dakar, 1983 (Mémoire de Maîtrise)
• Christopher Harrison. France and Islam in West Africa, 1860-1960, Cambridge University Press (1988) {{ISBN|0-521-35230-4}}
• E. Westermarck, Ritual and Belief in Morocco. London 1926.
• Leonardo Alfonso Villalón. Islamic Society and State Power in Senegal: Disciples and Citizens in Fatick, Cambridge University Press, (1995) {{ISBN|0-521-46007-7}}

{{EB1911 Poster|Marabout}}

{{Sufism terminology}}

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Category:Maghreb

Category:Islam in Africa

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Category:Islamic mysticism

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Category:Arabic words and phrases

Category:Religious syncretism

Category:Islamic honorifics

Category:Marabouts

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