Cultural Mores—Beggars

[Olùkọ́ Ọbádélé]

Cultural Mores—Beggars



While out shopping and bargaining one is sure to run into beggars of all kinds. Americans are often perturbed by the number of beggars in Senegal. Yet in this culture, almsgiving, as one of the pillars of Islam, is one means by which Moslems assure their entry into paradise. Senegalese also give from a conviction that by giving they will receive. One might also consider that while in America deformed or handicapped people are often isolated in special homes, in Senegal these individuals are integrated within society where they fulfill an accepted role as beggars.

Begging also has its origins in the early practices of Moslem clerics (from the 11th century onward in the Senegal River Valley) who begged each morning to sustain their meager existence. They traveled in groups throughout the area after completing their Koranic studies, begging at the homes of rich families. Thus a class of people arose who resided in towns and refused to engage in occupations regarded as degrading, other than the teaching and studying of Islam. This early practice of begging explains why (somewhat) begging is so much a part of the Senegal scene today. There is virtually no stigma attached to begging and indeed it is required of those children or adults who are studying with a marabout in order to earn their daily bread.

Some Senegalese have been upset enough by the fact of seeing unsupervised little boys on the streets, begging all day, that they have organized a center called DAARA. Here these children cannot only study the Koran with a marabout, but also learn a few other skills like growing and raising their own food and livestock. Thus the tradition is upheld but the begging is no longer necessary.