Senegal:)

PRE-COLONIAL:

Senegal was founded by the Tukulor in the middle valley of the Senegal River. The first kingdoms were created in Senegal around the 7th century including the Tekrour Kingdom, the Namandirou Kingdom and the Djolof Kingdom. The dominant religion of Senegal, Islam, was introduced in the area in the 8th and 9th centuries by Berber merchants. These merchants converted many people to Islam but this created alot of chaos. European missionaries introduced Christianity to Senegal in the 19th century. Between 1300 and 1900 about one-third of the population was enslaved. 

COLONIAL:

Many European powers, like Portugal, the Netherlands and Great Britain, all competed for trade in the area of Senegal in the 15th century. This continued up until 1677 when France took control. At this time Senegal was an important slave trade departure point, (it was also a destination to purchase slaves.) About 200 years later, in the 1850s, the French began to expand off the small islands and onto the mainland of Senegal. By now, the slave trade was beginning to die down thanks to a man by the name of Lat-Dior, Damel of Cayor. 

INDEPENDENCE:

In January of 1959, the French Sudan and Senegal merged to form the Mali Federation. The Mali Federation became fully independent a year later on June 20, 1960. This was the result of the independence Senegal gained from France by an agreement signed on April 4, 1960 which also granted Senegal a transfer of power. The Mali Federation broke apart on August 20 of that same year. Leopold Senghor was elected as Senegal’s first president in September of 1960. After becoming independent, Senegal and Gambia formed the nominal confederation of Senegambia which took place on February 1, 1982. The union ended in 1989. Senegal has had a good history with participating in international peacekeeping.

PRESENT DAY:

The 40-year rule of the Socialist Party in Senegal ended in 2000; this was claimed as a rare democratic power transfer. Currently, the economy is based upon agriculture. The money that the Senegalese people living abroad send home is a large source of the country’s revenue.

Senegal has one of the more unrestricted press climates in Africa. Although, journalists are “regularly threatened and their media is banned or vandalized,” stated Reporters without Borders in their 2010 report. The Senegal constitution guarantees media freedom. The news is not censored by the government, but they are often criticized by small media groups. There are about 20 daily newspapers in Senegal while foreign publications are widely known and always available. By June 2009, there were over one million people with access to the internet.

INTERESTING FACTS:

• Senegal is the most popular tourist destination in western Africa.
• The country’s population is 94% Muslim.
• If invited to a Senegalese person’s home, it is a custom to bring them a box of chocolates.
• If you ever ate dinner in Senegal, you could only eat food off the table with your right hand.
• It is wrong to write a business card in Senegal, even if it’s your own!
• In Senegal, it is polite to leave a little bit of food on your plate once your done eating.
• The Senegalese will never hand someone a gift with their left hand.

Sources:

http://www.kwintessential.co.uk/resources/global-etiquette/senegal.html

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Senegal

http://www.cia.gov/library/publications/the-world-factbook/geos/sg.html#top

http://www.news.bbc.co.uk/2/hi/africa/country_porfiles/1064496.stm

http://goafrica.about.com/od/senegal/a/senegalfacts.htm

MYTH BLOG

Throughout the creation myths, there are many common factors they share.            

          In many of the myths, including the Babylonian’s creation story, the Norse creation story and the Iroquois creation story, they talk about how in the beginning, the god/s ruled in the sky. They looked down upon the earth. I think this is significant and not just a coincidence. By putting them in the sky, they are showing that the gods have dominance over the people. That is another commonality I see in the creation myths. In all the myths I read, the people worship the gods, the gods don’t worship the people. I think this is because the people were created by the gods so they feel they aren’t as important as their creator.

          Another trait I found common among the creation myths was that there was a tree of life/knowledge. In the Norse creation story, the tree was called Yggdrasil. It was so tall it grew through the three layers of their earth. It grew in the center of the world. In the Old Testament, the tree was represented as the tree of life. When Adam and Eve ate from it, they lost their mortality and God was very angry with them. I think the tree was the symbol for these stories because a tree is big and powerful. It starts out as a small seed and grows into a something that can be huge. This would represent life.

          In many myths, the world started out as nothing. Complete nothingness. In the creation story for the Maori, the nothingness was called Te Kore. In the Norse creation myth, the nothingness was called Ginnungagap. In the Old Testment, it was said, “In the beginning, there was nothing.” I think this is weird to think about how far we’ve come. The world started out as nothing, I can’t even picture that. How could something so huge come out of nothing? It’s crazy.

          In all the myths I read, the people have dominance over the animals. In the Old Testament, God tells Adam personally that he is more important than the animals. I think that this explains why we are the way we are. Imagine if humans were the ones who were domesticated by zebras! Life would be very different. I think that what happened in the creation story put this segregation in but it would probably happen anyway because humans are the most intelligent animals on the planet.

We may never know how the earth really came to be, but throughout the world many people have similar ideas.