Koleyaalu Jaaraŋo I: Solutions to Problems I

Abstract

The entire manuscript is available for download as a PDF file(s). Higher-resolution images may be available upon request. For technical assistance, please contact [email protected]. Fieldwork Team: Dr. Fallou Ngom (Pricipal Investigator; Director, African Studies Center), Ablaye Diakité (Local Project Manager), Mr. Ibrahima Yaffa (General Field Facilitator), and Ibrahima Ngom (photographer). Technical Team: Professor Fallou Ngom (Principle Investigator, Project Director and former Director of the African Studies Center at Boston University), and Eleni Castro (Technical Lead, BU Libraries). This collection of Mandinka Ajami materials is copied as part of the African Studies Center’s African Ajami Library. This is a joint project between BU and the West African Research Center (WARC), funded by the British Library/Arcadia Endangered Archives Programme. Access Condition and Copyright: These materials are subject to copyright and are distributed under the terms of the Creative Commons Attribution-NonCommercial 4.0 License, which permits non-commercial use, distribution, and reproduction in any medium, provided the original author and source are fully cited using the information below. For use, distribution or reproduction beyond these terms, contact Professor Fallou Ngom ([email protected]). Citation: Materials in this web edition should be cited as: Ngom, Fallou, Castro, Eleni, & Diakité, Ablaye. (2018). African Ajami Library: EAP 1042. Digital Preservation of Mandinka Ajami Materials of Casamance, Senegal. Boston: Boston University Libraries: http://hdl.handle.net/2144/27112. For Inquiries: please contact Professor Fallou Ngom ([email protected]). For technical assistance, please contact [email protected] / Custodial history: The owner inherited it from his father who received it from his grandfather, Karang Alphousseyni Cisse. He was a Mandinka religious who was born in Mankonomba and later moved to Bemme where he spent the rest of his life until his death.The manuscript is a photocopy of a part of a bilingual manual dealing with techniques to solve people's problems using what Mandinka scholars call: Ismoo (Arabic: name). The word refers to the use of names of God, Prophets, Jinns, and other supernatural beings in prayers, numerology, and Khātim (magical squares) in order to address people’s preoccupations. Local marabouts (healers and religious leaders) have a variety of recipes, techniques, and specialized prayers tailored to specific concerns of their clients. Some parts of the manuscript are written in Arabic (usually words believed to have supernatural power) and other parts are in Mandinka (usually the instructions of how to use the techniques or recipes effectively). Most of the Mandinka Ajami writings in the manuscript are vocalized, while most of the Arabic writings are not