One of the major issues in Senegal revolves around talibe. The word "talibe" literally means "student" and this word is used to describe the 150,000-200,000 children in Senegal sent from Senegal, the Gambia, Mauritania, Guinea, and Guinea-Bissau to study Koran under the tutorage of a maribout. Generally, the come from small villages to live in cities. They are supposed to be learning the Koran and about Islam and also about being humble. Thus, they are sent to the streets to beg for food and money, so that they can learn to appreciate simplicity and not needing much. Often in the streets, I am approached by young boys asking for money "Jox ma xaalis yi" ("Give me money") or by boys tapping my shoulder and holding out their bright yellow bowl. Unfortunately, a lot of maribout are corrupt and don't teach the children; instead, they just use them to earn money, and the children don't eat much and aren't treated well. Not much is currently being done to help the talibe, and Senegal is one of the worst countries in terms of human trafficking as a result. I sat down with another trainee to interview one of our LCFs (language and cultural facilitators) about his experience as a talibe when he was a child.
At the time, he was upset that his parents were making him be a talibe, but in retrospect, he is very glad for the experience and even wants his children to be talibe. He says it taught him to be friendly/social/outgoing, to not need much to be comfortable, and to get along well with others. He is fortunate for what he has, but is ok sleeping on the ground or not showering everyday. S. was 4 when he was first sent to be a talibe under his uncle. His uncle was a well-known maribout with disciples coming from all over Senegal and neighboring countries to study with him in Thies. (S.'s family lives in Thies, so he was luckily able to see his family, was familiar with the city, and knew the language; a lot of children do not have these "luxuries.") Also, his uncle had sponshorship from abroad, so he didn't depend upon the money that the children got on the streets. (Most children have to bring back a certain amount of money everyday, or else risk being beaten.) Nevertheless, he (like the other talibe) had to beg for food and money for meals. Every talibe was assigned a group and an older talibe to supervise them. They begged together and then shared the food they received; they received a mix of bread, vegetables, uncooked rice, meal left-overs, etc. At first, S. went to his family's house to collect this food, but then they told him that he had to go out and beg like the rest of the boys.
S. had a good talibe, so he was studying as well. (Many talibe do not actually receive the Islamic tutelage they are promised.) He would wake up, pray, beg for breakfast, study, beg for lunch, study, beg for dinner, and go to bed. At first, he had to memorize the Koran (in Arabic). He'd be given lines to memorize and recite (all within his group). He still remembers a lot of this today and thinks that this early memorization training helped him learn fast in school (because he was accustomed to memorizing). After he memorized the Koran, he began to learn the book of laws. He stopped being a talibe before he could complete this. (He was only a talibe from ages 7-11; some boys are talibes between ages 4-16.) The next step would've been to interpret the Koran. S. was also lucky because his uncle was kind. However, his uncle also traveled a lot and was sometimes away for months at a time. Then the older talibe were in charge, and they didn't always treat the younger ones well. One time, S.'s cousin was beaten badly for not correctly reciting a verse. S. went home and told his father, thinking that his father would be equally enraged; he wasn't and said that his cousin should've studied better. S. is very fortunate that this beating only occurred when his uncle was gone; many other talibe are not as lucky.
After being a full talibe for a few years, S.'s older sisters asked their father to allow him to attend public school. They and his mother thought that he needed to learn other subjects, but his father wanted him to learn about Islam. After some debate and more beggging on his sisters' part, his father acquiesced. S. began to attend the public Koranic school (dara). (In Senegal, there are public French and Arabic schools.) However, on weekends and during holidays, he continued to be a talibe. Sometimes he would even study Koran with his talibe group before school. During school times, he lived at home and commuted to his uncle for the weekends, studying with the other children who commuted. During vacations though, he lived with his uncle again. Sometimes his classmates would be confused about his identity and would ask him if he was a student of a talibe (since they would see him begging). Eventually, he stopped being a talibe and just went to school. His younger brother was also a talibe, but he only commuted to his uncle and attended public school.
As I wrote above, S. is very grateful for the experience and learned a lot from it. At the time, he did have a hard time understanding why his parents were putting him through this and was upset, but now he is glad for it. (He is also glad that his sisters convinced his father to send him to public school because there is a lot to be gained from that system too.) He plans to send his children to be talibe too, but he will have them commute and will ensure they have a good maribout.
S.'s story is one of the few positive talibe stories; most children are not as fortunate and do not have good maribout. They arrive in the city, unused to the bustle of urban life, not knowing the language, having no friends and family, forced to live in a small room packed next to other children, generally are malnourished, often beaten, wear raggedy/old/large clothes with no shoes, and do not receive the Koranic training promised to them. These children sometimes try to escape, though often they are brought back to their maribout. Even if they did escape, their choices are few; they can try to find their way home to their village, but even if they make it, they do not have the skills to be successful in a rural area (nor are they prepared for rural life after living in an urban area for so long). Thus, they find themselves in limbo, uncomfortable in villages and the city, without the skills to find a job in either place, and not much better off than before. This is a serious problem that Senegal must deal with.
S. admits that there are many problems with this current talibe system. He says that many maribout are corrupt, demand unreasonable amounts of money from their talibe, and beat them. Often they don't even teach the children, and the boys just beg all day. Also, with so many people begging on the streets (not all the children are talibe, some are just beggars), it is difficult for people to identify the talibe to support them (for the few who do give money or food to the talibe). S. thus supports a program that his neighborhood takes part in, entitled "1 talibe, 1 home." Through this program, families such as his support talibe. They have the same talibe come every day and give him (or them) food for meals. This way, the children are still learning to be humble, but are receiving adequate nutrition. Programs such as this are very important. The talibe system is so ingrained in culture and religion that it would be near impossible to overhaul it, and this would be the wrong strategy. Instead, the merits of the system should be promoted and work should be done to make the system more just and endurable for the children. This is the approach that should be taken (according to S.). And I agree - the system does have its merits (learning the Koran, learning to be humble), but I am still appalled at how corrupt it has become.
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