A symbol of the heritage of the Mouride brotherhood in Senegal, the Daray Kaamil library has 150,000 works of reference. To make them more accessible, the followers have started to digitise this heritage.
 

By Bineta Diagne

In a modern yellow building, east of the Great Mosque in Touba (192 km from Dakar), a group of pilgrims comes to pay its respect to the works of the founder of Mouridism, Sheikh Ahmadou Bamba (1853-1927).
 
At the entrance of one of the rooms, young Khadim, bows before a photograph of the religious guide. Behind him, a crowd of several hundred followers use the opportunity of The Grand Magal in Touba to pay tribute to the poems and books on Mouridism.
 

"These works are evidence of the Mauritanian marabouts on the Sheikh’s life. It gives me great pleasure to see them," the young pilgrim says with passion. Several “thousands of verses and books are here," he says as he looks at rows of bookshelves filled with such precious works.

"To consult them enables us to better immerse ourselves in the Sheikh’s precepts, which amount to knowledge and duty," he says.

150,000 works

Founded in 1977, the library houses nearly 150,000 works dealing with science, history, geography, written at the end of the 19th century by the Sheikh himself. It also preserves the writings of the Holy Quran written in Touba and various books imported from Arab countries.

A large printing press, consisting of seven machines and a binding unit, makes it possible to print and restore these books. Every Monday, in a workshop, some employees dust off the many books of the library. “American experts have taught us a technique how to keep them longer," explains Moustapha Diattara, the curator.
 
And it has been a year since two computer scientists have started digitising the works. On one hand to “follow the evolution of time” and secondly so that “the Mourides have easier access” to this heritage, says Diattara. "Till now, nearly a quarter of the works have been digitised.” said the curator, who comes from a family of writers.
 

Curator's hope

By giving them such a modern outlook, the curator hopes to also draw attention to "the many unlisted works.” Because Diattara recognises how difficult they are to get hold of.

"Until now we could not gather all the writings on Mouridism because its founder, the Sheikh, was under house arrest from 1895 to 1927, ordered by the French settlers. The latter had scattered his works in Gabon, Mauritania and Djolof (Northern Senegal)," claims Diattara. The Sheik was against the establishment of settlers.
 
Even to this day, Mouride devotees keep travelling to these African countries in search of these lost works.

The brotherhood of the Mourides is a mystical branch of Islam. To reform the Senegalese society, the Sheikh preached orthodoxy against the teachings of the Quran and the traditions of Prophet Muhammad. But also for the commitment to the precepts of Sufism and the enhancement of science and the sense of duty. Today, the brotherhood has the highest influence in Senegal and plays an important role in its economy and politics.

Photo: eleuki (Flickr CC)