Grand Magal of Touba

The Grand Magal of Touba is the annual religious pilgrimage of the Senegalese Mouride Brotherhood, one of the four tariqa (Islamic Sufi orders) of Senegal. On the 18th of Safar, the second month of the Islamic calendar, pilgrims gather in the holy Mouride city of Touba to celebrate the life and teachings of Cheikh Amadou Bamba, the founder of the brotherhood.

The Grand Magal has been recognized as "one of the most popular pilgrimages in the world," with over 3 million participating in 2011. The pilgrimage dates back to 1928 (one year after Bamba's death) and commemorates his 1895 exile to Gabon by the French colonial government.

"Magal" is a Wolof word derived from the verb "mag," which means "to be important" or "to be old"; the noun form is translated as "celebration" or "anniversary." There are other Mouride magals annually, such as the Magal of Saint Louis, which commemorates a prayer performed by the saint in 1895 in defiance of colonial authorities. However, the Grand Magal is the most important and widely attended of the Mouride magals - indeed, it is the largest celebration in Senegal, religious or secular.

The Grand Magal originates in a request of Cheikh Amadou Bamba's in which he asked that his followers celebrate the anniversary of his exile to Gabon. However, after the Cheikh's death in 1927, his son and successor Serigne Moustapha Mbacke organized the first Mouride gathering on the anniversary of his death rather than his exile (the first of these early Magals occurred in 1928, with an estimated participation of 70,000). This date remained until 1946, when Serigne Moustapha Mbacke's successor, Falilou Mbacke, changed the date of the Magal to the anniversary of Bamba's exile, in accordance with the Cheikh's original wishes. The period of exile in Gabon holds great importance to Mourides: it is seen as a time of persecution and testing of Bamba's spiritual strength and resolve.

The Grand Magal has grown over the years, from hundreds of thousands of pilgrims attending in the later decades of the twentieth century to nearly 2 million in 2000 and over 3 million in 2011. The event is televised, with coverage in part serving the Mouride Brotherhood's proselytizing mission; video cassettes of the Magal are sold domestically and internationally as well.

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Wikipedia