Que pensez-vous de la culture soninké ? A-t-elle un avenir ?

[Fodyé Cissé]

Je réagirai plus tard sur ce sujet dès que j'aurais un peu de temps.
Mais, je pense qu'il n'est pas un problème de continuer la discussion en anglais. Il y a les outils de traduction tels que le traducteur de Google, mais pour développer ses idées, on le fait dans la langue où on se sent le plus à l'aise. Et puis, Soninkara, ce n'est pas seulement que les francophones. Il y a des soninké anglophones qui ont aussi le droit de participer aux débats.

I will react later on this when i will be less busy.
For me, it's not a problem to continue the discussion in english. People can use some tools such as the Google Translator to understand the sense of your posts written in english.

I believe that each soninkaranaute can participate to the debates in the language where he/she feels comfortable.
Also, Soninkara, it's not just Sénégal, Mali, Mauritanie where the official language is french. In Gambia, in Sierra Leone, we have Soninke there too who don't speak french.

Brother Cisse,

It is lovely to have a dialogue with intelligent people even if we do not always agree. Thanks for the sharing. It is the process that matters, the dialogue. So long as we do not hold unbending attitudes to the subject matter, we might end up enlightening ourselves. Further, if I might add, it is not about agreeing with each other; rather it is more about shedding light on an important subject. You, indeed, have shed some light on the subject.

But before I continue the dialogue, I would like to personally thank you for the great work you have done to build this website along with the Waounde one among others. I am extremely happy that we can communicate with each other through your wonderful initiatives. My deepest gratitude to you and the those working with you.

...

[nas]

"And if you think I'm too harsh I'm asking why can the pakistanis, the turks, and other people do what we can't" ?

The simplest and truest answer to your important question, in my mind, is: A Community with a deep sense of the value of its culture particularly if this culture is seen as the best possible response to Life and living or a God sent one.

When Life is reduced to Islam and making money, then there isn't a lot to be taught outside of these two. This, in my view, is the reductionist culture of the post Wagadu Sooninkaaxu-money and Islam. So, if parents send their children to school and they are given the fundamentals of Islam, they think they have fulfilled their obligations as parents. This closes the matter for the desire to make money is already in your blood. This is what has been happening in the Diaspora. This is my view. Let us not quarrel with it.

In the village, it is not much different. Here, too, you are forced to live within your caste and then seek personal wealth and follow Islam. The culture is a lot broader because you now have the music, the dance, the appropriate way of dressing for various occasions, the foods, in short, the way of living that we call Sooninkaaxu.

I joined this particular forum among all the others I have been quietly following for sometime, because I think it is at the core of all of our concerns-the culture that we can call Sooninkaaxu.

Like you and Nas and Idipro, et al, I too, am a Diaspora Sooninke. I can state here that there are some Sooninko in the Gambia who will not consider me as part of the Sooninke world. Among those who grew up among the Sooninko of Jimira and Fulladu of the Gambia, I am as much of a stranger as someone from South Africa, or Papua New Guinea or Australia. This notwithstanding, I am interested in the Culture because of what my father-LajieMama Kamara- taught me.

He taught me about Goodness. He taught me about Excellence. He taught me fearlessness as the basis of Hooraxu-Nobility. This nobility is not about birth, or about blood, or about caste. This Hooraxu is what brings you, the individual, in the presence of the Divine Company Gods and makes you shine among humans. He taught me not to exploit others, that is, to be fair in all my transactions with my fellow human beings no matter who they are. He also taught me not to be lazy. This is tied to Goodness and Excellence. He taught me to put every ounce of energy that I could muster and apply myself fully to whatever I was doing so that whosoever sees it will know that this is the handiwork of a Kagoro. He taught me to be independent within the social network so long as it is not regressive or conservative for Life is dynamic or oppressive.

I could go on but the above paragraph sums up eloquently how Sooninkaaxu and Kagoraaxu were defined to me by my father. As I see it, culture is first Spirit whose energy is translated into the concrete details of Life and living-the how part of Life. The Spirit of the culture is alive and vibrant, always adapting to the realities of the moment and the demands and challenges of the day.

Do we value our Sooninkaaxu? If so, what does it mean outside of customs and ancient traditions? Can Sooninkaaxu be responsive to the demands and challenges of Life and living? If yes, then, there has to be a community of vibrant people who maintain and enrich the culture by the very way that they respond to the challenges and demands of Life. Why should a Kome-slave- uphold a culture that is largely exploiting him or her? Why should a naxamala uphold a culture that will not allow him or her to excel to the highest pinnacle of society if he or she has the capability, the education, the moral character to be there? Can the modern Sooninkaaxu be based on a meritocracy? Can Goodness and Excellence be the cement mortar that hold us together?

Let us not run away from ourselves. We have something very important to contribute to the human race again. However, we can do this only in community. The Sooninke Revolution will invariably start in the Diaspora first as this is the sector that can rise above the deadly caste system. I am a meritocrat and not an aristocrat by philosophy. Let us not quarrel about this one either. Let us see the limitations of the caste system and rise above it.

Let us take this seriously. What does the Sooninke culture mean? To answer this question, we have to know what culture is, in its broad terms. Then we can study what Sooninkaaxu is and then, may be if we have the energy, do something about it in community.

La vie ce réduit telle a l'islam et a faire de l'argent ?non je pense plutôt que cet une belle illusion .L'islam est un guide pour les hommes un far dans cette mer si sombre , un voile devant ce mal , une lumière dans cet obscurité si chaque individu de notre culture aurai adhéré a la fois concrètement et sens ambiguïté a l'islam , notre culture auraient très certainement conquis une grande partie du monde . Toutes les grandes valeurs morales et éthique vienne des livre sacré , ne ta t-il pas trouver orphelin et ta accueillie , oui accueilli dans la bonté et la droiture il la donner un non a toute chose et toute chose qui permette la subsistance dans ce monde éphémère et tous sont soumis a lui . Quel hypocrisie de la part de certain philosophes ou certain individus qui pense que l'homme a atteint un certain stade de maturité qui lui permet de définir lui même ses propre règles , faux car toutes ses règles vienne du tous miséricordieux .
La vie des soninké ne ce résume pas a l'islam et a faire de l'argent mais plutôt a la perdition totale de l'islam cet a dire des valeurs humaine et morale qui forge chaque individu , qui forge et structure chaque groupe d'individu , chaque société , de chaque culture , de chaque pays , pour qu'il puisse vivre dans une harmonie profonde . Non Monsieur nous avons oublier l'islam car l'homme et sont arrogance a décider que les coutumes et les traditions prendrons et prenne le dessus sur les valeurs divine et universelle quelle absurdité , dieu ne pardonnera point cela ses pour cela que ses notre fin , celle de l'immoralité et du non respect pour la folie des cœurs et des âmes , mais dieu net certainement pas inattentif a ce que l'on fait.

Votre père vous a appris la bonté et l'excellence ses toute a son honneur , la noblesse du nom n'existe pas ses juste un mensonge de plus dans cet folie humaine , seul celle du cœur et des actes est propice a désigner le noble .
Mais aurons nous un jours le courage d'en discuter de façon solennelle sens ambiguïté , aurons nous le courage d’être de réel serviteur de dieu de crié haut et fort cet folie , de ne plus fermé les yeux mais de ce lever avec courage et défier les partisan de l’obscurantisme . Hélas le courage nous manque car celui qui connait la vérité préférera suivre le menteur de peur d'avoir des problème ou d'avoir certain commentaire le régressent .
Qui aura le courage de dire solennellement j'accepte de donner mon enfant a cet homme malgré que sa caste est différente de la mienne. Oui le courage nous manque , nous préférons le mensonge car il est plus facile de mentir et de ce mentir a soie même .
Prenons donc exemple sur ce jeune guerrier qui alla sauver sa belle , donner comme offrande au serpent a sept tète le jeune Traoré alla mettre a bas la bête pour sauver sa princesse . essayons de retrouver nos valeurs mais pour moi ce net que utopie .

Le monde est dangereux a vivre ! non pas tant a cause de ce qui font le mal, mais a causse de ceux qui regarde et laisse faire .

[sajokuumba Kamara]

La vie ce réduit telle a l'islam et a faire de l'argent ?non je pense plutôt que cet une belle illusion .L'islam est un guide pour les hommes un far dans cette mer si sombre , un voile devant ce mal , une lumière dans cet obscurité si chaque individu de notre culture aurai adhéré a la fois concrètement et sens ambiguïté a l'islam , notre culture auraient très certainement conquis une grande partie du monde . Toutes les grandes valeurs morales et éthique vienne des livre sacré , ne ta t-il pas trouver orphelin et ta accueillie , oui accueilli dans la bonté et la droiture il la donner un non a toute chose et toute chose qui permette la subsistance dans ce monde éphémère et tous sont soumis a lui . Quel hypocrisie de la part de certain philosophes ou certain individus qui pense que l'homme a atteint un certain stade de maturité qui lui permet de définir lui même ses propre règles , faux car toutes ses règles vienne du tous miséricordieux .
La vie des soninké ne ce résume pas a l'islam et a faire de l'argent mais plutôt a la perdition totale de l'islam cet a dire des valeurs humaine et morale qui forge chaque individu , qui forge et structure chaque groupe d'individu , chaque société , de chaque culture , de chaque pays , pour qu'il puisse vivre dans une harmonie profonde . Non Monsieur nous avons oublier l'islam car l'homme et sont arrogance a décider que les coutumes et les traditions prendrons et prenne le dessus sur les valeurs divine et universelle quelle absurdité , dieu ne pardonnera point cela ses pour cela que ses notre fin , celle de l'immoralité et du non respect pour la folie des cœurs et des âmes , mais dieu net certainement pas inattentif a ce que l'on fait.

Votre père vous a appris la bonté et l'excellence ses toute a son honneur , la noblesse du nom n'existe pas ses juste un mensonge de plus dans cet folie humaine , seul celle du cœur et des actes est propice a désigner le noble .
Mais aurons nous un jours le courage d'en discuter de façon solennelle sens ambiguïté , aurons nous le courage d’être de réel serviteur de dieu de crié haut et fort cet folie , de ne plus fermé les yeux mais de ce lever avec courage et défier les partisan de l’obscurantisme . Hélas le courage nous manque car celui qui connait la vérité préférera suivre le menteur de peur d'avoir des problème ou d'avoir certain commentaire le régressent .
Qui aura le courage de dire solennellement j'accepte de donner mon enfant a cet homme malgré que sa caste est différente de la mienne. Oui le courage nous manque , nous préférons le mensonge car il est plus facile de mentir et de ce mentir a soie même .

"Prenons donc exemple sur ce jeune guerrier qui alla sauver sa belle , donner comme offrande au serpent a sept tète le jeune Traoré alla mettre a bas la bête pour sauver sa princesse . essayons de retrouver nos valeurs mais pour moi ce net que utopie ."

Mon Frere Nas, this is where you confuse me deeply. If we are to take the example of Mamadi and Sia Yattabare, I think your whole thesis in this particular response and indeed from the beginning falls to the ground despite your spirited defense of God and Islam.

Mamadi slew the seven-headed serpent out of LOVE not out of devotion to some custom or to some tradition or for that matter to some religion and its god or gods and priests and priestesses. Love of Sia meant more to him than custom, tradition and religion. Chalk one for Love and courage. I think this is an extremely important lesson for all Sooninko if we are to understand the movement of culture that is alive, meaning dynamic. The lesson we draw is that when custom, tradition, and religion have served their purposes and Humankind has to take the necessary steps to a higher culture and a higher understanding of Life and living, then, it is advisable for those who see this necessity to do what is required to usher in the new. The old has to die or seamlessly blend into the new.

Now this courage of Mamadi's and that of Sia's has been followed by the Sooninko who converted to Islam. They deserted their own religion and adopted the one from Arabia despite opposition from the die-hard traditionalists and conservatives.

Now may I question, in the spirit of this dialogue, why the Sooninko converted to Islam rather than do what the hanifs did in Arabia that produced Mohammed, as the prophet of Allah? The hanifs could have converted to Judaism or to Christianity en masse. But only a few did, among which was one relative of Khaddiya who felt that the new religion of Islam felt short of her expectations and so out of frustration, she converted to Christianity. The hanifs sought their own way and they were rewarded with Mohammed and Islam that you have so far so eloquently defended. It did not come about by following the existing old religions. It came about because there were seekers after a new guidance of god.

Now in my mind, this religion too has served its useful purposes for humanity and that we Sooninko should start now to seek a direct line to the Unknowable Kamanen for a new Divine Guidance. This will be in the spirit of Sooninkaaxu in my mind, in the spirit of Mamadi and Sia, in the spirit of the Sooninko converted to Islam and Christianity.

Again, this is a dialogue. All approaches and meaningful contributions and challenges have to be intelligently addressed. If we can learn this dialogue, may be, as stated earlier, we may all come upon this Intelligence that will lead us to understand and create a higher culture, a higher society, and indeed, a higher civilization.

The two tenets of Sooninkaaxu quoted earlier-Islam and money-are well known main pillars of Sooninke culture for centuries now, Nas. It may be a cliche or a stereotype, but in general, we cannot divorce ourselves or for that matter our culture from these two tenets. Your critique is well taken, but it goes more to state the lack of proper education than anything else. For over a thousand years, the Sooninko have fielded Muslims to the Islamic course. Yet, over ninety percent of Sooninko are illiterate during most of that time. Until the modern era, mass education was not a pillar of Sooninke society. How can we expect then to understand and participate fully in the development of Islam and continually regenerate our culture when one has to first learn a foreign language, totally different from one's own, to know the dictates of the religion? Again, I maintain that religion is always at the core of most cultures. The well educated in the tradition of Islam can contribute to the discussion on the laws and the hadiths. However, that is falling into interpretations and differing opinions which do lend themselves to huge confusion. To have a direct understanding, you need a direct connection which is not available at the moment. Because few Sooninko are literate in their own language, even a written translation of the Quran in Sooninke will be of little use but to the few, any discussion on culture that will include all has to be oral.

Are we beginning to see the outlines of the demise of the culture? A cardinal pillar is in a foreign language that only few have managed to master.

You have made a spirited defense of Islam, which is admirable. You have put enormous stress upon following the laws of god. May I quietly posit something new in this. Please take no offense. Just reflect on it. Or should I state, could I pose a question or two here?

Where there is LAW, divine or secular, will you discover LOVE there? Isn't the law the absence of LOVE? Please think on this.

My Brothers and Sisters, these are not idle questions. One comes with fear in its wake, a sense of insecurity, hypocrisy, cleverness, the judge, the law enforcers, criminality, prison, sin and hell. The other, I would like you to reflect on in terms of two lovers. Is the foundation of their love based on LAW? Or is it above and beyond the law?

Nas, you and many others posit a Sooninkaaxu ever tied to Islam. I posit a Sooninkaaxu based on awakening to an Intelligence and Wisdom that are ever new and fresh.

This Intelligence and Wisdom are never static; they are always dynamic, changing according to the circumstances and our needs and challenges of Life. This is the principal pillar of my Sooninkaaxu. Through this, I can come upon the living spirit of the culture and allow it to help me address the challenges and demands of Life and living.

We, too, (Sooninko) are custodians of something Divine. Discover it. It is available. And it is the mother and father of Islam, Christianity, and Judaism. This is the challenge.

[nas]

La vie ce réduit telle a l'islam et a faire de l'argent ?non je pense plutôt que cet une belle illusion .L'islam est un guide pour les hommes un far dans cette mer si sombre , un voile devant ce mal , une lumière dans cet obscurité si chaque individu de notre culture aurai adhéré a la fois concrètement et sens ambiguïté a l'islam , notre culture auraient très certainement conquis une grande partie du monde . Toutes les grandes valeurs morales et éthique vienne des livre sacré , ne ta t-il pas trouver orphelin et ta accueillie , oui accueilli dans la bonté et la droiture il la donner un non a toute chose et toute chose qui permette la subsistance dans ce monde éphémère et tous sont soumis a lui . Quel hypocrisie de la part de certain philosophes ou certain individus qui pense que l'homme a atteint un certain stade de maturité qui lui permet de définir lui même ses propre règles , faux car toutes ses règles vienne du tous miséricordieux .
La vie des soninké ne ce résume pas a l'islam et a faire de l'argent mais plutôt a la perdition totale de l'islam cet a dire des valeurs humaine et morale qui forge chaque individu , qui forge et structure chaque groupe d'individu , chaque société , de chaque culture , de chaque pays , pour qu'il puisse vivre dans une harmonie profonde . Non Monsieur nous avons oublier l'islam car l'homme et sont arrogance a décider que les coutumes et les traditions prendrons et prenne le dessus sur les valeurs divine et universelle quelle absurdité , dieu ne pardonnera point cela ses pour cela que ses notre fin , celle de l'immoralité et du non respect pour la folie des cœurs et des âmes , mais dieu net certainement pas inattentif a ce que l'on fait.

Votre père vous a appris la bonté et l'excellence ses toute a son honneur , la noblesse du nom n'existe pas ses juste un mensonge de plus dans cet folie humaine , seul celle du cœur et des actes est propice a désigner le noble .
Mais aurons nous un jours le courage d'en discuter de façon solennelle sens ambiguïté , aurons nous le courage d’être de réel serviteur de dieu de crié haut et fort cet folie , de ne plus fermé les yeux mais de ce lever avec courage et défier les partisan de l’obscurantisme . Hélas le courage nous manque car celui qui connait la vérité préférera suivre le menteur de peur d'avoir des problème ou d'avoir certain commentaire le régressent .
Qui aura le courage de dire solennellement j'accepte de donner mon enfant a cet homme malgré que sa caste est différente de la mienne. Oui le courage nous manque , nous préférons le mensonge car il est plus facile de mentir et de ce mentir a soie même .

"Prenons donc exemple sur ce jeune guerrier qui alla sauver sa belle , donner comme offrande au serpent a sept tète le jeune Traoré alla mettre a bas la bête pour sauver sa princesse . essayons de retrouver nos valeurs mais pour moi ce net que utopie ."

Mon Frere Nas, this is where you confuse me deeply. If we are to take the example of Mamadi and Sia Yattabare, I think your whole thesis in this particular response and indeed from the beginning falls to the ground despite your spirited defense of God and Islam.

Mamadi slew the seven-headed serpent out of LOVE not out of devotion to some custom or to some tradition or for that matter to some religion and its god or gods and priests and priestesses. Love of Sia meant more to him than custom, tradition and religion. Chalk one for Love and courage. I think this is an extremely important lesson for all Sooninko if we are to understand the movement of culture that is alive, meaning dynamic. The lesson we draw is that when custom, tradition, and religion have served their purposes and Humankind has to take the necessary steps to a higher culture and a higher understanding of Life and living, then, it is advisable for those who see this necessity to do what is required to usher in the new. The old has to die or seamlessly blend into the new.

Now this courage of Mamadi's and that of Sia's has been followed by the Sooninko who converted to Islam. They deserted their own religion and adopted the one from Arabia despite opposition from the die-hard traditionalists and conservatives.

Now may I question, in the spirit of this dialogue, why the Sooninko converted to Islam rather than do what the hanifs did in Arabia that produced Mohammed, as the prophet of Allah? The hanifs could have converted to Judaism or to Christianity en masse. But only a few did, among which was one relative of Khaddiya who felt that the new religion of Islam felt short of her expectations and so out of frustration, she converted to Christianity. The hanifs sought their own way and they were rewarded with Mohammed and Islam that you have so far so eloquently defended. It did not come about by following the existing old religions. It came about because there were seekers after a new guidance of god.

Now in my mind, this religion too has served its useful purposes for humanity and that we Sooninko should start now to seek a direct line to the Unknowable Kamanen for a new Divine Guidance. This will be in the spirit of Sooninkaaxu in my mind, in the spirit of Mamadi and Sia, in the spirit of the Sooninko converted to Islam and Christianity.

Again, this is a dialogue. All approaches and meaningful contributions and challenges have to be intelligently addressed. If we can learn this dialogue, may be, as stated earlier, we may all come upon this Intelligence that will lead us to understand and create a higher culture, a higher society, and indeed, a higher civilization.

The two tenets of Sooninkaaxu quoted earlier-Islam and money-are well known main pillars of Sooninke culture for centuries now, Nas. It may be a cliche or a stereotype, but in general, we cannot divorce ourselves or for that matter our culture from these two tenets. Your critique is well taken, but it goes more to state the lack of proper education than anything else. For over a thousand years, the Sooninko have fielded Muslims to the Islamic course. Yet, over ninety percent of Sooninko are illiterate during most of that time. Until the modern era, mass education was not a pillar of Sooninke society. How can we expect then to understand and participate fully in the development of Islam and continually regenerate our culture when one has to first learn a foreign language, totally different from one's own, to know the dictates of the religion? Again, I maintain that religion is always at the core of most cultures. The well educated in the tradition of Islam can contribute to the discussion on the laws and the hadiths. However, that is falling into interpretations and differing opinions which do lend themselves to huge confusion. To have a direct understanding, you need a direct connection which is not available at the moment. Because few Sooninko are literate in their own language, even a written translation of the Quran in Sooninke will be of little use but to the few, any discussion on culture that will include all has to be oral.

Are we beginning to see the outlines of the demise of the culture? A cardinal pillar is in a foreign language that only few have managed to master.

You have made a spirited defense of Islam, which is admirable. You have put enormous stress upon following the laws of god. May I quietly posit something new in this. Please take no offense. Just reflect on it. Or should I state, could I pose a question or two here?

Where there is LAW, divine or secular, will you discover LOVE there? Isn't the law the absence of LOVE? Please think on this.

My Brothers and Sisters, these are not idle questions. One comes with fear in its wake, a sense of insecurity, hypocrisy, cleverness, the judge, the law enforcers, criminality, prison, sin and hell. The other, I would like you to reflect on in terms of two lovers. Is the foundation of their love based on LAW? Or is it above and beyond the law?

Nas, you and many others posit a Sooninkaaxu ever tied to Islam. I posit a Sooninkaaxu based on awakening to an Intelligence and Wisdom that are ever new and fresh.

This Intelligence and Wisdom are never static; they are always dynamic, changing according to the circumstances and our needs and challenges of Life. This is the principal pillar of my Sooninkaaxu. Through this, I can come upon the living spirit of the culture and allow it to help me address the challenges and demands of Life and living.

We, too, (Sooninko) are custodians of something Divine. Discover it. It is available. And it is the mother and father of Islam, Christianity, and Judaism. This is the challenge.

Traduction du dialogue grasse a l'outil google traduction .

Mon frere Nas, c'est là que vous me confondez profondément. Si nous prenons l'exemple de Mamadi et Sia Yattabare, je pense que votre thèse entière dans cette réponse particulière et en fait depuis le début tombe au sol, malgré votre défense fougueuse de Dieu et l'Islam.

Mamadi tua le serpent à sept têtes hors de l'AMOUR ne pas sortir de la dévotion à une coutume ou à une tradition ou d'ailleurs à certains religion et son dieu ou des dieux et des prêtres et des prêtresses. Amour de Sia signifiait plus pour lui que coutume, tradition et la religion. Une craie pour l'amour et de courage. Je pense que c'est une leçon extrêmement importante pour tous les Sooninko si nous voulons comprendre le mouvement de la culture qui est vivant, ce qui signifie dynamique. La leçon que nous tirons est que lorsque la coutume, la tradition et la religion ont servi leurs fins et l'humanité doit prendre les mesures nécessaires pour une culture supérieure et une plus grande compréhension de la vie et la vie, alors, il est conseillé pour ceux qui voient cette nécessité de faire ce qui est nécessaire pour inaugurer la nouvelle. Le vieux a de mourir ou de fusionner de façon homogène dans la nouvelle.

Maintenant, ce courage de Mamadi et celle de Sia a été suivie par la Sooninko qui s'est converti à l'islam. Elles ont déserté leur propre religion et adopté celui d'Arabie, malgré l'opposition des traditionalistes purs et durs et les conservateurs.

Maintenant je me demande peut, dans l'esprit de ce dialogue, pourquoi l'Sooninko converti à l'islam plutôt que de faire ce que l'hanifs n'a en Arabie qui a produit Mahomet, comme le prophète d'Allah? Le hanifs pourrait avoir convertis au judaïsme ou au christianisme en masse. Mais seuls quelques-uns n'ont, entre ce qui était un parent du Khaddiya qui estimaient que la nouvelle religion de l'Islam senti courte de ses attentes et ainsi de la frustration, elle se convertit au christianisme. Le hanifs cherché leur propre voie et ils ont été récompensés par Mahomet et l'Islam que vous avez jusqu'à présent défendu avec tant d'éloquence. Il ne s'est pas faite en suivant les vieilles religions existantes. Il est venu à propos, car il y avait des demandeurs d'après une nouvelle orientation de Dieu.

Maintenant, dans mon esprit, cette religion a trop servi ses fins utiles pour l'humanité et que nous Sooninko doit commencer dès maintenant à chercher une ligne directe vers l'Inconnaissable Kamanen pour une nouvelle orientation divine. Ce sera dans l'esprit de Sooninkaaxu dans mon esprit, dans l'esprit de Mamadi et Sia, dans l'esprit de la Sooninko converti à l'islam et le christianisme.

Encore une fois, c'est un dialogue. Toutes les approches et les contributions significatives et des défis doivent être abordés de façon intelligente. Si nous pouvons apprendre de ce dialogue, peut être, comme indiqué précédemment, nous pouvons tous venir sur cette Intelligence qui nous conduira à comprendre et à créer une culture plus élevée, une haute société, et en effet, une civilisation supérieure.

Les deux dogmes de Sooninkaaxu cité précédemment-Islam et l'argent sont bien connus principaux piliers de la culture Sooninke depuis des siècles, Nas. C'est peut-être un cliché ou un stéréotype, mais en général, nous ne pouvons pas nous le divorce ou d'ailleurs notre culture à partir de ces deux principes. Votre critique est bien pris, mais il va plus à l'état de l'absence de bonne éducation qu'autre chose. Depuis plus d'un millier d'années, le Sooninko ont dépêché les musulmans au cours islamiques. Pourtant, plus de quatre-pour cent de Sooninko sont analphabètes durant la majeure partie de cette époque. Jusqu'à l'époque moderne, l'éducation de masse n'a pas été un pilier de la société Sooninke. Comment peut-on s'attendre alors à comprendre et à participer pleinement au développement de l'islam et régénérer continuellement notre culture quand on a d'abord apprendre une langue étrangère, totalement différent du sien, à savoir les préceptes de la religion? Encore une fois, je maintiens que la religion est toujours au cœur de la plupart des cultures. Le bien éduqués dans la tradition de l'Islam peuvent contribuer à la discussion sur les lois et les hadiths. Cependant, ce n'est tomber dans des interprétations et des opinions divergentes qui ne se prêtent pas à confusion énorme. Pour avoir une compréhension directe, vous avez besoin d'une connexion directe qui n'est pas disponible pour le moment. Parce que quelques Sooninko sont alphabétisés dans leur propre langue, même une traduction écrite du Coran dans Sooninke sera de peu d'utilité mais pour quelques-uns, toute discussion sur la culture qui comprendra tous doit être orale.

Sommes-nous commencer à voir les contours de la disparition de la culture? Un pilier cardinal est dans une langue étrangère que seuls quelques uns ont réussi à maîtriser.

Vous avez fait une défense fougueuse de l'islam, qui est admirable. Vous avez mis un stress énorme sur la suite des lois de Dieu. Puis-je poser tranquillement quelque chose de nouveau dans ce domaine. S'il vous plaît prenez pas d'infraction. Juste réfléchir. Ou devrais-je l'Etat, pourrais-je poser une question ou deux ici?

Là où il ya LOI, divin ou profane, vous découvrirez l'amour là-bas? N'est-ce pas la loi l'absence d'amour? S'il vous plaît pensez à ce sujet.

Mes frères et sœurs, ces questions ne sont pas inactifs. On vient avec la peur dans son sillage, un sentiment d'insécurité, d'hypocrisie, de l'intelligence, le juge, l'application des lois, la criminalité, la prison, le péché et l'enfer. L'autre, je voudrais vous interroger sur le plan des deux amants. Est le fondement de leur amour fondé sur la loi? Ou est-ce au-delà de la loi?

Nas, vous et beaucoup d'autres postulent une Sooninkaaxu jamais lié à l'Islam. Je pose une Sooninkaaxu basée sur l'éveil à une intelligence et la sagesse qui sont toujours nouvelle et fraîche.

Cette intelligence et la sagesse ne sont jamais statiques, ils sont toujours dynamiques, qui changent selon les circonstances et à nos besoins et défis de la vie. C'est le pilier principal de mon Sooninkaaxu. Grâce à cela, je peux venir sur l'esprit vivant de la culture et de lui permettre de m'aider à relever les défis et exigences de la vie et la vie.

Nous aussi, nous (Sooninko) sont les gardiens de quelque chose de divin. Découvrez-le. Il est disponible. Et c'est la mère et le père de l'islam, le christianisme et le judaïsme. Tel est le défi.

[sajokuumba Kamara]

Nous aussi, nous (Sooninko) sont les gardiens de quelque chose de divin. Découvrez-le. Il est disponible. Et c'est la mère et le père de l'islam, le christianisme et le judaïsme. Tel est le défi.

I would like us to continue this dialogue on Soninke Culture. It is of grave importance because the Soninke Diaspora is now an extensive one. Time was, this Diaspora was an all African affair, except for small colonies of students studying in the Islamic world, principally in Egypt and Saudi Arabia. Even in the African context, it was not an easy matter.

There is a tendency for Soninko to settle among other peoples. Even the vaunted Wagadu was not originally settled by the Soninko. Wagadu's settlers before the advent of the Soninko were the Kagoros or Kagolo. (I would like to posit that between the two, there is no difference. The Kagoros came from the same country as the Soninko. The culture is the same-religion, social structure, the matriarchal system of transfer of power, age grouping, etc., etc...) They were to settle among the off-spring of Maghan Kamara in Mande after the demise of the Ghana Empire. One could say that they were co-founders of the Mande Empire as contingents of Soninko accompanied Maghan Konate (to be latter called Sundiate Keita) to Mande to take on Sumanwuru Kante. The point I am making here is that they are many more Mandingo of Soninke descent than there are currently Soninko. There are more Janneh Mandingo than Janneh Soninko; there are more Touray Mandingo than there are Touray Soninko; there are more Dabo Mandingo than there are Dabo Soninko; there are more Cisse Mandingo than there are Cisse Soninko; there are more Berete Mandingo than there are Berete Soninko; there are more Gomma Mandingo than there are Gomma Soninko; there are more Sakho-Sawo Mandingo than there are Sakho-Sawo Soninko; there are more Barrow Mandingo than there are Barrow Soninko; there are more Jakitey-Kaba Mandingo than there are Jakitey-Kabba Soninko....The list goes on. There are now Cissoko Wolof, Kebe Wolof, etc,...not to mention the number of those who are now thoroughly blended among the Bamana of Mali and the Hal Poular of Senegal and Mauretania.

This goes to state that it is easy for people to lose their original identity and the culture that defines this identity. The Soninko in the European Diaspora are no different or rather will prove no different unless a strenuous effort is in place to impart the culture in the young ones at an early age. The success of this will definitely depend on the degree to which Soninke Culture is successfully harmonized with European culture, whatever that may be. As we have seen, it is much easier to adopt to an existing dominant culture than to adhere to your own or even create a new hybrid one.

Our problem in this forum is to come to a basic understanding of Soninke Culture. The challenge that was posed to delineate the elements or components of culture that could serve as a template for further dialogue has not being picked up. It would be more helpful if we approach it this way as there is no over-arching spiritual or philosophical belief holding the Soninko together today. One could state that the majority of Soninko adhere to the Islamic religion. This could be a unifying factor in a rather abstract way but it does not define Soninkaaxu in my mind. Islam did not originate from among the Soninko. It was adopted. What is it sitting on? This may be the key to understanding Soninkaaxu.

Now I will give concrete examples.

In France, there are three words or terms that define the logos, the ethos, and the pathos of French culture. These three terms are Liberte-Fraternite-Egalite. These three terms are what the storming of the Bastille has bequeathed the French. All French citizens have a legal right to liberty, fraternity and equality within the context of the law. Equally among the Soninko, we have the following which I shall try to render in Soninke:

Xaagan nta non; [There is no Ear][A Soninke has no FEAR]

Baxalan nta non; [There is no starter of trouble][A Soninke is a Just Human
Being]

Lenburentaaxu nta non. [There is no laziness][A Soninke is not lazy]

Although the Soninke statements are in the negative, I have taken the liberty to try to communicate the sense of it other than a literal translation. As we can discern, the Ancient Soninke Culture is founded on fearlessness as that is the only condition in which one can be free. Here freedom and liberty are predicated on fearlessness for only the fearless man can be free to enjoy liberty and be creative.

The second axiom is equally profound for it connotes a deep sense of justice. Never be a willful imposer of your ugly self on others by being the starter of quarrels and trouble. This axiom is founded on the first one as a free person does not start trouble with others. He is never the instigator of mayhem among people. This points to the right relationships with family, friends, and neighbors.

The third axiom teaches us industry, the work ethic. It teaches us to take direct responsibility of our lives and our communities. Before Islam, one can wager that there were no beggars among the Soninko. This is true for nearly, if not all, of Afrika before Islam and Christianity. There were no beggars because all were taught to be industrious from an early age and family took care of family members, and the clan took care of the member families of the clan and the tribe came to the assistance of the clan which is in trouble, which could have been a rare occurrence.

The language was homogeneous before the fall of Ghana and latter Wagadu. Since the settlement of Soninko in Mande and their subsequent dispersal, various settlements have evolved their own dialects. Luckily for them, they are intelligible. Since the advent of Islam, the language has witnessed centuries of islamization which has robbed it of its earlier creativeness, as it is incorporating words and terms from Arabic rather than coining them. This for me has been the downside of the Soninke adoption of Islam. A once creative people have turned into a borrowing people. Even the meditation practices of the maraboutic class, are copies of lineages copied from their fellow Sufis from North Afrika and Asia.

The danger is even more profound than what has been stated above. Language is the formulator of consciousness. Your conscious is its content and most of this content is in words. When you borrow more than you create, you will be lessening your intellectual prowess as you are making no demands on your intellect and mind. After over a thousand years of reading and writing in Arabic, there is no great literature, Islamic or otherwise, written in Soninke to my knowledge. Persia, present day Iran, was also conquered by the Arabs. They adopted the Arabic script and they fielded many great saints who poured out their soul in some of the finest poetry written by humans. Is there a need to mention Rumi, Saade, Atar, Hafez...? Many other Asian cultures adopted Islam and its canonical language-Arab. But they also wrote extensively in their own languages using the Arabic script. This was not to happen among the Soninke to my knowledge. However, there seems to be hope that this will end soon. Some of us are studying the language to pass on what knowledge we have come upon. This process, more than anything else, might lead to the literary unification and standardization of the language.

Isn't it sad to think that the Soninko left Khem with knowledge of writing and they lost it. Then they came upon it again via the Arabs and yet, after a thousand years, there is yet to be a standard written literary form of it much more great treatises written in it. This is one of our current challenges as we dialogue on Soninke Culture.

I will stop here until further notice. Hopefully, others will contribute towards this dialogue and present aspects of Soninke Culture that they are familiar with so that we can present an overview of the culture. From this, we can find out what to make of it and how to live it in the Diaspora, no matter where we find oneself.

Jammu do Keeri.

[Alboury]

cellon moi la complexiter de notre culture la fragilise et la rend difficile d'accès la culture soninké a touts les mals du monde a souvrire au nouveau monde et meme a s'adapter a celui ci et l'histoire nous a longment apprie que celui qui ne pe s'adapter au changement du monde disparai
j'attend vos point de vue a ce sujet

Bonjour Nass,

Merci svp de nous éxpliquer en quoi notre culture est complexe? Complexe visà vis de qui ou de quoi?
Toute culture est spécifique à un groupe d'inividus, si vous la jugez complexe, c'est que vous etes en dehors de ce groupe, donc pas soninké.

Merci

[nas]

Bonjour Nass,

Merci svp de nous éxpliquer en quoi notre culture est complexe? Complexe visà vis de qui ou de quoi?
Toute culture est spécifique à un groupe d'inividus, si vous la jugez complexe, c'est que vous etes en dehors de ce groupe, donc pas soninké.

Merci

Ce que tu dit là ses vraiment du gros n'importe quoi .Une personne qui ne connait pas la culture soninké peut elle ce permettre de la juger de façon objectif ou péjoratif ? il pourra toujours le faire mais ce sera une critique frivole et dénuer de tout sens. Les seuls individu capable de donner une telle critique cet a dire de définir le niveau de complexité d'une culture ceux sont les individus qui la compose et non pas des personnes extérieur . Sache que je parle en connaissance de causse je comprend parfaitement le soninké , Je connais cet culture ses difficulté , la difficulté de transmettre sa doctrine a sa descendance , la difficulté d'évoluer avec ce monde et la difficulté a ce définir dans ce monde .
Et si tu souhaite avoir une réponse a ta question je te conseille de lire touts les dialogue écris a ce sujet et tu aura la réponse a ta question .

Celui qui domine les autres est fort , celui qui ce domine est puissant

[nas]

Nous aussi, nous (Sooninko) sont les gardiens de quelque chose de divin. Découvrez-le. Il est disponible. Et c'est la mère et le père de l'islam, le christianisme et le judaïsme. Tel est le défi.

I would like us to continue this dialogue on Soninke Culture. It is of grave importance because the Soninke Diaspora is now an extensive one. Time was, this Diaspora was an all African affair, except for small colonies of students studying in the Islamic world, principally in Egypt and Saudi Arabia. Even in the African context, it was not an easy matter.

There is a tendency for Soninko to settle among other peoples. Even the vaunted Wagadu was not originally settled by the Soninko. Wagadu's settlers before the advent of the Soninko were the Kagoros or Kagolo. (I would like to posit that between the two, there is no difference. The Kagoros came from the same country as the Soninko. The culture is the same-religion, social structure, the matriarchal system of transfer of power, age grouping, etc., etc...) They were to settle among the off-spring of Maghan Kamara in Mande after the demise of the Ghana Empire. One could say that they were co-founders of the Mande Empire as contingents of Soninko accompanied Maghan Konate (to be latter called Sundiate Keita) to Mande to take on Sumanwuru Kante. The point I am making here is that they are many more Mandingo of Soninke descent than there are currently Soninko. There are more Janneh Mandingo than Janneh Soninko; there are more Touray Mandingo than there are Touray Soninko; there are more Dabo Mandingo than there are Dabo Soninko; there are more Cisse Mandingo than there are Cisse Soninko; there are more Berete Mandingo than there are Berete Soninko; there are more Gomma Mandingo than there are Gomma Soninko; there are more Sakho-Sawo Mandingo than there are Sakho-Sawo Soninko; there are more Barrow Mandingo than there are Barrow Soninko; there are more Jakitey-Kaba Mandingo than there are Jakitey-Kabba Soninko....The list goes on. There are now Cissoko Wolof, Kebe Wolof, etc,...not to mention the number of those who are now thoroughly blended among the Bamana of Mali and the Hal Poular of Senegal and Mauretania.

This goes to state that it is easy for people to lose their original identity and the culture that defines this identity. The Soninko in the European Diaspora are no different or rather will prove no different unless a strenuous effort is in place to impart the culture in the young ones at an early age. The success of this will definitely depend on the degree to which Soninke Culture is successfully harmonized with European culture, whatever that may be. As we have seen, it is much easier to adopt to an existing dominant culture than to adhere to your own or even create a new hybrid one.

Our problem in this forum is to come to a basic understanding of Soninke Culture. The challenge that was posed to delineate the elements or components of culture that could serve as a template for further dialogue has not being picked up. It would be more helpful if we approach it this way as there is no over-arching spiritual or philosophical belief holding the Soninko together today. One could state that the majority of Soninko adhere to the Islamic religion. This could be a unifying factor in a rather abstract way but it does not define Soninkaaxu in my mind. Islam did not originate from among the Soninko. It was adopted. What is it sitting on? This may be the key to understanding Soninkaaxu.

Now I will give concrete examples.

In France, there are three words or terms that define the logos, the ethos, and the pathos of French culture. These three terms are Liberte-Fraternite-Egalite. These three terms are what the storming of the Bastille has bequeathed the French. All French citizens have a legal right to liberty, fraternity and equality within the context of the law. Equally among the Soninko, we have the following which I shall try to render in Soninke:

Xaagan nta non; [There is no Ear][A Soninke has no FEAR]

Baxalan nta non; [There is no starter of trouble][A Soninke is a Just Human
Being]

Lenburentaaxu nta non. [There is no laziness][A Soninke is not lazy]

Although the Soninke statements are in the negative, I have taken the liberty to try to communicate the sense of it other than a literal translation. As we can discern, the Ancient Soninke Culture is founded on fearlessness as that is the only condition in which one can be free. Here freedom and liberty are predicated on fearlessness for only the fearless man can be free to enjoy liberty and be creative.

The second axiom is equally profound for it connotes a deep sense of justice. Never be a willful imposer of your ugly self on others by being the starter of quarrels and trouble. This axiom is founded on the first one as a free person does not start trouble with others. He is never the instigator of mayhem among people. This points to the right relationships with family, friends, and neighbors.

The third axiom teaches us industry, the work ethic. It teaches us to take direct responsibility of our lives and our communities. Before Islam, one can wager that there were no beggars among the Soninko. This is true for nearly, if not all, of Afrika before Islam and Christianity. There were no beggars because all were taught to be industrious from an early age and family took care of family members, and the clan took care of the member families of the clan and the tribe came to the assistance of the clan which is in trouble, which could have been a rare occurrence.

The language was homogeneous before the fall of Ghana and latter Wagadu. Since the settlement of Soninko in Mande and their subsequent dispersal, various settlements have evolved their own dialects. Luckily for them, they are intelligible. Since the advent of Islam, the language has witnessed centuries of islamization which has robbed it of its earlier creativeness, as it is incorporating words and terms from Arabic rather than coining them. This for me has been the downside of the Soninke adoption of Islam. A once creative people have turned into a borrowing people. Even the meditation practices of the maraboutic class, are copies of lineages copied from their fellow Sufis from North Afrika and Asia.

The danger is even more profound than what has been stated above. Language is the formulator of consciousness. Your conscious is its content and most of this content is in words. When you borrow more than you create, you will be lessening your intellectual prowess as you are making no demands on your intellect and mind. After over a thousand years of reading and writing in Arabic, there is no great literature, Islamic or otherwise, written in Soninke to my knowledge. Persia, present day Iran, was also conquered by the Arabs. They adopted the Arabic script and they fielded many great saints who poured out their soul in some of the finest poetry written by humans. Is there a need to mention Rumi, Saade, Atar, Hafez...? Many other Asian cultures adopted Islam and its canonical language-Arab. But they also wrote extensively in their own languages using the Arabic script. This was not to happen among the Soninke to my knowledge. However, there seems to be hope that this will end soon. Some of us are studying the language to pass on what knowledge we have come upon. This process, more than anything else, might lead to the literary unification and standardization of the language.

Isn't it sad to think that the Soninko left Khem with knowledge of writing and they lost it. Then they came upon it again via the Arabs and yet, after a thousand years, there is yet to be a standard written literary form of it much more great treatises written in it. This is one of our current challenges as we dialogue on Soninke Culture.

I will stop here until further notice. Hopefully, others will contribute towards this dialogue and present aspects of Soninke Culture that they are familiar with so that we can present an overview of the culture. From this, we can find out what to make of it and how to live it in the Diaspora, no matter where we find oneself.

Jammu do Keeri.

Vous continuer a persévéré sur cet voie , celle du dénigrement de l'islam en la rendant responsable de la régression de la culture soninké .
Je ne le répèterais jamais assez l'islam est presente sur cet terre depuit que l'homme a fouler sont pied sur celle-ci .Un guide pour les hommes une bénédictions pour les pieux .Si le chemin de l'évolution est obstrué ses que la culture soninké et les individus qui la compose non pas put ou non pas sue répondre de façon correcte et réaliste au défi de l'évolution du monde , au défis de l'évolution des individus car nous restons attacher a certaine valeur moyenâgeuse qui empêche l'évolution de la penser et du cœur .

Moi je dirai plutôt heureusement que l'islam réussie a continuer a toucher les cœurs car le mal et le mensonge ronge notre société .Aller voir un marabout est devenu monnaie courante dans notre société .Ne pas accepter son semblable et le dénigré , ne pas accepter la vérité car l’éloquence du menteur est plus présente .
L'islam nous a sauver et continu a nous sauver .Le soninké fut humble encenser , respecter mais aujourd'hui le mal nous ronge mais l’islam réduit ce mal par la volonté de dieu . Ses l'homme qui est responsable de sa propre folie et non l'islam .

[sajokuumba Kamara]

Vous continuer a persévéré sur cet voie , celle du dénigrement de l'islam en la rendant responsable de la régression de la culture soninké.

I am sorry that you see nothing but denigration of Islam in my contributions in this dialogue. There is no need for me to belabor the fact that an observation is not quite the same as denigration.

I am educated enough to discern that Islam was once a revolutionary movement that gave the world a civilization. I am, however, far from being a blind believer in any one religion. I am aware that most intelligent people in the Islamic world are scratching their heads in attempts to find out what went wrong. Taha in the Sudan was martyred by Noumeri because he posited that may be a new chance for Islam to move forwards was to differentiate the two-sprung movement that the Prophet of Allah had intended. He made a distinction between the Suras revealed in Mecca and the Suras revealed in Medina. He claimed that the Suras revealed in Medina were to be short-lived and that the universal teachings were revealed in the Meccan Suras. In short, he advised that modern day Muslims lay emphases on the Meccan Suras, which contain the universal essence of the teachings.

This goes to show that many learned people see a problem. Islam took the Arabs from barbarism to civilization and back into barbarism or if you prefer backwardness. Why? Where are Islam's great centers of learning? Where are Islam's great research centers for the betterment of humanity? In the middle ages, this religion provided the highest that human beings could aspire to. Today, even Muslim leaders from Malaysia to Africa say Muslim countries are not at the avant-guard of human liberation and enrichment.

What you and many Soninko fail to realize is that no teaching is forever. Human consciousness is ever on the rise and each time that it rises, it rises with a new teaching. When I was growing up, I have heard learned mullahs say that the prophet of Allah did not envisage the Islamic teaching to last more than 1,500 years. This means that if, indeed, the prophet of Allah said this, that he knew that no teaching is forever.

Your statement that Islam was from the very beginning of human history needs explanation. By Islam, do you mean the search for God? If so, you are correct. By Islam, do you mean the flowering of Goodness? If so, you are correct. By Islam, do you mean the devotion to God? If so, you are right. However, if by Islam you mean the set of laws that define the God-human relations stated in the Quran and the set of rules defining proper conduct between one human being and another as given in the Quran, then, I am sorry, Nas, Islam is a recent vintage. The farthest you can place Islam in human history is to Moshe-Moses_Musa. And that is just under six thousand years ago. May be if one wishes to be more generous, one can go as far back as Akhenaten of Egypt-Khem.

Whether you will personally want to deal with it or not, most Arab leaders and most avant-guard Muslims are working overtime to find a solution that has gripped their societies. Most of the so called progressive Muslim countries have secular governments rather than Islamic states-by this, I mean a theocracy.

There are two fundamental problems that Soninko have to address as concerns their culture. These two I have posed from the very beginning of my participation in this forum. These are the twin foundations-the politico-social structure of the Soninke Society and their adopted religion- Islam.

You are missing a lot of what I have been stating. Of the twin foundations, the politico-social structure of Hoore-Nyaxamala-Kome is the more deadly to progress in the modern sense of building a meritocracy. Islam which served as a leveler in the mosque has failed to make a dent among the Soninke politico-social structure. Recently, I read a piece on Soninkara.com that in a certain Soninke village, a non-hoore modi was prevented from leading prayers in the village mosque for no other reason than his caste. In the Islam I read about, a king can stand next to a beggar in Allah's house of prayer and all qualified Muslims can lead a prayer service. Soninke Conservatism denies this. If caste is more important than the rule of equality in the House of God, do you blame people for voting with their feet and vacating for lands where their merits will define them rather than some ancient anachronistic social structure? Why are you remembering your villages and towns in France rather than being in them?

There can be no dialogue on Soninke Culture without including our politico-social structure and religion which is Islam in this case. They are the foundation. If there is malaise, it has to deal with these two among others. If you are not willing to address this, then you are not willing to seriously address your culture. Your believe in Allah is laudable. However, it is also part of the problem. I have tried to move the dialogue in concrete ways so that we all have a common understanding of the culture before the Islam period and after islamization. But no one is willing to move in this direction. For me, it is the best demonstration of the ill effects of belief not founded on Truth and individual discovery of the Truth. God can guide in as many ways as there are individual human beings. Why is religion even necessary when God can reach us individually and directly? Do you ever ask fundamental questions and try to get to the bottom of them? If we cannot ask these fundamental existential questions, then, we can understand neither our cultures nor our religions which are most often one and the same as they define each other.

If we cannot dialogue on what Soninke Culture is today, if we cannot establish a common ground on which we can all stand and say that this is Soninke Culture today, then we are engaging in an empty discussion. Each can state what s/he thinks and leave it at that. We can quarrel over little insignificant statements and pour out a lot of words without saying much about Soninke Culture.

One truth remains. The Soninko are talking with their feet. They are fleeing the villages and towns of their origin for the cities and taking their chances overseas. I am sure you are all aware of this. There is a hollowing out of Soninkara. Many will do what has been done over and over and over again over the last thousand years or so. We will immigrate to increase the numbers of other ethnic groups while denying Soninkara the youthful blood needed to regenerate. So it has been . So it is. We can face the facts and help stem the outflow or we can slowly bleed Soninkara dry. A new culture is long overdue. Can we all see this fact and learn to think together and learn to act together as was once done during the age of Wagadu?

[Fodyé Cissé]

sajokuumba, just one question. I believe that you are a Soninke. Please, can you just tell us from which village and which country are you from ?

I still believe your "Soninkite" and "Soninkaxu", because you mentionned it several times in your posts.
e.g :

We, too, (Sooninko) are custodians of something Divine. Discover it. It is available. And it is the mother and father of Islam, Christianity, and Judaism. This is the challenge.

I have been reading all your posts. I am sorry to report that in all your interventions, you try to push us into a discussion which talks about the truthfulness and veracity of Islam rather than the question raised by this topic : What do you think about the Soninke culture, does it have a future ?

I am sorry to report that your last posts are like diatribes against Islam.

How can you say that :

...Islam is a recent vintage. The farthest you can place Islam in human history is to Moshe-Moses_Musa. And that is just under six thousand years ago. May be if one wishes to be more generous, one can go as far back as Akhenaten of Egypt-Khem.

Did you read the Coran and the Sunna of the prophet Mohamed S.A.W. ?

You said again :

Recently, I read a piece on Soninkara.com that in a certain Soninke village, a non-hoore modi was prevented from leading prayers in the village mosque for no other reason than his caste. In the Islam I read about, a king can stand next to a beggar in Allah's house of prayer and all qualified Muslims can lead a prayer service. Soninke Conservatism denies this.

I am sorry, Soninke conservatism never denies this. If the piece you've read on Soninkara.com is what i am thinking about, you'll see that in this mosque, the people who wanted the ñaxamala to lead the prayers won against those who refused.

And this one :

There can be no dialogue on Soninke Culture without including our politico-social structure and religion which is Islam in this case. They are the foundation. If there is malaise, it has to deal with these two among others. If you are not willing to address this, then you are not willing to seriously address your culture. Your believe in Allah is laudable. However, it is also part of the problem. I have tried to move the dialogue in concrete ways so that we all have a common understanding of the culture before the Islam period and after islamization. But no one is willing to move in this direction. For me, it is the best demonstration of the ill effects of belief not founded on Truth and individual discovery of the Truth.

is again a big mistake. We already discussed it previously when you mentionned that “Arab culture and Arab religion are some of the most important of the many and diverse causes of the death of ” our culture…., that, “Our near Ancestors converted to Islam and therefore Arab culture and became more Arab than the Arabs.”, etc.
ISLAM IS NOT THE PROBLEM. ISLAM has never been the problem in the Soninke's politico-social structure. The Soninke people have been practicing islam during centuries. And they never denied themselves, they never repudiated their ancestors traditions and culture.
All the problems that the Soninke culture is facing now started since the contact with modern civilization. We all know that.