West Africa, Saint-Louis Marabout,1797

West Africa, Saint-Louis Marabout,1797

Marabou et Negre de l'Isle St. Louis dans le Sénégal. Marabout and Negre of St. Louis Island in Senegal. Saint-Louis was established in 1659 by French traders on an uninhabited island called Ndar. It was the first permanent French settlement in Senegal. The fortified factory commanded trade along the Senegal River. Slaves, hides, beeswax, ambergris and, later, gum arabic were exported. The Mandinka people live primarily in West Africa in Mali, The Gambia, Guinea, Sierra Leone, Senegal, Burkina Faso, Liberia, Guinea-Bissau, Niger, Mauritania and Ivory Coast. Some Mandinka syncretize Islam and traditional African religions. Among these syncretists spirits can be controlled mainly through the power of a marabout, who knows the protective formulas. In most cases, no important decision is made without first consulting a marabout. Marabouts, who have Islamic training, write Qur'anic verses on slips of paper and sew them into leather pouches (talisman); these are worn as protective amulets. Costumes of Different Countries, hand-tinted engraving by Labrousse, published by Jacques Grasset de Saint-Sauveur, 1797.

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3288 x 4800 px | 45.2 MB

27.8 x 40.6 cm | 11.0 x 16.0 in (300 dpi)