Sacred Baobab tree. Regularly the animists celebrate here

Mangroves with oysters growing on their roots

The meeting place of the elders under the sacred trees

Tam Tam drum under the sacred trees to communicate with neighbouring villages

The two sacred trees intertwined, representing man and woman

Mon amitié n'est ni á acheter, ni á vendre, je la donné a ceux qui la merite.

Quand ta lumière brille, n'éteint pas celle de ta prochaine car elle peut te servir un jours tenèbre

Toutes les richesses de la vie sont dans l'amour

Les personnes fortes ne rabaisse pas les autres, mais les encourages

Lodji Island

January 8 in Senegal ⋅ ⛅ 21 °C

We take a boat ride into the mangroves of the delta visit the island village "Mar Lodji".
This visit moves us deeply as the village guide proudly tells us about his village traditions, one of total tolerance between islam, Christianity and Animism, all practised next to each other with Moslems going to the Christian church on Sunday because dancing and singing is so fun.
Everything here has meaning and everything is connected in the sense of "UBUNTU": connected to each other, to the earth, to the spirits and to the ancestors who are present at every moment looking after the living.
In the village center are two huge trees, an Acacia and a Cheese tree (used for building canoes), both wrapped around each other, supporting each other and seen as the symbol of man and woman. Directly underneath is the "Tam Tam", the village drum, used for communicating with other villages, and the "meeting place" where the elders regularly meet to discuss and decide on village matters, also, judgement is spoken here when dispute exists. No police is needed here, criminality doesn't exist.
Could it be that this is the kind of governance that our world needs.Read more