The fate of the Lebou has effected me, and has me preoccupied with the damaging aspect of magical thinking. In my previous works I’ve celebrated magical thinking as a preservation of cultural traditions, a protest of capitalism, and even a festive break from the monotony of modern life. But here magical thinking is a crux of the vulnerable, a place where marabouts amass large fortunes in return for the promise of cures.
More research at the WAAW library reveals further evidence of the Lebou problematic relationship with magic.
In August of 1999, at the peak of the atlantic hurricane season, a tropical depression four developed west of Senegal, resulting in Hurricane Cindy which flooded Saint Louis, destroying much of the Lebou settlement, devastating their fishing livelihood. The Senegalese government offered a pittance of compensation, but this went unchallenged by the fisherman, as they handled the situation with a remarkable passivity. Believing the hurricane was sent to destroy them as punishment for offending the river goddess, the Lebou only sought to appease the deity by throwing curdled milk into the river as an offering.
They turned down an opportunity to ask for vital funds to rebuild their lives, putting all their faith in the goddess.
This goddess is Mame Coumba Bang, a female deity that resides in the Saint Louis river. She has sparked my curiosity so I’ll now be spending some time researching this river goddess who has so much sway of the lives of the Lebou.
