Key points
- An ancestral tradition, the ceremony is a keenly awaited event in Senegal
- Several delegations from across country travelled to attend ceremony
- The spirits helped the mystics diagnose diseases: Chief of Saltigues of Dakar’s Lebous people
FATICK, Senegal: The crowd sat rapt as Senegalese master fortune-teller Adama Gackou entered a trance to predict what the future holds for the west African country.
Dead silence reigned as Gackou, his face dimly lit in the late-night shadows, foretold a tumultuous year of violent protest while swaying back and forth.
Then the tension lifted as the young mystic proclaimed a bumper harvest season to come, prompting a jubilant audience to break out into frenetic dance.
Bedecked in talismans, a large ox horn hanging from his chest, Gackou was just one of around 20 traditional fortune-tellers, known as “Saltigues” in Senegal, delivering predictions during the annual ritual.
Ancient African spirituality
Several delegations from across the country travelled to the Fatick region for the “Xooy” ceremony, a tradition rooted in ancient African spirituality held ahead of the rainy season.
From traffic accidents and natural disasters to celebrity deaths and even society gossip, no subject is off-limits for the Saltigues’ incantations.
As an ancestral tradition, the ceremony is a keenly awaited event in Senegal.
Pre-colonisation
According to the Saltigues, when the kings of the pre-colonisation Kingdom of Sine prepared for war, they would always consult the soothsayers before committing themselves to battle.
Though society may have changed, many Senegalese continue to believe in the supernatural and the Saltigues’ prophesies.
While admitting that many others do not, clairvoyant Abdoulaye Ndiaye insisted the Saltigues had warned the authorities to make offerings to prevent the sinking of the Le Joola ferry in 2002, which killed nearly 1,900 people.
As the tom-tom drums pounded, the mystics within the circle put on a show, each clad in distinctive charms decorated with mirrors, mummified bird heads or small white seashells.
Some beat their chests in time to the drums, while others faced off against fellow Saltigues in a magic-measuring contest.
As Saturday turned into Sunday the Xooy vigil dragged on into the afternoon.
Audience’s eyes
Gackou appeared to be the hot ticket of the 2025 edition, the audience’s eyes firmly fixed on him as he made offhand quips and snide remarks about his fellow mystics.
El Hadji Malick Ngom, chief of the Saltigues of Dakar’s Lebous people, said the spirits helped the mystics diagnose diseases and prepare plant-based potions to cure them.
Yet he lamented that this native know-how was “very endangered” as the younger generations increasingly turn their backs on the tradition.
