The Soninke Civilization: The Conflict of Generation in the Contemporary Soninkara ()
1. Introduction
The Soninke people refer to themselves by the concept Soninko which literally means people of Sony1. And Soninkara means the “Homeland of the Soninke”. It is a traditional society located principally in the upper valley of Senegal River. The Soninke are divided mainly into three countries namely Mali, Mauritania, and Senegal. They are also in the Gambia, Guinea Bissau, Guinea Conakry, Niger, briefly almost everywhere in West Africa. In addition, they have a strong community in France because of migration.
Many authors have written about the Soninke People’s history and traditions, as well as their adventure (migration), but generational conflict is an unexplored issue. Thus, this paper aims to study this current social phenomenon that is creating a gap between the youth and the old generation.
The peculiarity of the Soninke people is their love for common life and uphold traditional values and practices. For them, an individual is a social creature that needs some values in order to better interact with people. He must know three main things: dambe, hile, and diina2 for his or her cultural identity. The one who fails to know his/her dambe and hile seems to be lost. These points are fundamental and essential in the Soninke people’s life. There is a higher concentration on the traditional values and practices especially among the elderly. And they consider the traditions as the foundation of the social relationships.
However, the new attitudes, aspirations and tastes of the younger generation have caused a great strain in their relationship with the elderly people. Since the youth are overt and so much attracted by the modern way of life of the western countries, the younger generation do not reassure the old people about the continuity of the traditional values and practices. Thus, many traditions and customs are being disliked, and some others deserted by the majority of the youth who are supposed to maintain the preservation of the Soninke cultural heritage. And this phenomenon has discomforted and alarmed the old generation who want the villages to stay culturally sound. And they always say: “this generation is nothing”. This difference of views and preferences between the old people and the youth of Soninkara coupled with a remarkable lack of discipline has resulted in a conflict between them. In other words, the youth do not respect neither the elderly nor the traditional values and practices. For them all that belongs to the past (Badian, 1957). They follow their desires in bizarre manners that embarrass and shock elderly people.
The respect towards the elderly was essentially considered, but nowadays the youth has another mentality and other attitudes.
The research questions are:
- Why is there a conflict between the youth and the old people in the contemporary Soninke society?
- What are the impacts of those differences on the relationship between the younger generation and the old people?
- What could be the solutions to this social problem?
The objective of this paper is to examine how the new attitudes, tastes and desires of the contemporary youth (overt to modern trends) disturb the elderly in Soninkara, and then suggest some solutions to address the issue.
In this study, we have qualitative data collected through two types of data collection study techniques: participant observation and documentation (hardcover books). So, we have some primary and secondary data on which we base to deal with this social issue: generational conflict in Soninkara.
Collected data: After observing the behavioral patterns, here is some data that has been collected from the attitudes, appearances, and speeches of the youth and the old people in Soninkara.
What is different between the two generations ?
Views & Attitudes |
Values & Beliefs |
Tastes & Aspirations |
What are the conflict points?
Traditions |
Education |
Modernity |
Perspectives |
Religious practices |
What is positive and negative in both sides?
People |
Positive |
Negative |
Elderly |
Wisdom and life experience Cultural heritage Social cohesion |
Conservatism |
Youth |
Embrace change [in a globalization context] |
Rudeness Criticism & Judgment without wisdom Easily influenced and no limits in copying other cultures |
The collected data show that the main tension areas between the youth and the old people are:
These are tension areas that have created some disagreements about some traditional practices such as family roles, social responsibilities, and marriage.
The elderly people expect the youth to respect them first and then perpetuate the traditional values and practices. However, the younger generation sees the world under another angle that worries the elderly.
In the following lines, we are going to study what the difference is between the two generations, younger and older, and the effects of the generational conflict in the contemporary Soninke community. And we will propose some solutions to this problem.
2. Different Views between the Youth and the Old Generation
Soninkara is a traditional society characterized by important social life dynamics between individuals and xaabilo (families & clans). Traditions and customs are religiously respected among the Soninke elderly people. They have been transmitted from generation to generation since a long time ago. Respect towards the elderly is essentially considered by the old generation.
It is a great honor, for the elderly’s thinking, to uphold the traditional values and practices in the community. This is the reason why, everywhere they go they export the village system with them and they urge the youth to perpetuate them. In the urban areas like in Dakar and abroad like in France (Timera, 1996), they have community houses where they meet to talk about the affairs related to their villages. For the elderly people, the traditional values and practices must be maintained for the unity and the social cohesion of the community. They reflect the cultural identity: soninka xu. That is why they fear the youth’s openness to the modern trends thinking that they negatively influence them.
The Soninke cultural identity matters a lot for elderly people whereas the younger generation is passionate about the western way of life and modern trends. For the old generation, it is a duty for every single Soninke person to keep his or her soninka xu, but the youth love modern trends from the western countries. The one who fails to preserve his or her soninka xu is a gace (shame) for the elderly. But the youth worry less about that.
Soninka xu requires people to know the traditional values, practices and the Soninke language. This cultural identity is considered to be the contract between the Soninke individual and his or her society. Whatever the personality of the individual can be, he or she has to know the traditional values and practices, and contribute to their continuity through his her views and deeds. He or she must show his or her status as a member of the Soninke social group. Any kind of hostility to the traditional values can be seen as alienation or revolt by the elderly people. Here is the problem of the majority of the Soninke young people. They dislike the traditions and show disrespect to the elderly. They react like Sidy in Sous l’orage (Badian, 1957), throw everything away and be modern. Their attitudes have created a storm that is straining their relationship with their elderly.
In fact, the older generation think fostering a strong sense of community is a way of expressing one’s belonging to the Soninke social group. So the adherence to the maintenance of the traditions is crucial among the Soninke people for the older generation. For them, the traditions are fundamental and essential. They underpin the life dynamics between individuals, families and clans. The Soninke old people help individuals join together in a cohesive and harmonious life. And they help people associate together under the direction of the general social will: unity (Rousseau, 1762). The traditions produce social relations and bond people together. That is why the elderly dislike the attitudes of the younger generation showing disrespect and hostility. They are seen as disruptive agents.
As for the majority of the younger generation, people need to follow the modern trends to be in the context of globalization. They think many traditions are obsolete. Besides, their critical thinking skills prevent them from ignoring some traditional practices that they consider unfair. That drives them to go over the traditional limits. And the elderly feel shocked, for they see disrespect and aggressivity in the younger people’s attitudes. By the way, they say “This generation is impolite and rude”.
As the traditional values and practices shape the social interactions between individuals and xaabilo (familie & clans) and provide cohesion and harmony, the Soninke elderly expect the youth to respect these values and practices and preserve them as cultural heritage for the sake of unity and social cohesion. It will be gace (dishonor) when the younger generation fails to ensure their mission. The traditions are at the core of the Soninke people’s life. They ensure the social dynamics. They constitute the thread that stitches the social relationships. For the Soninke old people, the traditions constitute life in the community. They join all the individuals and xaabilo together in the ka (house) and the debe (village). So a failure to value the traditions is seen as a threat or danger by the elderly. But the younger generation have their eyes open on the traditions’ flaws.
In the ka, the traditions used to allow the individuals to have a hierarchical organization for cohesion. To the top of the latter, we have the hirse3. He is considered a patriarchal leader. According to the Soninke society, the hirse is the official leader of the ka or xaabila (family or clan). He must be respected by everyone. He is thought to be the decision maker. No one should challenge him so as to avoid conflict and misunderstanding in the group. He is like the captain of the ship of the General of the Army. Everybody has to follow his orders. The latter must be religiously respected and followed. The hirse is the core of the group. All the individuals are around him to reflect unity and oneness of the ka or xaabila. They surrender their rights (Rousseau, 1762) to the community to have a moral and collective body (Rousseau, 1762). The idea of unity and centralization on the hirse furnishes a solution to the problem (anarchy or social chaos). It is essential to the survival of individuals in the social group. This is the reason why the elderly keep telling the youth to respect the hirse. And most of the young people have problem with this traditional practice.
The Soninke people grant a great important to koffo4. Thus, the organization of the individuals around the hirse make the kappe5 easy in the ka or xaabila. In fact, the hirse is a symbolic person. That is why, it is a great responsibility. The Soninke people utter that the hirse is a koffu mandaana6. So here, we can understand the reason why, every individual of the ka or xaabila owes respect to this symbolic person of the group.
The hirse is given the whole power the lead the family for the social union (Rousseau, 1762). He symbolizes the social union. He ensures peace and stability of the group. He also makes sure that all the individuals respect the traditions indoors and outdoors. The traditions of their xaabila must be maintained to keep alive the cultural heritage transmitted by their fathers and forefathers. They can be a work or a profession or a responsibility (service) to ensure for the village. Each individual has to play his role for the association (Koffo).
It is imperative the men to do the rustic works such as chopping wood, plough fields, and farming. The hisre is the one who distributes orders. He give instructions to his fellow members about what to do tomorrow in the house or in the fields. People always wait for his instructions to do a duty. He is the leader of the group.
He is also a conciliator when there is a conflict or misunderstanding between two members of the family. People come him to settle their conflicts. He listen to them first, and then he conciliates them. As his speech is meaningful and respected by people, the members his recommendations for the welfare of the social group.
Besides, he is the ambassador of the xaabila. It is him who ensures the tradition which ties the xaabila with the rest of the debe (village). During the meetings, ceremonies or any other gathering of the debe, he goes and ensure the duty of his xaabila. He maintains the tradition. He respects the social contract. He makes honor to his family. His contribution to the social union of the community is a source of happiness as the Soninke people hate conflict and any social disorder. For them humans are social beings. They need one another to survive on the Earth.
However, everyone is hirse nowadays. The younger generation seems rude and disrespectful in their attitudes towards their elders and the elderly. There are many conflicts in the ka because of this issue.
3. The Youth and Their Modern Mindset
The majority younger generation is different from the old one by their way of thinking and behaving. Various factors have impacted on their mindset: western French school, Arabic Muslim school, and western cultural impérialism.
Being the disciples of the western school, they do not like many traditions. They use their critical thinking skills to criticize them. They can be compared to the hero of Arrow of God, Chinua Achebe. They went to school for knowledge and they came back metamorphosed to their parents and grandparents (Kane, 1962). For them, the traditional way of life of the old people is obsolete. In other words, it is archaic. As they were trained in analyzing things around them. They see things as western people since this was the main objective of the former French colonial administration of establishing school in Senegal.
“The French objective was acculturation to create French black people…and they succeeded in many ways” (Richmond & Gestrin, 1998).
As a matter of fact, the French colonial school system had entailed serious problem menacing constantly the social cohesive and balance of the indigenous population in Africa. It had given a different mindset to the younger generation who oppose themselves to their local traditions. Most young people dislike the traditions. That phenomenon has jeopardized the cultural identity and heritage of many African societies in general and the Soninke community particularly. As the French colonial education system was based on the assimilation of culture and ideologies, the younger generation were trained to think, behave and work to the detriment of their local way of life. That fact has entailed the disconnection from the traditional values. This is the reason why many boys and girls do not like some traditions that they consider as uncivilized and unfair especially those related to societal organization and marriage.
“Traditional Africa is indeed changing…” (Richmond & Gestrin, 1998)
The modern generations of Soninkara aspire to the western democracy and other ideologies and values that the western leaders have universalized. Thus, an ideological division was born between the old people and the younger generation. That has created a great concern among the old people about the continuity of the traditions and the preservation of the Soninke cultural identity, Soninkara xu. On the one hand the old people, sere hooro7, consider their heirs as weak. And on the other hand, the younger generation see the sere hooro as illiterate and uncivilized. The former are for the traditions because for them they help foster strong social bonds and unity despite the flaws. And the latter are for western democratic values and criticize the social inequalities inherent to the Soninke societal organization. This is one of the worst agents causing conflict between the two generations.
The young people are against the stratification of the xaabilo and the hawacaxu. Some young people especially those from the lower class no longer accept to follow that social classification that is seen as humiliation. Even though, they know they are no longer slaves as their parents and grandparents used to be, they loathe people call them kome. They require a fair and equal treatment. For them the mere traditions that the xaabilo are maintaining to foster neighboring relationship in the community is not sincere. They rebel against the traditions of Soninkara, for they are not at all advantageous for them. In addition, they are supported by many other young people from the upper and middle classes who are of their opinion.
This position of these young people from the lower class as really created a great conflict in the contemporary Soninkara. The komo and the hooro have cut ties in many Soninke villages in Mali, Mauritania, and Senegal.
Thus the societal organization that constitutes the backbone of the Soninke villages is criticized by many young people in Soninkara. This social issue has entailed the same problem as in The River Between of Ngugi wa Thiongo. And currently, it is a hot-debated issue in Soninkara. Since the social organization and the hawacaxu are tightly connected, the dissidents among the youth of the contemporary Soninke community, are leading a combat against the social inequalities. They cannot bear them as the old people on the behalf of a cohesive and supportive community. They put forward democratic laws, rights and individuals’ liberty.
As a result, some clashes have been realized in some Soninke villages in Bakel, Tuabou and Baalou, in Mali, Laani, and in Mauritania, Kaedi. In Laani, for example there were even some deaths in 2020. Some houses were burned and some people chased from their homes.
Actually, the social contract of Soninkara is not based on democratic values, but it is centered on traditions. In addition, the younger generation like the former colonial authority do not negotiate. This is the reason the reason why, the clash between these two generations is inevitable. And the consequences are creeping. It has opened also the conflict between xaabilo especially the upper and lower classes.
Moreover, the French education system has prevented many young people to maintain their familial traditions. For example, the sons of the sakko, togo, and other nyaxamalo cannot practice the traditional professions of their ancestors. Nowadays, they work in offices, schools, hospitals and government administration. Some of them are even international football players. For instance, we have Kalidou Fadiga, Kalidou Koulibaly, Diafara Sakho, Issiar Dia etc. The famous French rapper Booba8 is also a Soninke.
As a matter of fact, some Soninke young people do not even know their cultural identity and some of them are losing it because of modernity. In addition, their aspirations of being doctors, physicians, teachers, lawyers, policemen, soldiers, firefighters, custom officers etc. prevent them from maintaining their cultural identity. Their external aspects do not reflect any soninka xu. Moreover, their mentality is strange. That shocks and disappoints the old people who think they are losing their heirs. Those who are supposed to maintain the cultural heritage have other aspirations that are not advantageous culturally speaking. They see it as a great cultural loss.
Among the Soninke people, to know the traditional duty of one’s ancestors that has been transmitted from one generation to another, and maintain it, one’s genealogy and diina (religion) are fundamental and essential. For the old generation, the one who fail to know what is mentioned above is compared to “cow”. It means you are ignorant. Therefore, we can see that the mindset of the old people and that of the youth are not the same. The former put forward the traditions that embodies the cultural heritage and identity of Soninkara. And the latter are for western way of life. This issue has put in danger the continuity of the Soninke traditional values, the maintaining of the cultural identity, the social cohesion and the harmony in the relationships between the xaabilo.
Furthermore, there are other young people who have been educated in the Arabic Islamic school commonly called madarasa that are in conflict with the old people who defend the traditions. The fact is the Soninke people are conservative as far as traditions are concerned. And the disciples of the madarasa in their mission of da’wa9 try to convince people to give much more importance to deen10 (entire obedience to Allah, The Almighty). However, they bump into the resistant attitude of some old people who usually tell them: “we follow the path of our ancestors”.
The disciples of the Arabic Islamic school criticize some traditions that are irrelevant to Islam. For example the traditional dances and music instruments and some ritual instruments. Despite the refractory attitude of some old people, many Soninke traditions have been abandoned thanks to the preaching of the madarasa disciples. For instance the ritual ceremonies during which they used to utter some incantations and do sacrifices that are totally irrelevant to Muslim faith. In fact, Islam has urged the Soninke people to abandon many practices that have connection with worship of Allah. As Islam advocates monotheism, people were to desert many indoor and outdoor rites.
In addition, the preaching of the madarasa disciples has contributing to the awakening of many people’s consciousness in the Soninke community. Then, the Soninke people have clearly realized that the komaxu and hawacaxu they practice are irrelevant to Islam. Many young people are against these traditional practices because they are synonym with discrimination. They claim the freedom of choice without any distinction based on pertaining to a xaabila (clan). Boys and girls do not respect the hawacaxu in their relationships as it used to be even there still not be the possibility to have alliance out of it. They express publicly their revolt to the old people. Unfortunately, many children were born out of marriage in those boy-and-girl relationships. Till the present day, people from different xaabilo (clans) cannot marry each other despite the preaching of the scholars from madarasa in Soninkara. The ones who dared to do it who outcast.
The education of some young Soninke people in the Arabic Islamic school has influenced the way of life to some extent. Many Soninke people dress like the Arab Muslims. In addition, they have a different mentality that sometimes put them in conflict with some old people. The families that are responsible for religious affairs, moodini, are experiencing ideological conflict. Those who have learned in the madarasa criticize some practices that they consider as innovation, bida’11, in Islam. There is a clash between the members who traditionally follow their predecessors from the mayise12 and the disciples of the Arabic Islamic School. The contents of the books they learned from are sometimes different, and the manhaj13 as well. The former so close to the traditions reproach the madarasa disciples for bringing new religion that threatens the stability and the social cohesion of the Soninke community. And the latter consider their elders as ignorant of the original Islam that is based on Qur’an and Sunna14. They always clash between themselves because of their conflict of ideas.
Apart from the education from the French school and Arabic Islamic school, we have also the globalization facilitated by the advance of the information communication technology that has joined the rendezvous. The latter has influenced a lot the younger generation mentality and behaviors. They ape what see on the screen (Television, phone, and computer). In other words, the cultural imperialism or propaganda led by the western countries through the screen has a great impact on the Soninke community. The youth is seduced by the western way of life (dressing, behaving, sex and leisure). They are really influenced by the western way of life above of all the Americans.
The young people of the contemporary Soninkara love these following things too much: playing football, sex, smoking, music and dancing. That is why, the old people always utter: “they are nothing”. For them, the younger generation is aimless and lost. They compare the youth to the animals sometimes as they follow passions and forget who they are.
In addition, they hate hard work. And the old people do not like laziness. Some young boys and girls find excuses when it is work time. They are scolded and considered as lazy people. The refuse of some young people to embrace some values for work is also a source of conflict. In Soninkara, the limburu15 are disliked. A young boy or girl must be a hard worker.
4. The Solutions to the Generational Conflict in the
Contemporary Soninke Community
Any problem needs solution(s). Then, the conflict between the old people and the younger generation can be solved through good communication and tolerance.
A possible positive communication can provide an open and honest dialogue between the old generation and the younger one that help create the necessary conditions to settle down the conflict. Certainly, people from different generations can have some social issues about the traditional values, but only a positive solution can help them. As realities are not the same from one epoch to another, the sere hoore should ponder over the how to maintain the cultural heritage of Soninkara. A balance of power with the younger generation can entail some other crucial social issues.
The sere hooro or hirsu should replace the imposition by the negotiation through their experience of life and wisdom. As most of their heirs are learned, they can use them to write the history and the civilization of the Soninke people through continuous competitions that honor Soninkara. And the best ones will be rewarded. Their works also will be published and exhibited in some multimedia centers laid in each villages or the big villages. In addition to that, each family has to write its own history and its cultural heritage in books or manuals that will taught to the younger generation.
In fact, the hirsu of Soninkara should accept the changes that are occurring in this contemporary world due to the advance of technology that favors globalization. If they cling to the traditions without thinking about the way that leads out of this social crisis, they might lose their heirs. Since they are leaders and educators, they should advocate the preservation of the Soninke cultural heritage and identity through different ways. Instead of upholding some traditions that menace the social cohesion and balance, they should engage the youth in maintaining the cultural heritage through activities and tasks in the community. After, they ask them a feedback that they examine, and after they give some advice or recommendations to the youth. That will consequently create a strong relationship between them.
Communication helps people understand their fellow creatures’ opinions. Then, misunderstanding will yield to mutual comprehension. The old people should organize periodic meetings with the younger generation in the square where they usually find solutions to the problems of the community. As the world is changing, the youth have other aspirations, the old people who have much experience of life should engage the youth in talks. Thus, they can easily seize their views. After that, they can draw their attention to the importance of social values and the traditional practices.
Sensitization of the young people on the importance of the values, traditional practices and beliefs of the Soninke society. The latter are a cultural heritage that any generation has to hand them down to the next one. That is a vital mission. The failure of that mission can be catastrophic to the whole society. The old people need to be persuasive by using a soft strategy that opens the eyes of the youth on the values, traditional practices and beliefs of Soninkara. Actually, this conflict is not beneficial for both of them. So, the old people need to communicate effectively with the youth.
On account of globalization, changes in people’s way of life are irreversible. The elders and old people together should sophisticate their way of education of the traditions in order to perpetuate them. They can use the youth and technology to maintain alive the vital traditional values. Movies, plays, sketches, cartoons and some television programs can help the traditional education. Technology can be really used to perpetuate the traditional values.
The younger generation should show respect and resilience. They need to be respectful to their parents and elders. Then, they can reassure people that they are mature and responsible. They also need to regulate their desires and their behaviors to resist the modern trends that are misleading many young people. They have new aspirations in a changing world. However, they should not forget their mission as far as their values, traditional practices and beliefs are concerned. They should be also careful in their way of following the modern trends because some people use their genius to nurrish their fellow creatures with false promises (Badian, 1957). They should avoid being rude and brutal. The use of diplomacy (Badian, 1957) can help balance their relationship with the old generation.
5. Conclusion
The generational conflict between the old people and the youth is a great social issue nowadays in Soninkara. The differences in the way of things in a world that is constantly changing has involved a clash between the two generations. On the one hand, the old people uphold the values and the traditions. And on the other hand, the youth influenced by several external factors have views, attitudes, tastes and aspirations that strain their relationship with the elderly people. The latter is not reassured by the youth. For them must be themselves and be conscious of their mission that consist of perpetuating the traditional values and practices of Soninkara.
The old people and the younger generation can solve the conflict by using some tips such as communication, sensitization, recording and promoting the Soninke cultural heritage using technology and fun activities. The use of diplomacy by the youth who have new aspirations can also help harmonize their relationship with the old people and balance the society.
NOTES
1Some Soninke intellectuals have argued that the Sony was the former name of Assouan that is located in southern Egypt based on their research in that area. They assert that Soninke people come from Assouan.
2Dambe is genealogy. Hile refers to traditions or culture. Diina is religion.
3The word hirse can mean leader or elder in Soninke.
4The term koffo is a noun. It means association or group in Soninke.
5Kappe is an expression which means the fact of gathering or assembling.
6This expression signifies the one who gathers or associates the individuals.
7Sere hooro is a Soninke compound noun that means old people.
8Booba is from a Soninke village called Golmy. It is located in the north east of Senegal precisely in Bakel department.
9Da’wa is an Arabic word that means call or invite people to practice Islam.
10Deen refers to Islam as a complete way of life.
11Bida’ is an Arabic word that means innovation.
12Mayise is a traditional Soninke school that train people in Islamic studies.
13Manhaj is an Arabic word =. It signifies way or methodology.
14Qur’an is the Holy Koran, and Sunna is the tradition of the prophet Mouhammad (peace be upon him).
15Limburu is a soninke term that refers to the lazy people.