Muslims in Senegal like to share meat. Its Christians share porridge.
Ending their monthlong Ramadan fast this week, the faithful within the Muslim-majority West African nation invited Christian friends to rejoice Korite (Eid al-Fitr), deal with forgiveness and reconciliation, and serve a healthful meal of chicken.
A bit of over two months later during Tabaski (Eid al-Adha), the mutton from sheep slaughtered in commemoration of Abraham’s sacrificing of his son will likewise be distributed to Christian neighbors. (Both feasts follow the lunar calendar and alter dates annually.)
But for Christians, the sign of interfaith unity is the porridge-like ngalakh.
“Senegal is a rustic of terranga—hospitality—and the sense of sharing could be very high,” said Mignane Ndour, vice chairman of the Assemblies of God churches in Senegal. “Porridge has turn out to be our technique of strengthening relations between Christians and Muslims.”
Sources told CT the vacation treat is very anticipated.
In the local language, ngalakh means “to make porridge,” and the chilled dish marks the top of Lent. Between three to 5 percent of Senegal’s 18 million persons are Christians—the bulk Catholic—and families gather to arrange the Easter fare on Good Friday.
Made from peanut cream and monkey bread (the fruit of the famed baobab tree), these core ngalakh ingredients are soaked in water for over an hour before adding the millet flour essential to thicken the paste. It is then variously seasoned with nutmeg, orange blossom, pineapple, coconut, or raisins.
Tangy and sweet yet savory, its brownish color comes from peanuts.
The Christian community in Senegal traces its origin back to the Fifteenth-century arrival of the Portuguese. And throughout the period of French colonialism, Jacques Seck, a Catholic priest within the capital of Dakar, stated that ngalakh developed as mulatto servant women prepared their masters a meatless meal throughout the Lenten fast.
Ndour said that over time the tradition prolonged to Protestants as well.
Its believers numbering only within the 1000’s, the Protestant Church of Senegal was founded in 1863, becoming more visible within the Nineteen Thirties. Lutherans got here within the Seventies and are the second-largest Christian denomination today, alongside Methodists, Presbyterians, and newer evangelical groups.
But for some, ngalakh is controversial.
“Evangelicals don’t share this tradition,” said Pierre Teixeira, editor-in-chief of Yeesu Le Journal, an interdenominational monthly publication. “But the rare churches that practice it broadcast a movie on the gospel before distribution.”
Teixeira, a former Baptist pastor, grew up in a Catholic home in Dakar. Recalling the porridge from his youth, he said it was an emblem of communion that commemorates the death of Jesus on the cross. But today the main focus of Senegalese evangelicals is on societal integration. In the past 20 years, the small community has seen a rise in its students at university and efforts by believers to influence the marketplace and political arenas.
Ndour, raised in a Muslim home, believes the 2 activities are compatible.
“Easter shouldn’t be simply the feast of Catholics, and ngalakh is the feast of all Senegalese,” he said. “It represents a path of understanding, through religion.”
While Protestants value the practice of terranga, some view an interfaith dessert as an extra-biblical barrier to evangelism that needs to be dropped as a neighborhood tradition. Others, Ndour said, don’t distribute the porridge to Muslim neighbors lest they be obliged to reciprocally share within the Muslim Tabaski feast, which they view as prohibited given Paul’s warning about meat sacrificed to idols.
But many cherish the social custom inside Senegal’s lauded religious tolerance.
“Ngalakh is a tasty dish meticulously crafted with love and keenness,” said Eloi Dogue, vice chairman of Africa operations for Our Daily Bread Ministries. “It serves as an emblem of unity and goodwill amongst neighbors, particularly our Muslim friends.”
Islam got here to Senegal within the eleventh century through trade and spread through a mix of conquest and heartfelt conversion. Rejection of colonialism attracted many locals into Sufi orders emphasizing a mystical interpretation of Islam, which merged Senegalese and Muslim identities.
Other Senegalese interacted closely with the foreign authorities and assimilated their culture. But the French concept of laïcité combined easily with Sufi religious tolerance, and the Senegal structure’s first article declares the nation to be a “secular, democratic, and social republic.” Its first president was a Catholic, and voluntary religious education in school allows parents—often in mixed marriages—to coach their children in the religion of their selection or none in any respect.
But Dogue, also international director of Dekina Ministries and former evangelism and missions executive secretary for the Association of Evangelicals in Africa, said the worth of ngalakh shouldn’t be only in coexistence.
“Yes, it’s originally a Catholic tradition,” he said. “But additionally it is a way of fostering outreach and constructing bridges of understanding, bearing witness about God’s care, love, and goodness.”
Americans, he added, could similarly invite Muslim neighbors over to share their Thanksgiving meal.
Ndour grew up mostly unaware of ngalakh in his village 95 miles southeast of Dakar. Aware of the local Lutheran mission headquarters, his family belonged to the Mouride Sufi order. He first recalls trying the porridge dish at age 15; nonetheless, it was life at university within the capital that introduced him to its true meaning.
But there he was also introduced to the reassurance of salvation in Christ. An evangelical pastor shared his faith, and Ndour has been sharing his since. In this, the vacation meal could be used as a bridge.
“Ngalakh opens doors that were previously closed,” he said. “This can then allow us to speak concerning the true Easter sacrifice—which is Jesus.”
