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“Mbas Mi”: Fighting COVID-19 Through Music in Senegal

Published online by Cambridge University Press:  22 December 2021

Bamba Ndiaye Open the ORCID record for Bamba Ndiaye [Opens in a new window]  and
Margaret Rowley
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Abstract

In the first two months of the COVID-19 pandemic, Senegalese musicians produced a large body of songs addressing the coronavirus. These songs engage with prophylaxes, symptoms, instructions in case of infection, and metaphysical conceptions about the origin and meaning of the pandemic. These songs are part of a national strategy aimed at containing and eradicating the coronavirus by developing “COVID-literacy”: knowledge about the pandemic which is spread through music. In this article, we examine a socio-local history of music’s use during health crises, its place in local religious communities, and how its use interlaces linguistic, traditional, and metaphysical tenets.

Résumé

Résumé

Au cours des deux premiers mois de la pandémie du COVID-19, des musiciens sénégalais ont produit un bon nombre de chansons sur la propagation du coronavirus. Ces chansons abordent les problématiques de la prévention, l’apparition des symptômes, les instructions à suivre en cas d’infection ainsi que les considérations métaphysiques sur l’origine et la signification de la pandémie. Ces chansons font partie d’une stratégie de lutte nationale visant à contenir et à éradiquer le coronavirus en développant ce qu’on appelle le «COVID-literacy» ou la propagation de connaissances sur la pandémie du COVID-19 par le biais de la musique. Nous mettons également en exergue l’histoire socio-locale de l’utilisation de la musique pendant les crises sanitaires, sa place dans les communautés religieuses locales, et comment elle entremêle les principes linguistiques, traditionnels et métaphysiques.

Resumo

Resumo

Nos primeiros dois meses da pandemia da COVID-19, os músicos senegaleses produziram um grande conjunto de canções relativas ao coronavírus. Estas últimas envolvem profilaxias, sintomas, instruções em caso de infeção e conceções metafísicas acerca da origem e do significado da pandemia. Tais canções fazem parte de uma estratégia nacional destinada a conter e a erradicar o coronavírus através do desenvolvimento de uma «literacia COVID»: um conhecimento sobre a pandemia que é difundido através da música. Neste artigo, examinamos uma história sociolocal da utilização da música durante crises sanitárias, o seu papel nas comunidades religiosas locais, e a forma como a sua utilização inter-relaciona princípios linguísticos, tradicionais e metafísicos.

Keywords

COVID-19SenegalmusicliteracyAfricapandemicpublic healthIslamreligioncoronavirus
Type
Article
Information
African Studies Review , Volume 65 , Issue 1 , March 2022 , pp. 234 - 259
Copyright
© The Author(s), 2021. Published by Cambridge University Press on behalf of the African Studies Association

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