"Hearth-holds" in the Household of God

In everyday life in Senegal, one spends a good deal of time simply greeting other people. In Dakar, this is typically done in Wolof, often beginning with the question Nanga def? While this often translated as “how are you,” it more literally it means, “what are you doing?” This opening question is soon followed up by a series of other questions concerning what people related to you are doing, how other situations are going, how the night was spent, how the morning began, how work is going. Early on in a typical cycle of greetings one would ask, “Naka wakeur ga?” Again, this is often translated as “how is your family?” but it more literally, “what are the people of your house doing?”

Wakeur—the people of the house, the household, or the extended family—is also the word used more informally to show either affiliation with a particular spiritual teacher or marabout, or membership in the confrérie or brotherhood related to that marabout’s  teachings. It is a word one sees in a variety of places particularly in the city. Taxis and buses, hardware stores and hair salons boast their status as belonging to one of these “households:” Wakeur Serigne Touba, Wakeur Baye Niasse, or Wakeur El Hadji Malick Sy. People are very interested in proclaiming to which “household” they belong, and some people show a preference for such shops or vehicles that share affiliation with their same “household” of faith.

Ghanaian Theologian Mercy Amba Oduyoye, in her book Introducing African Women’s Theology, speaks of African women sharing the image of the church being the household of God. As soon as she has presented that image, however, she quickly nuances it, following Nigerian sociologist Felicia Ekejuiba, in suggesting that the church is perhaps one of many “hearth-holds” within the household of God. Relating this back to the Wolofophone schema, one could imagine the wakeur or household of God being divided into several jaboot--  hearth-holds or what westerners may call immediate families--each one gathered around a meal provided by a particular woman. Within the same household, the people of God—wakeur y’Alla—gather into several different jaboot—one of which claims, as Oduyoye says, “a special relationship with Jesus of Nazareth who was named the Christ”.

I like to imagine the community of the church as those gathered around African women as they daily prepare their communal meals. These women have planned sufficiently for their own “hearth-hold” as usual, but also fully expect any others who happen to be near their hearth at meal time to join them around the bowl. Those who gather in the particular jaboot, of Christ identify themselves just as readily as part of a larger wakeur y’Alla, the people of the household of God. And in this household of God, there are many from other hearth-holds who, from time to time, find their way to another woman’s hearth just as the meal is being served. They are always welcome. Some will end up staying. Solidarity means that even if there is little, there is always enough to share. What a great image for evangelism….

To a much greater degree than is true in most of North America, extended greetings set the stage for nearly every interaction among people in Senegal. Asking after one’s entourage, one’s family, and one’s household are all basic component of such greetings. Among Wolof speakers, particularly in more rural, inland regions of Senegal, one of the more common responses to the question “Naka wakeur ga”? is “Nyungi santa y’Alla rekk,” to which the first person responds with the Arabic “Alhamdulilahi” to affirm that description. A rough translation of this greeting could be rendered as follows:

            Greeter: What is your household doing?
            Greeted: They are simply praising God.
            Greeter: May God be praised indeed.

Indeed.

Jamm ak Jamm,
Peter