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A marabout (Arabic: مَربوط marbūṭ or مُرابِط murābiṭ, "one who is attached/garrisoned") is a Muslim religious leader and teacher[1] in West Africa, and (historically) in the Maghreb. The marabout is often a scholar of the Qur'an, or religious teacher. Others may be wandering holy men who survive on alms, Sufi Murshids ("Guides"), or leaders of religious communities. Still others keep alive syncretic pre-Islamic traditions, making amulets for good luck, presiding at various ceremonies, telling the future, and in some cases actively guiding the lives of followers. The common practice of receiving gifts or money for this service is disapproved of by orthodox Muslims.[1]
Muslim religious brotherhoods (Senegambia, the Niger river valley, and the Futa Jallon. Here, Sufi believers follow a marabout, elsewhere known as a Murshid ("Guide"). Marabout was also adopted by French colonial officials, and applied to most any imam, Muslim teacher, or secular leader who appealed to Islamic tradition.
Today marabouts can be traveling holy men who survive on alms, religious teachers who take in young talibes at koranic schools, or distinguished religious leaders and scholars, both in and out of the Sufi brotherhoods which dominate spiritual life in Senegambia.[2]
In the Mourides, for example, has been elevated to the status of a Caliph or ruler of the faithful (Amir al-Mu'minin). Older, North African based traditions such as the Tijaniyyah and the Qadiriyyah base their structures on respect for teachers and religious leaders who, south of the Sahara, often are called marabouts. Those who devote themselves to prayer or study, either based in communities, religious centers, or wandering in the larger society, are named marabouts. In Senegal and Mali, these Marabouts rely on donations to live. Often there is a traditional bond to support a specific marabout that has accumulated over generations within a family. Marabouts normally dress in traditional West African robes and live a simple, ascetic life.
Some Senegalese marabouts have been accused of exploiting young students, recruiting young boys from all over Senegal and neighboring countries to enroll in their schools. These children are then forced to beg on the streets for money under threat of physical harm, while their teachers take the profits, leaving the children without proper clothing, food or shelter.[3] This exploitation is in stark contrast to the tradition of Marbout-led Koranic schools which have operated across West Africa for centuries.
The spread in sub-Saharan Africa of the marabout's role from the 8th through 13th centuries created in some places a mixture of roles with pre-Islamic priests and divines. Thus many fortune tellers and self-styled spiritual guides take the name "marabout" (something rejected by more orthodox Muslims and Sufi brotherhoods alike). The recent diaspora of West Africans (to Paris in particular) has brought this tradition to Europe and North America, where some marabouts advertise their services as fortune tellers. Contemporary marabouts in Senegal advertise on television and have hot lines.[4]
The term Marabout appears during the Muslim conquest of North Africa. It is derived from the Arabic word "Mourabit" or "mrabet" (one who is garrisoned):[6] religious students and military volunteers who manned the Ribats at the time of the conquest.[7] Today marabout means "Saint" in the Berber language, and refers to Sufi Muslim teachers who lead lodge or school called a zaouïa, associated with a specific school or tradition, called a Tariqah (طريقه Ṭarīqah: "way", "path").
The pronunciation of that word varies according the spoken Berber dialect. For example, it is pronounced "Amrabadh" in the Riff dialect. The "marabout" is known as "Sayyed" (سيد) to Arabic speaking Maghribians. Many cities in Morocco got their names from local marabouts, and the name of those cities usually begins with "Sidi" (سيدي) followed by the name of the local marabout. The standard Arabic for "saint" is "Waliy" (ولي).
A marabout may also refer to a tomb (Arabic: قُبّة [qubba]) of a venerated saint, and such places have become holy centers and places of pious reflection.
The roots of this tradition can be traced back to ancient times when the Berbers believed in the polytheistic religions. Herodotus mentioned the tradition too, when he has spoke of the Nasamones bringing animal sacrifices to the tombs of holy men.
Note that these are not places of formal pilgrimage (limited in Islam to religious pilgrimages of the Hadj and Jerusalem), but are rather places of reflection and inspiration for the pious.
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