Senegal: Millions of Pilgrims gather in Touba
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Transcript
00:00 Few knew these photos existed until 2020.
00:03 The unpublished images are of Cheikh Ahmadou Bamba, a 19th century hero of Senegalese colonial
00:09 resistance and founder of the Marid Brotherhood, a branch of Islam prominent in Senegal.
00:15 The portraits were publicly exhibited for the first time in Touba during Monday's Grand
00:20 Magal.
00:21 Muslim delegations from around the world attended the religious celebration, made all the more
00:26 special by the rare photos.
00:28 They were bought this year at auction in France by the Marid Brotherhood.
00:36 Everyone knows that this heritage is extremely important.
00:39 It's very important history for us.
00:41 This is the reason why the Marid came together to buy these photos.
00:45 There's a project for a museum in Touba.
00:48 That's where the photos will be kept.
00:51 Every year, more than three million believers attend the Grand Magal in Senegal.
00:55 It is one of the largest religious gatherings on the continent and commemorates the exile
01:00 of Cheikh Ahmadou Bamba, who was sent to Gabon by coloniser France in 1895.
01:07 He is our religious leader, our spiritual guide.
01:10 He gave us directions that we must follow in order to receive God's forgiveness.
01:15 All the disciples meet.
01:17 We meet new people.
01:18 We pray that not only Senegal, but the whole world be in peace, in the grace of God.
01:25 The Marid Brotherhood has set up an organisation to look for and document other potentially
01:31 undiscovered images of their founder.
01:33 (audience laughing)