The Gambian perspective is that NASOO is a a shortened and Mandikanized word
of Surat Al-Naas,that short but famous chapter in the Quran through which
God instructed the Prophet to pray to him for protection against the
multitudes of evils that men could do to their fellow men. And we translate
that
chapter as follows:-
SAY: I SEEK REFUGE WITH THE LORD AND CHERISHER OF MANKIND
THE KING (RULER) OF MANKIND
THE GOD(JUDGE) OF MANKIND
FROM THE MISCHIEF OF THE WHISPERER (OF EVIL),WHO WITHDRAWS
(AFTER HIS WHISPER),
(THE SAME) WHO WHISPERS INTO THE HEARTS OF MANKIND,
AMONG JINNS AND AMONG MEN.
****** ******* **********
As for the Word Saffoo,it comes from the Arabic word,Saff,Line Of Defence.
The best way to pray (not the five daily prayers) to God in Islam is to do
it the way the prophet was instructed to do it,namely, to recite verses from
the Holy Quran,especially those verses that are close in meaning to the
things you want God to help you with or evils or dangers you want him to
protect you from.For example,it is a standard practice(as was done by the
prophet) for those who know the Quran to quote verse 13 of Chapter 43 when
using any means of transportation to travel from ones home. That verse reads
as follows:-
Inorder that ye may sit firm and square on their backs,and when so seated,ye
may celebrate the(kind) of favour of your Lord,and say,"Glory to him who has
subjected these to our (use),for we could never have accomplished this (by
ourselves),
"And to our Lord,surely, must we turn back!"
Now,the idea of writing those verses of the Quran that might help draw God's
attention to the predicament of an individual or protect him from an
imminent danger ,as opposed to just reading them from memory,came about as a
result of the conversion to Islam by multitudes of non-Arab and non-literate
peoples around the globe.It is entirely concievable,therefore, that many
such people would at one time or another insist that they too needed and
should be provided with some form of protection from the Quran,their
inability to read and memorise verses not withstanding.
So,it cannot be difficult to see why the moslem clergy,for very practical
reasons, had to break with the strict prophetic tradition and innovate a
little if only to accommodate the new converts.Yes,there are interesting
arguments against such an innovation,esp.given the enormous potential for
abuse through commercialisation and the cheapening of the name of God,but
there are equally many circumstancial evidence in support of it.And that is
how it has now become almost a must for a lot of moslems in our part of the
world,esp.those very vaguely familiar with the Quran, to seek help from
those conversant with it to write for them some verses from the holy
book.And when such writings are encased in leather to be tied around any
part of the applicants body,we call it Saffoo;but when it is written on a
wooden board and washed with clean water for the liquid to be drunk or
rubbed all over the body or parts of it,we call it Nasoo.
It is interesting to note here that the Wollofs call Nasoo,the liquid form,
Saafara. This word is a badly pronounced Arabic word called Saffra,which
means one journey.As for Terreh,that is self-explanatory for those who speak
Wollof,since the word means “To Prevent”; and we can elaborate on that by
saying that the FUNCTION of a Terreh is to prevent bad things from
happening to the bearer.
Yes,pre-Islamic Senegambia had practices that could for all practical
purposes be described as Saffoos and Nassoos.But ,back then ,such
protections could be sought and received only from the tribal gods.If a
successful Jarranka man living in the Kombos had reasons to believe that
enemies of his success in the Kombos were plotting against him,his best
insurance would be to travel to Jarra and seek protection from the Jarra
High Priest of the tribal gods of the jarranka people. And chances are that
after diagnosing and analysing the problem of our friend,the jarra high
priest would give him either some form of liquid to rub on his body or a
substance to be kept in a specified place that would help keep the evils of
the enemies at bay. A serer woman having marital or fertility problems in
the Badibous must also go back to Sine to seek respite from her predicament.
So,the alien and non-tribal nature of the Islamic Saffoos and Nasoos has
meant that a Jola man having problems with getting a beautiful girl to marry
in Sukuru Kunda does not anylonger have to go all to way to Foni or Cassa,
just to win the heart of a Sukuru Kunda daughter.Instead,he could visit any
Sarahuleh marabout in Dippa Kunda to do that for him.And it wouldn't matter
to the marabout if our this Jola friend is christian,moslem or a
polytheist.That ,I think, is a most fascinating feature about the Islamic
saffoos and nasoos!!
On an entirely different note,I want to inform the Gunjurians, and maybe,
little kartong as well, that Sukuru Kunda witnessed, for the first time this
year, a very heavy downpour on Saturday night,a couple of hours before
bedtime. As a result,I would want to start my dormant Sukuru Kunda Dutoo
Business.For those of you out there from these sleepy little places who want
to import the SWEETEST Dutoos (mangoes)! On this planet,please send in your
applications as quickly as pissible. And note that the quantity is very
limited !!!!
And until I receive your applications……… Keep Up The Good Work Down There!
Regards Basss!
****************************************************************************
****************
Ylva WROTE:-
usually "naso" is described in English as "Koranic inkwashes."
Trimingham writes rather extensively about this in "Islam in West Africa."
Also Schaeffer's ethnography of the Mandika (Mandinko: The Ethnography of
a West African Holy Land). But now we need a Gambian
perspective...Bassss, are you out there? :) Best, Ylva
On Fri, 4 Jun 1999, Malanding S. Jaiteh wrote:
>Folks,
>I am very curious about the origins of two culturally important items in
the
Senegambia region. These are "NASO" and "SAFO" both Mandingka words. Safo
being
JUJU (English?) TE-RE (Wollof) and NASO is Saafara (Wollof). I do not know
the
English word for "naso". Are these items some form of Africanization of
Islamic
rituals or Islamization of the African culture?
>
>Malanding Jaiteh
>
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