Animism: The Root of The Gambia's Faith

The Gambia is a country known for being peaceful, free from civil war, and where people of different religions can live next to each other without problems. Although the most predominant religions in The Gambia are Islam (90%) and Christianity (9%), it is clear to see that neither PURE Islam nor PURE Christianity is commonly practiced here. Instead, their faith stems from a culture deeply rooted in animism. This has led to 1) Superstitions 2) Use of traditional healers and maribous and 3) Reported demonic activity.

Superstitions are common to most cultures. In America we learn even as a child that if a black cat crosses your path that you will have bad luck, if walk under a ladder will have bad luck, if you step on a crack you'll break your mother's back, if mirror breaks then will have bad luck, the number 13 is unlucky, and the list goes on. Well, the Gambia also has superstitions, some of which stem from fears of accidental injury, some of which stem from fears passed down from generation to generation as just the thing to do but are known to not be true, and still others which are believed to be true to this day. To begin with, there are many items that cannot be bought at night: soap, charcoal, salt, and razors. It is believed that whoever buys soap at night and goes home to take a bath will die. The same with the charcoal and salt. When it comes to razors, a person cannot see who is selling it to him, so it is a bad razor. In terms of the salt and soap, these beliefs stem from the fear that a medical emergency may occur in the middle of the night requiring soap or salt (salt is used commonly to clean out wounds). Other superstitions include not going to the well at night because a witch might push the person in. A person should never respond to his name being called at night because the witches/evil spirits in the trees will hear and turn into the person that called his name, lead him to a desolate place, and kill him.

The use of traditional healers and marabout is extremely common throughout The Gambia (usually a person is both a traditional healer as well as a marabout). Traditional healers use herbs to heal the body, emotions, and spiritual issues. For example, aloe is used for burns, honey is used for wounds, (just as we use in the States), plus many other herbal mixtures that, with the help of Allah, take away joint pain, increase fertility, heal malaria, STDs, and HIV/AIDS. In addition to physical ailments, traditional healers are sought when a person suspects they are being spiritually attacked. An ointment or tea will be given to remove the effect of a curse on him/her. For example, my community representative, a nurse, was riding his motorcycle, and although he was wearing skin-tight sunglasses, a large beetle got into his eye and caused a serious infection. He said that there is no way for the large bug to have gotten into his eye. Therefore, he attributed this supernatural event to the fact he treated the traditional healer the day before, and the traditional healer is known to be under spiritual attack. So as a result, he went to the traditional healer for an ointment to wash his face with for three days to remove the effects of the spiritual attack on him. 

Jujus are another cultural tradition that ward off evil spirits in addition to increasing a child's lifespan. They consist of a leather pouch holding within it a scripture from the Koran. While in training village, my youngest host brother, Alimamo, 3 years old, wore a juju necklace (see picture below). When I asked why he wore it, the family said that it was to keep evil spirits from him. I guess at night he would wake up and scream or shake and since he has worn the necklace he has not had any problems.

Brother, Alimamo, wearing juju necklace

A marabout is a kind of fortune teller. There are good marabouts and bad marabouts. The bad marabouts bring down curses on people; whereas, the good marabouts remove curses.  In addition to removing curses and telling a person's future, this individual can contact people on the other side of the world. For example, the other day I heard a report of a woman whose brother was in Europe someone and she had an emergency occur where she needed her brother to come home right away. She had no way to contact him, so she went to the local marabout to send the message to her brother to come home. Two days later her brother returned home, saying that despite the work he was in the middle of doing, he felt he must return home right away. Very interesting. Thoughts?


Demonic activity is common knowledge throughout this country. As I mentioned in my previous post, there is a school girl epidemic going on that is widely known to be caused by evil spirits or witches in the trees (as one of the school girls explained). Evil spirits are common knowledge here taking many different forms. To begin with, owls are believed to be witches; this has led to the killing and hatred of owls throughout the country. Snakes are also believed to be witches, able to cast spells on pregnant women's unborn children, resulting in deformities and abnormalities. Geckos are feared, believing they will cause illness and disease, as they are viewed similar to a snake (the Mandinka word for gecko includes the word for snake showing its negative association). Overall, all Gambians are aware of the existence of evil spirits and will not question a person when he/she blames a sickness, disease, accident, or natural event on evil spirits.

Animism is a very real thing in The Gambia. People live in fear of being put under a curse or affected by a witch in some way. Because of the inability to explain certain things going on within the country, evil spirits are quickly blamed. Whether or not evil spirits are to blame every time, I am unsure. All I know is that I am intrigued, curious as to whether this is legitimate demonic activity, and continually praying for God to protect me, give me wisdom and discernment, and lead me so as to shine for Jesus amidst the darkness around me.

Thank you all for your prayers and encouraging notes. They mean more than you know.