Saturday, 04 March 2006 00:00
Joseph Hill
Medina Baay is a neighborhood on the northeast corner of Senegal’s peanut capital of Kawlax. Before being incorporated into the city, it was an independent village founded in 1930 by Baay Ñas and his disciples after they left the Ñas family’s headquarters of Lewna Ñaseen. It still almost has the feel of a village, with its red dirt roads predominantly Njolofeen population, most of whom are related to most of each other. This profile includes broader information about the city of Kawlax and its various neighborhoods. Of particular importance to the history of Medina Baay are four other neighborhoods: Lewna Ñaseen, founded in 1911 by Baay’s father, Maam Allaaji Abdulaay Ñas, and now constituting much of Kawlax’s city center; Medina Mbàbba, an area south of Medina Baay which was already inhabited by Séeréer-speaking Gelwaar when Baay Ñas arrived; Saam, an area West of Medina Baay that, although densely populated today, originally served as fields and orchards for the residents of Medina Baay; and Coofog, north of Saam, where the Gelwaar royalty who controlled the area lived. Add a comment
Last Updated on Thursday, 17 September 2009 18:01
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Sunday, 30 August 2009 12:44
Joseph Hill
I recently returned from a very productive and interesting month of research in Senegal (from July 8 to August 4, 2009). In collaboration with several Association members, I conducted research in Medina Baay, Tayba Ñaseen, Mbittéyeen Waalo, Dakar, Mbuur, and Ngic Jolof. I had hoped to go to Mauritania but, apparently due to the political situation there, I was unable to get a visa, although I was able to meet with Al-Ḥājj wuld Mishri during his short visit to Dakar. I hope to post some of the results of my research soon. For the moment, many of the photos I took are available at my Flickr site.
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Last Updated on Friday, 11 September 2009 01:33
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Sunday, 10 August 2008 06:30
Joseph Hill
 Medinabaay.org came back on line on September 10, 2009, at least sort of. Our archives are still awaiting a server, but the Medina Baay Research Association will report here on its ongoing fieldwork, findings, and observations. Please stay tuned as we redesign the site and reorganize our archive of interviews, meeting transcriptions, photos, manuscripts, videos, and so on. Add a comment
Last Updated on Friday, 11 September 2009 11:26
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Friday, 11 September 2009 12:02
Joseph Hill
 When I went to Senegal this summer, I had just (I thought) finished writing an article on women acting as Islamic leaders in Senegal, based on interviews with a handful of female muqaddams (representatives of the Sufi order). I thought I would seize the opportunity to do a couple final interviews, and I interviewed several daughters of Baay Ñas who act as muqaddams (including Roqiyatu Ñas, pictured right) as well as women who came from non-Taalibe Baay and non-clerical families. I soon realized that the phenomenon was far more widespread than I had imagined.
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Last Updated on Monday, 21 December 2009 17:31
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Saturday, 07 July 2007 09:54
Joseph Hill
Medina Baay (spelled “Médina Baye” in French), a neighborhood on the northeast edge of the city of Kawlax in Senegal, is the headquarters of the “’Ibrāhīmiyyah” branch of the Tijāniyyah Ṣūfī order and was founded by ’Ibrāhīm Ñas, usually called “Baay Ñas” in Wolof (“Baye Niass” or “Ibrahima Niass” in French). In Arabic, “Medina Baay” literally means "The City of Baay," but it also draws a parallel between Baay Ñas’s (spelled “Baye Niass” in French) refuge here in 1930 and that of Muḥammad in the Arabian city of al-Madīnah al-Munawwarah.
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Last Updated on Monday, 31 August 2009 20:29
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As part of our historical research in Medina Baay, I returned to Kóosi Mbittéyeen today for a second time to do more interviews with grandparents, including:
