SENEGAL

officially Republic of Senegal, French Rpublique du Sngal, country located at the western extremity of Africa's tropical zone. It has an area of 75,955 square miles (196,722 square kilometres). It is bounded to the north and northeast by the Sngal River, which separates it from Mauritania; to the east by Mali; to the south by Guinea-Bissau and Guinea; and to the west by the Atlantic Ocean. The Gambia constitutes a finger of territory 20 miles (32 kilometres) wide and 200 miles long that thrusts from the coast eastward into Senegal along the Gambia River. The capital is Dakar, and the official language is French. Senegalwhich gained its independence in 1960, first as part of the short-lived Mali Federation and then as a sovereign state in its own rightis among the principal producers of peanuts (groundnuts); its light soils and its climate are well suited to this crop. Food crops such as millet and sorghum also are important. Although the economy is planned, the moderate controls to which it is subjected are applied in a flexible rather than an authoritarian manner. Private investors, whether foreign or Senegalese nationals, are encouraged to establish new enterprises; an investment code grants tax exemptions as well as permits the withdrawal of profits. Nationalization has in general been avoided, and the denationalization of various state companies is proceeding. Economic policy favours private initiative even in the production and marketing of the peanut, which is so essential to Senegal. The economic life of Senegal is characterized by its membership in the Franc Zone, as a result of which the country benefits from French financial support. officially Republic of Senegal, French Rpublique du Sngal westernmost republic of the bulge of western Africa, covering an area of 75,955 square miles (196,722 square km). The capital is Dakar. Facing the Atlantic Ocean to the west, Senegal is bounded on the north and northeast by the Sngal River, which separates it from Mauritania; on the east by the Falm River, separating it from Mali; and on the south by Guinea-Bissau and Guinea. The Gambia forms an enclave along the Gambia River in the southwest. The population in 1990 was estimated at 7,618,000. Additional reading Overviews are found in Harold D. Nelson et al., Area Handbook for Senegal, 2nd ed. (1974); Hubert Deschamps, Le Sngal et la Gambie, 3rd ed. updated (1975); and Philippe Decraene, Le Sngal (1985). See also Atlas national du Sngal (1977); and Paul Plissier (ed.), Atlas du Sngal (1980). Sociological works include Gilles Blanchet, Elites et changements en Afrique et au Sngal (1983); and Abdoulaye-Bara Diop, La Famille wolof (1985). Donal B. Cruise O'Brien, The Mourides of Senegal (1971); Christian Coulon, Le Marabout et le Prince: Islam et pouvoir au Sngal (1981); and Moriba Magassouba, L'Islam au Sngal (1985), discuss the Islamic heritage and present religiopolitical conflicts. Politics and government are studied by Michael Crowder, Senegal: A Study of French Assimilation Policy, rev. ed. (1967); and Mar Fall, Sngal, l'tat Abdou Diouf (1986). Camille Camara Administration and social conditions Government The first constitution of Senegal was promulgated in 1963 and has been revised many times since. It proclaims its attachment to fundamental human rights, respect for political, trade-union, and religious freedoms, and also for individual and collective property rights. The Senegalese state is a democratic and secular state, with French as its official language. The constitution provides for a strongly centralized presidential regime elected by direct universal suffrage. The president appoints the prime minister and is elected for seven years. Ministers are appointed by the prime minister in consultation with the president. Members of the National Assembly are elected to five-year terms by universal adult suffrage. Judicial, executive, and legislative powers are separated. Senegal is divided into 10 rgions, which in turn are divided into dpartements and arrondissements. Each rgion is administered by a governor whose role is coordinative; he is assisted by two deputy governors, one dealing with administration, and the other with development. A regional assembly composed of general councillors deals with local taxation. In each dpartement the prefect represents the republic, as well as the ministers. There are also autonomous urban communes. Dakar is governed by an elected municipal council. The Senegalese played a pioneering role in the development of a modern political system in the territories of French West Africa. Unlike most single-party African States, in Senegal the existence of a multiplicity of political parties is a constitutional provision. The political-party system is solidly entrenched, and the concept of a single-party system is generally held to be repugnant. This is the reason President Abdou Diouf in 1981 established the pluralism that still prevails today, with more than 15 parties representing socialist, liberal, and Marxist positions. But after the elections in February 1988 a tendency for some parties to regroup began to develop. At the beginning, political life was of concern only to a limited lite consisting of the intellectuals, the traditional chiefs, and above all the inhabitants of four communesSaint-Louis, Dakar, Rufisque, and Gorewho had been French citizens since 1916. After World War II universal suffrage was introduced by stages, with the electorate increasing from 890,000 voters in 1958 to 1,932,265 in 1988. Senegalese citizens today participate in the elections of the president, of the deputies to the National Assembly, of regional councillors, and of municipal councillors. In addition to participation in political-party and trade-union activities, other institutions also permit participation in the political process. These include societies for mutual assistance, which are organized both on a regional and on a village basis; youth associations; and religious groupings, which are most influential. The Muslims, particularly Sunnites, sensible of their popular strength, have called for the establishment of an Islamic state. The government takes no official notice of such claims. Justice is administered in the dpartements by justices of the peace and in the rgions by courts of first instance. Criminal cases are judged by assize courts held at Saint-Louis, Kaolack, Ziguinchor, and Dakar. Dakar is the seat of the Court of Appeal. Education In addition to continuing the educational expansion begun during the colonial period, Senegal has made particular efforts to increase school enrollment in rural areas. Among the secondary schools, the Faidherbe Lyce at Saint-Louis and the Van Vollenhoven Lyce at Dakar are the most renowned and the oldest. Technical education is expanding; technical training is provided by institutions in Dakar, Saint-Louis, Diourbel, Kaolack, and Louga. University education was begun in Dakar in 1957. Following disturbances in 1968, Senegal concluded an agreement with France on higher education by the terms of which the University of Dakar became oriented to its African context. The staff of the university is now about 70 percent Africanized. The Africanization of courses has meant that university degrees, with the exception of those gained in medicine, are no longer equivalent to those obtained in France. About 20 percent of the students are foreign, most from the French-speaking countries of Guinea, Mali, and Burkina Faso. The university was renamed the Cheikh Anta Diop University of Dakar, in honour of the late Senegalese historian and politician, in 1987. The College of Sciences and Veterinary Medicine for French-speaking Africa is also located in Dakar, and a polytechnic college opened at This in 1973. Cultural life Both the rhythm of life in Senegal and the Senegalese mentality have evolved over a long period of time in a setting that was unacquainted with technology in the Western sense of the word. The attitudes of Senegalese in their relations with nature are consequently different from those of Europeans in general. Fear, magic, and collectivism are dominant in traditional Senegalese life. Writing is absent or constitutes at best the prerogative of no more than the few. The cultural heritage is preserved in oral tradition, of which the guardians have been the most experienced, that is to say the oldest, men. Society thus forms a hierarchy, at the summit of which stand the oldest people. The traditional Senegalese cultural heritage remains much alive. Rites and initiations are actively practiced in rural areasfor example, by the Basari of Kdougou. Among Muslims, youths must be circumcised before being accorded the responsibilities of adulthood. Art, sculpture, music, and dance remain typically Senegalese in expression. Sculpture is characterized by abstraction and by the ideogram; a sculptured gazelle, for example, may be represented solely by its horns and its neck, while an elephant may be represented only by the immense fan formed by its ears and its trunk. The Senegalese artist thus neglects the material aspect in order to give free rein to ideas and to feelings. Similarly, in the absence of written music, the imagination of the musician is released. Without falling into the realm of fantasy, the griot (a West African troubadour and historian) recites poems or tells stories of warrior deeds, drawing upon his own sources of inspiration. Both dance and music owe a great deal to improvisation, which, combined with rhythm, produces an intense effect upon the entire community. Senegalese literature is incarnated by the former president Lopold Sdar Senghor. The quality and the importance of his work resulted in his election in 1983 as the first black member of the French Academy. He is the poet associated with Negritude, a concept that he defined as consisting, on the one hand, of an attitude of defense of the traditional values of black Africa and, on the other, of tension toward the modernization of these same values. From this concept Senghor drew his political philosophy concerning not only Senegal but the whole of black Africa. Besides Senghor one may also cite the names of Birago Diop, who revived local legends, as well as of such writers as Ousmane Soc, David Diop, Alioune Diop, Cheikh Anta Diop, Cheikh Amidou Kne, Abdoulaye Sadji, Abdoulaye Ly, Ousmane Sembene, and Bakary Traor, all of whom are known for works which combine intelligence with the savour of Senegalese life. Since the World Festival of Negro Arts was organized at Dakar in 1966, a number of existing institutions have been reoriented toward African traditions, while new institutions also were created. Among the new institutions are the Dynamique Museum, the Daniel Sorano Theatre, and the Tapestry Factory of This. The existing institutions that underwent some transformations are the Fundamental Institute of Black Africa, the Houses of Youth and of Culture, and the craft village of Soumbedioune in Dakar, which has become a centre for Senegalese sculpture and goldsmithing. Senegal was the first of the former French West African territories to have a press. The Moniteur du Sngal was founded in 1854 and was succeeded by the Journal Officiel de la Rpublique du Sngal. Important Dakar publications are the Soliel, Afrique Nouvelle, and Le Moniteur Africain. Radio Sngal broadcasts in French and English and in several African languages. Television is widely available. Camille Camara