Dance religious convers(at)ions: post‐exotic ethnography of the circulation of sabar and Baye Fall aesthetics in France and Switzerland

In: The journal of the Royal Anthropological Institute

Abstract

AbstractThis article draws on an ethnography of the transmission of Senegalese sabar dancing in France and Switzerland to discuss how the religious pathways of sabar enthusiasts bear witness to many modes of adoption or rejection of Mouride and Baye Fall aesthetics. I focus on several portraits of students in order to highlight three modalities of the relationship with Baye Fall aesthetics, faith, and religious knowledge, ranging from the dissociation between dance and religious meaning to conversion and immersion into Baye Fallism. I defend the importance of elaborating post‐exotic anthropological tools – such as the ideas of ethnophilia or religious conversations – in order to grasp the nexus of affects, embodied experiences, and intimate relationships that are conducive to and mediate the religious pathways of sabar enthusiasts.