Source: French to English Tester Published on: 2026-04-02
Source: The Conversation – in French– By Aurélie Doignon, teacher-researcher in education sciences, CY Cergy Paris University
In the distance, one hears the sounds ofsabars(music and choreography from Senegal, centered on a set of drums of the same name and collective dances) whose rhythmic symphonies reveal themselves as one approaches. In the streets of the Gueule Tapée or Médina districts of Dakar, in the afternoon or at night, we gather in a circle, outlined by plastic chairs rented by the organizers and closed off by the musicians.
Only the sound goes beyond this assembly and leads children to imitate adults on the edge of the large circle. It is about celebrating a baptism, a wedding, a birthday. The musicians play the rhythms in a precise order and the participants enter for a few seconds to dance in the circle, alone or with others.
The dancer directs the musicians who must adapt to the movements, leading to a play, even a competition between the two. In thesabarsduring the day, the participants come to slip bills into the hands or mouth of the musician player oftama(underarm drum) or the soloist’s. In thesabarsAt night, the audience gives indiscriminately to the musicians, dancers, or even to the praised songs.
As a specialist in dances and cultural practices in West Africa, I have notably studied the sabar by looking at the way it is transmitted and practiced in neighborhoods. In this article, I explain why this tradition remains at the heart of the social and cultural life of neighborhoods.
An art that blends rhythm and expressive dance
Thesabaris a cultural phenomenon that takes several forms (visible and audible) in the popular neighborhoods in Senegal. It refers both to a set of traditional percussion instruments (7 different drums), a rhythm, and an expressive dance practiced by the Wolofs, one of the communities in Senegal. Listen to the hits ofmbalax(Senegalese musical genre) on the radio, it’s to find sounds ofto waitmixed with current arrangements.
As these soundsused to allow communication, theto know how tois today mainly used for festive purposes: baptisms, weddings, birthdays, tontine celebrations, children’s shows (fake lions), as well as the opening part of wrestling matches (the wrestler parades with his team, warms up and intimidates his opponent). The rhythms are also foundto know how to eatOn the occasion of therapeutic rituals (ceremonies ofNdeup).
The eventsto know how toare carried out thanks to the contribution of the griots: musicians, praise singers, panegyric chants (tassou), dancers. For the organization of an event, a street is cordoned off: by installing a marquee in the middle of it and renting plastic chairs as well as a sound system (for nighttime parties). The space can also be marked off with tires or light spots. Finally, for children’s shows, called “Simbs Gaïndé” or “fake lions,” tarpaulins are stretched to charge an entrance fee.
The name of the rhythms of thesobarresponds to those of daily life:Ceebu jën, for example, literally translates as “rice with fish,” named after the Senegalese national dish. It is the fastest rhythm.Fassit takes its name from the eponymous neighborhood of Dakar, marked by an important tradition of Senegalese wrestling.Walo-Walorefers to a cultural group from Senegal, bearing the same name.
The Sabar at the heart of neighborhood life celebrations
Most represented form ofsabarsat night, the wordtânnébéermeans moreover “nocturnal conversation.” It is the place of expression for professional artists and the audience is composed equally of men and women, highly appreciated.tännebëris a space of visibility for the organizers, but especially for the dancers, who operate logics of distinction there in order to establish their reputation and to showcase their image, their dance.
This is also the place to invent a “bà kk» (sequence where all the musicians play on the same rhythm, with multiple staccato moments that allow for showcasing humorous parades) or preferably performing in front of a filming camera (for example, the show“Dakar does not sleep”or a phone, in order to share the recording on social networks.
The events ofsabarsDaytime events are rather the prerogative of women: except for the musicians who are griot men, it is the women who dance and celebrate the event – a matrescence, a wedding.
Imbued with rhythmsto knowFrom childhood, when living in working-class neighborhoods, the incorporation of dance takes place through imitation of the women whom the children accompany. It then serves as a reference and learning for sisterly games or seduction. It is the place where girls and women can free themselves from the modesty required in public spaces.
The street proves to be a genuine learning space where elders teach the younger ones, as well as a place for peer learning during childhood or later for young adults wishing to professionalize. Indeed, today the transmission of dance and music no longer occurs solely within griot lineages: learning spaces have opened up, such as ballets, which serve as training and dissemination platforms for music and dance.
Professionalization and international influence
Become a dancer ofkickAt a professional level, it involves a complex network of formal and informal proposals for entering the art. In fact, a new professionalization is emerging, driven by the internationalization of world music video clips (a musical category that includes traditional or popular styles from around the world), but also by the search for new bodies and new gestures by contemporary dance choreographers.
Ofmy interviewswith about forty dancerssaberand ballet managers (carried out as part of my doctoral thesis in educational sciences), a new professionalization appears, which deconstructs the habitus of Wolof society and breaks down the caste boundaries in this society (griots often being perceived as a low and devalued class).
Thus, artistic training programs are emerging on the African continent, and music videos, integrated at the very heart of globalization, technologies, and communication networks (viewing and sharing dance videos thanks to smartphones in the streets), are becoming the references and now hold authority in professional artistic careers.
There is also a real establishment of a community of practice among male and female dancers, in the sense ofLave and Wenger: participation at the center of practice, networking, and meaning-making.
At once rooted in an urban and intergenerational culture, theenoughthus allows to create a common ground, to bring together a neighborhood. It also allows to articulate a local-global dialectic with its dissemination on international stages. The internationalization ofsaberis underway: On the occasion of the recent men’s football and rugby World Cups, the singer Gala thus sang her hit singleaccompanied by sabar dancers.
Aurélie Doignon does not work for, consult, own shares in or receive funding from any company or organisation that would benefit from this article, and has disclosed no relevant affiliations beyond their academic appointment.
–ref. The sabar, this Senegalese rhythm that makes neighborhoods vibrate and is exported worldwide –https://theconversation.com/le-sabar-ce-rythme-senegalais-qui-fait-vibrer-les-quartiers-et-sexporte-dans-le-monde-272293