El Hadj Malick Sy

Caliph of the Tijaniyya in Senegal (around 1855 – 1922)

Family : Place of birth : Gaya (Waalo) ; Date of birth : Around 1855 ; Mother : Sokhna Fatoumata Wade Wele ; Father : Sidy Ousmane Sy (died before his birth)

Education : Having memorised the Qur’an very young, he pursued a twenty-five-year quest for knowledge: religious sciences, but also mathematics, astronomy and poetry. He stayed in Mauritania, settled in Saint-Louis in 1884, then at Louga and Pire. He made the pilgrimage to Mecca in 1888.

Action : He returned from Mecca with the title of caliph of the Tijaniyya for Senegal. At the invitation of the notable Djibril Guèye, he settled in Tivaouane in 1902. He gave the Gamou its spiritual dimension: a night of piety devoted to Qur’an recitation, praise of the Prophet and the transmission of Islamic values.

Spiritual legacy : He was called back to God on 27 June 1922 at Tivaouane, where he rests. His son Serigne Babacar Sy succeeded him as the first caliph of the Sy family of Tivaouane. His poems are still recited at the Gamou vigils. His sons Serigne Babacar Sy and El Hadj Abdoul Aziz Sy succeeded him at the head of the Tivaouane family. He left many writings (poetry, theology, jurisprudence); the mosque and zawiya of Tivaouane are classified historic monuments.

Sources

• Persée — compte-rendu de David Robinson, « Paths of Accommodation » par J. Boulègue (Outre-Mers, 2003) — sur Malick Sy à Tivaouane
• Cairn — « Al-Hajj Malik Sy. Sa chaîne spirituelle dans la Tijaniyya… » (Le temps des marabouts)
• Cairn — « Malik Sy » (La Tijâniyya, Karthala)
• OpenEdition — J.-L. Triaud et D. Robinson (dir.), La Tijâniyya (compte rendu, REMMM)
• Wikipédia — El Hadj Malick Sy

El Hadji Malick Sy — founder of the spiritual centre of Tivaouane