This particular adventure was a few months in the making. As I have already written, in May I attended the "Call of the Layenne" celebration in my neighborhood of Yoff. You may recall the Layenne are one of the Islamic brotherhoods here in Senegal, named for the founder, Seydina Limaloue Laye (PBUH). The Layenne are easily recognizable; their all-white robes symbolize the egalitarian nature of the Layenne. To participate in the "Call of the Layenne," I walked with thousands of other white-robed individuals to the site of a sacred cave in Ngor, approximately 4.5 miles from my neighborhood.
I returned to the site of the cave to meet with some elders and the "Keeper of the Cave," Abdoulaye Thiaw, to get some more information and to explore. Accompanied by two friends, both named Lamine, I stepped around a gate under the watchful eyes of a mural of Seydina Limalou Laye (PBUH). The "Lamines" and I greeted everyone who lived in the row of one-level connected dwellings. Altogether, about 20-25 people were sitting outside. Women were interacting with children, some men and women were praying, and one man was making tea.
We then crossed a small road that wound through the complex to a stepped structure where we were told to leave our shoes.
