Touba (Senegal)

See also: Touba

Touba , the capital of the Moslem brotherhood of Mourides, is located at more than 150 kilometers at the east of Dakar.

The word Touba comes from the Arab : “repentance”. ?

In Arabic ţûbâ means " felicité" , or " béatitude". ?

History

The town of Touba was founded in 1887 per Sheik Ahmadou Bamba.

Administration

The city belongs to the Département of Mbacké, a subdivision of the area of Diourbel.

Located in the district of Ndame, it is a city which still has a legal statute of village, although it urbanized largely and is on the way to become the second city of Senegal.

Geography

Geological physics

Population

Touba records more the demographic strong growth of the agglomerations of Senegal (3,2% annual for the moment with a growth rate estimated at 12% for the years 2010). This growth is due to the massive arrivals of villager of the historical provinces of the Baol and the Cayor; these villages are emptied gradually with the profit of Touba.

At the time of the census of 2002, the population rose 461.159 inhabitants.

In 2007, according to the official estimates, Touba would count 529.176 people.

Economy

The rise of the city is related to large the Pèlerinage which celebrates each year the departure in exile of the founder of the Confrérie of Mourides. This pilgrimage is called the " Magal".

Culture

Touba shelters a library where the writings of Ahmadou Bamba are gathered. The cemeteries of Touba are located at the East of the mosque. All Mourides have to be buried there.

Monuments

See also: Large Mosque of Touba

Touba shelters a large mosque around which the city is built in a concentric initial plan. The mosque whose Minaret culminates with more than 80 meters was inaugurated the June 7th 1963 by the second khalife of the brotherhood of Mourides, El Hadji Falilou Mbacké, in the presence of the President of the Republic of Senegal, Léopold Sédar Senghor. It shelters the Mausolée of Sheik Ahmadou Bamba visited each year by very many pilgrims, during the festival of Large Magal.

Personalities born in Touba

See too

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