Castes in Senegal

written Wednesday, 18 April 2007


Today we had a class about the caste system in Senegal. Not all of the ethnic groups have castes, but for those that do, it goes something like this: there are the nobles, which are at the top, and then there are the worker types, which are divided into woodcutters, blacksmiths, weavers, etc. Each of the worker castes are equal to each other, and apparently people have a lot of pride in their caste. After workers, there are captives or slaves.

So there are basically three levels of caste, and a Senegalese can tell what caste a person belongs to by their last name. However, in modern times, while people still belong to castes, they don't necessarily do whatever trade is assigned to their caste. So someone could belong to the weaver caste but be working in carpentry instead, because the money is better. Caste is still important though for marriages and maintaining social order. It is a big deal, and mostly not done, to marry someone from a lower caste.

This is just the quick explanation they gave us in class. Hopefully I'll learn more about it when I get to my village.