Culture and food — Teranga, mbalax and Ceebu Jën

Teranga first

The Wolof word Teranga — hospitality, welcome, sharing — is the key to any stay in Senegal. You will be invited to share the communal dish; people will take the time to greet you properly: accept, greet back, and the country opens up.

Music, wrestling, creation

Born in Dakar, mbalax weds Wolof drumming and song to Afro-Cuban influences; Youssou Ndour, its undisputed king, carried it from the Médina's clubs to the Grammy Awards. Senegalese wrestling — làmb — fills stadiums more surely than football: pre-fight ceremonies, chanted bàkk and mysticism make it total theatre. And every two years the Dakar Biennale (Dak'Art) turns the capital into the centre of African contemporary art — next edition 19 November to 19 December 2026.

Faith and pilgrimages

A Muslim country with a distinctive Sufi brotherhood tradition, Senegal lives each year to the rhythm of the Magal of Touba, which gathers millions of Mouride pilgrims, and of the Gamou of Tivaouane and Kaolack. Their dates follow the lunar calendar and change every year. These are religious events, not attractions: visitors are welcomed with the customary Teranga, in respect of the places and their rules.

At the table

Thieboudienne — broken rice, fish, vegetables — was born among the fishermen of Saint-Louis and has been inscribed since 2021 on UNESCO's intangible cultural heritage list under its Wolof name: "Ceebu Jën, a culinary art of Senegal". Around it orbit Casamance's lemony yassa, peanut-sauce mafé, grilled fish at Soumbédioune, iced bissap and café Touba spiced with Selim pepper. Try everything.