Tierno Bokar
Encyclopedia
Tierno Bokar full name Tierno Bokar Saalif Tall, (1875–1939) was an African mystic
Mysticism
Mysticism is the knowledge of, and especially the personal experience of, states of consciousness, i.e. levels of being, beyond normal human perception, including experience and even communion with a supreme being.-Classical origins:...

, Sufi sage
Wise old man
The wise old man is an archetype as described by Carl Jung, as well as a classic literary figure, and may be seen as a stock character...

, and a Muslim
Muslim
A Muslim, also spelled Moslem, is an adherent of Islam, a monotheistic, Abrahamic religion based on the Quran, which Muslims consider the verbatim word of God as revealed to prophet Muhammad. "Muslim" is the Arabic term for "submitter" .Muslims believe that God is one and incomparable...

 spiritual teacher of the early twentieth century famous for his message of religious tolerance and universal love
Universal Love
Universal Love is the third album to be released by Philadelphia International Records houseband MFSB.Includes a cover of The Nite-Liters's 1971 single "K-Jee which was included in the 1977 movie and soundtrack Saturday Night Fever.-Track listing:...

.

Life

Tierno Bokar was born in Segou
Ségou
Ségou is a city in south-central Mali, lying northeast of Bamako on the River Niger, in the region of Ségou. It was founded by the Bozo people, on a site about from the present town...

 in 1875 and moved to the village of Bandiagara
Bandiagara
Bandiagara is a city in the Dogon region of Mali in Africa. The name translates roughly to "large eating bowl"—referring to the communal bowl meals are served in....

 in 1893. There he opened a zaouia
Zaouia
A zaouia or zawiya is an Islamic religious school or monastery. The term is Maghrebi and West African, roughly corresponding to the Eastern term madrassa...

 and became a follower of Cherif Hammallah in Nioro du Sahel
Nioro du Sahel
Nioro du Sahel often referred to as simply Nioro is a town and commune in the Kayes Region of western Mali, 241 km from the city of Kayes. It is located 275 miles north-west of the capital Bamako...

.

A disagreement over the proper number of repetitions for a Sufi prayer, (Hamallayya
Hamallayya
Hamallayya or Hamallism is a sufi ṭarīqah originating in West Africa as an outgrowth from and reaction against the Tijaniyyah brotherhood. It was founded at the beginning of the 20th century by a mystic Muhammad ben Amadu of Maure and Fulani background, as reform movement of Tijaniyyah practice...

 prescribed 11 times as opposed to 12), rose dramatically in scale. Intense infighting among rival clans and religious factions in French Soudan, as well as involvement of the French
France
The French Republic , The French Republic , The French Republic , (commonly known as France , is a unitary semi-presidential republic in Western Europe with several overseas territories and islands located on other continents and in the Indian, Pacific, and Atlantic oceans. Metropolitan France...

 colonial
Colonialism
Colonialism is the establishment, maintenance, acquisition and expansion of colonies in one territory by people from another territory. It is a process whereby the metropole claims sovereignty over the colony and the social structure, government, and economics of the colony are changed by...

 authority eventually led to massacres and the exile of Hamallah. In Bandiagara, Bokar was ostracized by his clan and family and forbidden to teach or pray publicly. Tierno Bokar’s school was destroyed and he and his two wives and children were placed under house arrest.

Religious Tolerance

Throughout the increasingly violent fighting, Bokar preached a message of religious tolerance and universal love.

Fame

  • A book written by a pupil of his, Amadou Hampate Ba
    Amadou Hampâté Bâ
    Amadou Hampâté Bâ was a Malian writer and ethnologist.-Biography:...

    , titled Vie et enseignement de Tierno Bokar: Le sage de Bandiagara (translated into English under “A Spirit of Tolerance: The Inspiring Life of Tierno Bokar
    A Spirit of Tolerance: The Inspiring Life of Tierno Bokar
    A Spirit of Tolerance: The Inspiring Life of Tierno Bokar is the only English translation of Amadou Hampate Ba’s book Vie en enseignement de Tierno Bokar, le sage de Bandiagara , originally written in French. This book describes the life of Tierno Bokar, a Malian Sufi who preached a message of...

    ”) introduced him to the non-African world. (Originally published in 1957, under the title Tierno Bokar: Le Sage de Bandiagara, with co-author Marcel Cardaire.)

  • Bokar’s life story was later made into a play directed by Peter Brook
    Peter Brook
    Peter Stephen Paul Brook CH, CBE is an English theatre and film director and innovator, who has been based in France since the early 1970s.-Life:...

     entitled Tierno Bokar.

  • Brook made the story of prayer repetitions into another play, entitled 11 & 12, which ran at the Barbican Centre
    Barbican Centre
    The Barbican Centre is the largest performing arts centre in Europe. Located in the City of London, England, the Centre hosts classical and contemporary music concerts, theatre performances, film screenings and art exhibitions. It also houses a library, three restaurants, and a conservatory...

     (London) in early 2010.

  • The poet Maabal described Bokar with the following poem:


External links

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