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Home » Blog » The Old Wise Man of the Makasutu Forest in The Gambia
Makasutu-Healer-Hut

The Old Wise Man of the Makasutu Forest in The Gambia

//  by Simon//  3 Comments

In a country like The Gambia, where the average life expectancy is still below 60 years, the thought of the 94 years old wise man living the Makasutu Forest held some magic.

Gambia Healer Makasutu Forest

 

In The Gambia, everyone consider the Marabout with the highest esteem

Everyone at the Mandina Lodge and in the surroundings talked about the Marabout – as the Islamic spiritual healer is called  in West Africa and the Maghreb region – with the highest consideration. People consult the wise man sometimes to know about their future and more often to ask for his blessing and a charm to protect them.

The Hut of Makasutu Healer

Although I’m not a religious person, nor do I believe in fortune-tellers, miracles and superstitions, I was extraordinarily curious to meet the revered old man.

After a short walk in the forest, I reached the simple hut where the marabout lives with a little more than nothing, his ascetic life fully dedicated to helping people. In the vicinity of the shed, a goat with her cubs, a few hens, and a rooster, probably the man’s only sustenance.

Dressed in the traditional outfit of The Gambia, his head covered with a worn cap and a towel on the top of it, dark glasses sitting on his nose, the healer was sitting in a meditative fashion, maybe praying.

Wakasutu Forest

Our guide Mamadi acted as our translator to communicate with the old wise man when he seized my hand, carefully observing it before starting to speak.

While I was sitting on the small bench besides the marabout, listening to his words, I couldn’t help thinking of writer Tiziano Terzani and his book ‘A fortune-teller told me‘ (the chronicles of a one year travel as a foreign correspondent for the magazine ‘Stern‘ avoiding planes, following a prophecy by a fortune-teller in China) , sharing a similar skepticism towards soothsayers’ powers.

In the Makasutu Forest

I couldn’t believe in his words, but I felt fascinated and like wrapped by the sense of peace the old wise man was instilling in me. No matter I don’t believe in the supernatural, the encounter with the Makasutu Forest healer was one of the highlights of my short trip in The Gambia, a little step in the quest to learning something from such a different and interesting culture. It was only a glimpse, but one that deeply struck me. The Gambia is a country worth to spend far more time to discover its wonderful people, their history and traditions.

_______

Note: My encounter with the old healer of the Makasutu Forest was made possible by The Gambia Experience and the invitation to discover this beautiful country. As always, opinions and feelings expressed are my own. 

More reading: The Gambia: A Symphony of Colors at Tanji Fish Market

 

Simon

Travel addict and passionate about photography, Simon Falvo started Wild About Travel back in 2009. Leveraging her strong PR background, she developed an extensive knowledge of Digital Communications and Social Media Marketing. Besides travel writing Simon holds workshops and trainings, she collaborated with tourism boards for digital marketing campaigns and participated as a speaker at several events.

Category: GAMBIATag: africa, people & traditions

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Reader Interactions

Comments

  1. Kathryn Burrington

    at

    This gave me goose bumps when I read it.

    The first time I visited Makasutu, many years ago, I met the wise man and his grandchildren. Wonderful to hear he is still there. Here’s a link to a photo from that day http://travelwithkat.com/2012/02/24/the-grandchildren-of-the-wise-man-of-makasutu-forest/

    I am going back in just over a week so I may well see him again!

    Reply
  2. Tara

    at

    I am very superstitious. Did “wise old man” said anything to you? ‘A fortune-teller told me‘ book is very good.

    Reply

Trackbacks

  1. Bloggers' press trip to The Gambia says:
    at

    […] born blogger, Simon, shared four articles about The Gambia. When I first read her account of The Wise Man of the Makasutu Forest, it gave me goosebumps. Like me, she also fell in love with the barefoot luxury of Mandina […]

    Reply

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simon-falvo

Hi, I’m Simon!

A solo and independent traveler for over 20 years, and a 50+ girl young at heart.

I worked for over a decade in Investment Banking, then a few years in one of the largest international PR groups. In 2009, after a burn-out, I left the corporate world and started a new adventure.

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