A West African City Named St. Louis (Information & Videos)

Edited by Azizi Powell

While "surfing" YouTube for videos of West African music & dance, I happened upon a video of St. Louis, Senegal. prior to coming across that video, I hadn't been aware that there was a city named "St. Louis" in the continent of Africa. The city and county of St. Louis, Missouri, United States particularly because of the a policeman shooting and killing an unarmed teenager and the resulting protests and militarized police response to that death.

I thought that it might be interesting to share information about and video's of Senegal's city of St. Louis which is also called "Ndar" ("Guet Ndar").

This post is presented for cultural, informational, and aesthetic purposes.

All copyrights remain with their owners.

Thanks to all the residents of St. Louis, Senegal. Thanks to those who are quoted in this post and featured in these videos. Thanks also to the publishers of these videos on YouTube.

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INFORMATION ABOUT ST LOUIS SENEGAL [NDAR, SENEGAL]
From http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Saint-Louis,_Senegal
"Saint-Louis, or Ndar as it is called in Wolof, is the capital of Senegal's Saint-Louis Region. Located in the northwest of Senegal, near the mouth of the Senegal River, and 320 km north of Senegal's capital city Dakar, it has a population officially estimated at 176,000 in 2005. Saint-Louis was the capital of the French colony of Senegal from 1673 until 1902 and French West Africa from 1895 until 1902, when the capital was moved to Dakar. From 1920 to 1957 it also served as the capital of the neighboring colony of Mauritania."
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The name "Guet Ndar" appears to be used most often for this city.

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From http://www.ndarinfo.com/SAINT-LOUIS-la-decadence_a10432.html
"ST LOUIS, decadence (Saturday, September 6, 2014)
[translated to English by Google toolbar]*
"St. Louis is not what it was. The former capital of French West Africa and Senegal lost part of what made his legendary appeal and natural charm. The legendary "takusaanu Ndar" and the traditional "Ceebu Jen Penda Mbay" have lost their values ​​because of this new generation left to itself and does not know where to put their feet.

Gradually, the city of good taste and elegance is dying. St. Louis is the test of the global economy, like most major cities. Three in four people are affected by poverty. Every day, the average citizen is looking for the pittance to survive and to survive the other. Life in St. Louis is not like the days of the settlers where years that followed independence. All is lost in this city known for its local dish (famous Ceebu jën) and dress...

The Holy Louisien differed from others through his behavior and way of dressing. Elegance was the basis of this mixed society, as evidenced by these septuagenarians Found Place Faidherbe. "Ah! the good old days! "exclaims Moustapha Ndiaye, a former teacher. The eyes pointed toward the horizon, he recalls: "When we were young, we were competing in the sartorial elegance port. Alas! Today, our son dress differently. At the time, no young dared to clothes that hinder the general consciousness, as may be fixed by his father and neighbor. We lived in community." Like other sages of his age sitting at his side, he points to the leak responsibilities of parents. "Saint Louis lost everything in its history, with the increasing aggression of Western culture," joked another old... In the past, men were distinguished with their suit, pipe in mouth and cane in hand... Women of the ancient capital of Aof had the art of wearing the long skirt billowing blouse rigor, all accompanied by a long set with a feather hat gently on the head. And once well dressed, they waddled to no chameleon in the streets, in the alleys of the Faidherbe bridge, enjoying the sunset....Today, all that has disappeared. Upon contact of civilizations, women have lost their Ndar "mokk POOC" (know-how) and lead to Western life. new generation swapped traditional knowledge be with jeans pants, "jumbax out" "Dangal" and "Pacal".

... The city of St. Louis is irretrievably associated with his famous "Penda Mbaye." And when the nostalgic talk, saliva comes to their mouth. Once the women went early in the morning at the market to buy Teen jigeen vegetables Gandiol or Khor freshly picked fields or gardens. 's "coof" or noble fish were glad of the ladies. Dried fish Sine, "gejji Sine", was there to provide legendary flavor to dishes. "There was no broths," recalls Fatou Diop. "And importantly, no woman dared not leave the kitchen when preparing meals. She looked out for squalls and small fire on the meal that would be offered to family members and guests, "she says. Sharing food, this act of nobility lost in St. Louis, sharing dishes was an act of nobility. But alas! it all crumbled. Over time and due to market conditions, the famous "ceebu jën Penda Mbay" served "at noon zero minutes has lost its savor." Just to prepare this local dish, the ladies would spend a lot of time. But nowadays, finding noble fish and all the ingredients that go with it has become a real obstacle course. Younger generations do not prepare the "ceebu jën" as their elders. Not only are they eager to finish the kitchen to pursue other occupations, but they do not have all the ingredients to prepare a good "CEEB." Added to this is the scarcity of fish. Watch fishermen Ndar not bring the noble fish, due to sea without fish. "The Senegalese waters are no longer fish, due to non-compliance with the biological rest period," said Diop Moulaye. Moreover, the few fish caught are sold to hotels choice at full price, out of reach of Awards Jeeg (leading ladies). Their Goorgoorlu (husband hustlers) are no longer able to make ends meet because of the economic situation.

...The island is deserted for lack of funds to rebuild the houses. Threats Unesco But most distressing is that these houses are acquired, mostly by new heedless rich to preserve the original architectural style . However, there is a requirement to maintain the original building on the island. Municipal authorities should ensure compliance with the Directive do not watch grip on this. This sloppiness eventually exasperate Unesco has threatened to downgrade the island of Saint-Louis. The city was erected World Heritage Site in 2000, after a first ranking in 1976 as recorded by the President sector Léopold Sédar Senghor. Besides the built, cultural suffers. Theater and literature are dying. The Lantern does not attract foul means. The only cultural historical heritage loses its bearings annually."
-snip-
*This excerpt was translated from French to English for increaseed clarity. I reformatted this excerpt for this post for increased clarity.

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FEATURED VIDEOS
These examples are presented in chronological order based on their posting dates on YouTube, with the oldest dated examples presented first.

A [French to English] Google translate version of the publisher's summary statements is given in quotation marks without any attempt to change the translation to standard American English.

Example #1: SENEGAL 2



Bienvenue chez Tinou ! Uploaded on Jun 13, 2008

Guet Ndar, le quartier des pêcheurs à Saint-Louis du Sénégal, décembre 2007.

Ndar watch the fishing district in Saint-Louis, Senegal, in December 2007.
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The music is from the album "Khora" by Thierry David.

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Example #2: Saint-Louis du Sénégal



youbabs40, Uploaded on Mar 31, 2010

Saint-Louis, la "Venise africaine", est historiquement l'une des plus importantes villes du Sénégal comme en témoigne son inscription sur la liste du patrimoine mondial de l'UNESCO.

"St. Louis, the "Venice of Africa", is historically one of the most important cities of Senegal as evidenced by its inclusion on the World Heritage List of UNESCO."

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Example #3: Photography Spotlight Salvador Arellano's Gallery- Guet Ndar, Senegal



Toonari Post - A News Mash Up, Uploaded on Sep 4, 2011

This gallery exposes some amazing pictures in Guet Ndar, located in Senegal

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Example #4: Les transformatrices de Guet Ndar

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Canal de Habitafrica, Published on Jan 22, 2013

C'est une vidéo qui résume les résultats obtenus après 6 années de travail avec le quartier des femmes transformatrices de poisson Guet N ' donner à Saint-Louis (Sénégal). Grâce à ce projet ont réussi à améliorer les conditions de vie de plus de 300 femmes de transformatrices de poisson, améliorer les conditions de travail, d'améliorer leur revenu et de création d'un groupe de solidarité qu'il est capable de générer des revenus pour améliorer la vie de leur famille. Le projet a été en association avec les Architectes sans Frontières et la fiananciacion de l'Agence espagnole de coopération internationale.

"This is a video that summarizes the results obtained after 6 years of working with the women's fish processors Watch N 'give Saint-Louis (Senegal). Through this project have improved the lives of over 300 women fish processors, improve working conditions, improve their income and creating a solidarity group that is capable of generating revenues to improve the lives of their families. The project was in conjunction with Architects Without Borders and fiananciacion of the Spanish Agency for International Cooperation."

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Example #5: st louis du sénégal

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edouard kaspers, Published on Jul 11, 2013


LA VILLE DE ST LOUIS EST CLASSEE PATRIMOINE MONDIALE PAR L'UNESCO DEPUIS 2000..................

"THE CITY OF ST LOUIS IS RANKED WORLD HERITAGE BY UNESCO SINCE 2000 .................."

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Example #6: SENEGAL ST LOUIS GUET NDAR



Christi Claes, Published on Dec 14, 2013

Images de Christiane Claessens

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Example #7: SENEGAL ST LOUIS GUET NDAR



Christi Claes, Published on Dec 14, 2013

Images de Christiane Claessens

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