page_title: Senegalese literature
hierarchical_section_title: Senegalese literature
caption_attribution_description: English: David Boilat (1814-1901)
context_page_description: Senegalese literature is written or literary work which has been produced by writers born in the West African state. Senegalese literary works are mostly written in French, the language of the colonial administration. However, there are many instances of works being written in Arabic and the native languages of Wolof, Pulaar, Mandinka, Diola, Soninke and Serer. Oral traditions, in the form of Griot storytellers, constitute a historical element of the Senegalese canon and have persisted as cultural custodians throughout the nation’s history. A form of proto-Senegalese literature arose during the mid 19th century with the works of David Abbé Boilat, who produced written ethnographic literature which supported French Colonial rule. This genre of Senegalese literature continued to expand during the 1920s with the works of Bakary Diallo and Ahmadou Mapaté Diagne. Earlier literary examples exist in the form of Qur’anic texts which led to the growth of a form African linguistic expressionism using the Arabic alphabet, known as Ajami. Poets of this genre include Ahmad Ayan Sih and Dhu al-nun.
context_section_description: Senegalese literature is written or literary work (novels, poetry, plays and films) which has been produced by writers born in the West African state. Senegalese literary works are mostly written in French , the language of the colonial administration. However, there are many instances of works being written in Arabic  and the native languages of Wolof, Pulaar, Mandinka, Diola, Soninke and Serer. Oral traditions, in the form of Griot storytellers, constitute a historical element of the Senegalese canon and have persisted as cultural custodians throughout the nation’s history. A form of proto-Senegalese literature arose during the mid 19th century with the works of David Abbé Boilat, who produced written ethnographic literature which supported French Colonial rule. This genre of Senegalese literature continued to expand during the 1920s with the works of Bakary Diallo and Ahmadou Mapaté Diagne. Earlier literary examples exist in the form of Qur’anic texts which led to the growth of a form African linguistic expressionism using the Arabic alphabet, known as Ajami. Poets of this genre include Ahmad Ayan Sih and Dhu al-nun.
  Post-colonial Senegalese work often includes emphasis on “national literature” , a contemporary form of writing which stressed the engagement between language, national identity and literature. Senegalese novelists of this period include Cheikh Hamidou Kane, Boubacar Boris Diop and Ousmane Sembene. Poets include former Senegalese president and philosopher Léopold Sédar Senghor, Birago Diop, Cheikh Aliou Ndao and Alioune Badara Bèye. 
  Female writers also contributed greatly to the body of Senegalese works. Mariama Bâ, Fatou Diome, Ndeye Fatou Kane, Aminata Sow Fall and Fatou Sow have all written notable pieces regarding issues of polygamy, feminism and the realities of Senegalese youth.
caption: David Abbé Boilat
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