Culture and Traditions

Tradition and modernity coexist in Agnam-Goly. Fula literacy teachers are very active in promoting culture through theater, awareness days, and traditional ceremonies.

Myth of Dooroy and Boɗa-ngal

The myth of Dooroy and Boda-ngal is still alive in Agnam-Goly:“Dooroy” is located in the walo and “Boɗa-ngal” in the dieri. These two mythical places are inhabited by the spirit of the legendary "Mbaroodi Dooroy" who migrates back and forth between Dooroy and Boɗa-ngal with the flooding and receding of the Sénégal River. Whether he is in Dooroy or in Boɗa-ngal, the Mbaroodi Dooroy can never live anywhere but in a well or spring. The Dooroy contains a little stream running through a dense forest of acacia trees, not far from Tain-ngu pond. The Boɗa-ngal contains the Biidal pond and the cemetery.
This Mbaroodi Dooroy is a male spirit, who lost his male organs in a fight with the “Mbaroodi Maayel Barga”, taking one of his opponent's eyes in revenge. The two spirits are separated by the Barga pond. During a long dry season, the Mbaroodi Dooroy tried in vain to conquer this pond. And using a dream as an intermediary, he commanded the villagers to dig a well for him in the Dooroy and to pour milk into it as an offering. At the same time, he issued this warning:
“You shall not wash your mats and pots there, newly married and pregnant women shall not approach the well, and above all, you shall not urinate there.”
When the Sénégal River floods, his favorite spot, “Boorti Thioura”, is always in motion: the water moves and its depth is unimaginable.
At times of need, the wise elders of the village invoke the Mbaarodi Dooroy by means of a secret formula that begins with the words “Yaa Dooroy, yaa Boɗa-ngal...”, and their sacred clay.