The Baye Fall is a Senegalese Muslim sect that is most easily identifiable by their dreadlocked hair, bright patchwork garbs, spiritual amulets, and well-known tenet of hard work.
While the Baye Fall are often confused with the Rastafarians of the Caribbean due to their hair, the Baye Fall harken back to the year 1883, when founder Amadou Bamba Mbacke founded the Mouride Brotherhood. As the story has been told, when Ibrahim Fall would come to one of the areas that he would later establish for his people, he noticed that they spent most of their time praying and fasting. Ibrahim Fall would soon promulgate that working for the Serigne Toube and Amadou Bamba Mbacke is a higher level of prayer and devotion. That decree — including humility — would serve as one of those key principles of Baye Fall’s emphasis on physical labor. As for their hair, Leader Ibrahima Fall reportedly wore dreadlocks in the flattened-lock style that many present-day followers wear today. The Baye Fall aren’t all work in no play, though. They are also known for a vibrant art and music scene that combines reggae instrumentation with traditional drumming and singing.Today, one can visit the final resting places of Amadou Bamba and Ibrahima Fall in the holy city of Touba, Senegal’s second-largest city. [Official Website]
