The Emergence of the Bissau-Guinean Fula Cernos

Abstract

International agencies and non-governmental organisations classify Quranic schoolboys who beg on behalf of their teachers as victims of child trafficking. The aim here is to understand why no Bissau-Guinean Fula religious leader, referred to as cerno, has been sentenced to prison, despite accusations of child trafficking. The findings show that community members hold religious leaders in high esteem for their role within the spiritual, educative, and social spheres. Community members, entrenched in complex discriminatory relations within their ethnic group and beyond, perceive them as their saviours, while politicians, high-ranking officers and traders compete for their endorsement. Criminalising the cernos is unsuccessful; to safeguard the interests of children, the children and their community members, including the cernos, should be put at the heart of the safeguarding measures. Despite complex layers of coloniality, the religious leaders are the masters of the game, and their imprisonment is challenging.

Begging for Knowledge in Senegal: Conflicting Understandings and Interests of the Dominant Anti-Trafficking Approach and Quranic Education

“…Pursuing liberation through the mastery of the Quran is still challenging for the Fula of Guinea-Bissau. The crucial social life events are directed by the cernos and those who master the Quran (Boiro and Einarsdóttir 2023). The presence of the cernos is essential for reading the Quran during ceremonies, including burials and the religious events of Ziara and Gamou.…”

“…This article rests on data collected during a series of fieldwork since the authors initiated their research collaboration in 2009 when working on a study on child trafficking in Guinea-Bissau commissioned by UNICEF (Einarsdóttir et al 2010). Since then, the authors have continued to research the "talibé issue" (Einarsdóttir and Boiro 2016;Boiro and Einarsdóttir 2020;Boiro et al 2021;Boiro and Einarsdóttir 2023). Anthropological ethnographic tradition, including informal conversations, semi-structured interviews, focus group interviews, and participant observation, guided the methodology (Bernard 2011;O'Reilly 2012).…”

“…There are ethical issues to consider. Although they are influential individuals in their communities (Boiro and Einarsdóttir 2023), the cernos are represented as child traffickers in an international context, and influential actors call for their arrest and persecution (Seibert 2019; U.S. Department of State 2016). Furthermore, as mentioned, the intragroup relations within the Fula of Guinea-Bissau are sensitive.…”

“…According to the NGO, impoverished parents from Senegal and neighbouring countries continue to have their boys stay with Quran teachers without payment; for instance, traffickers "bring hundreds, likely thousands, of children from Guinea-Bissau into Senegal each year" (Human Rights Watch 2010, p. 64). Most of the talibés in Senegal belong to the Fula of Guinea-Bissau, who refer to them as almudos and their teachers as cernos (Boiro and Einarsdóttir 2023). The Fula of Guinea-Bissau are divided into two groups, the "Fulbe Rimbe" and the "Fulbe Djiahabe" (Fula terms); historically, the former group included the masters of the latter, who are descendants of enslaved people (Boiro and Einarsdóttir 2023;Einarsdóttir and Boiro 2016).…”

“…Most of the talibés in Senegal belong to the Fula of Guinea-Bissau, who refer to them as almudos and their teachers as cernos (Boiro and Einarsdóttir 2023). The Fula of Guinea-Bissau are divided into two groups, the "Fulbe Rimbe" and the "Fulbe Djiahabe" (Fula terms); historically, the former group included the masters of the latter, who are descendants of enslaved people (Boiro and Einarsdóttir 2023;Einarsdóttir and Boiro 2016).…”