VOA常速英语2007年-Millions Pay Their Respects to Late Senegalese

By Jade¹ Heilmann
Dakar
31 December 2007

Hundreds of thousands of followers³ of the Mouride religion have flocked to the holy city of Touba, Senegal, to mourn the death of their spiritual leader Serigne Saliou Mbacké. The 92-year-old Caliph of the Mourides, a brotherhood⁴ of the Muslim faith, died Friday. President Abdoulaye Wade⁵ declared three days of national mourning, ending Monday. Jade Heilmann reports from the holy city of Touba.

Followers of the Mouride Muslim brotherhood waited in one-half kilometer lines to visit the grave of their spiritual leader Caliph Serigne Saliou Mbacké.

President Abdoulaye Wade made the journey from the Senegalese capital of Dakar on the day of Caliph Mbacke's death.

Falau Badiane is a Talibé, or disciple⁶ of the brotherhood. He traveled from Mbadiane to pay his respects.

Speaking Wolof, he explains he feels the country is panicked by the death of their leader, the last living son of Cheikh Ahmadou Bamba, who founded the Mouride brotherhood in the 1880s.

He says he still has faith in their new caliph, who is the grandson of the Mouride founder⁷, because he is from the same family. The new caliph is Mouhamadou Lamine Bara Mbacke.

The late Caliph Mbaké was responsible for helping⁸ Touba grow from a small rural village to a city that now has a population of more than one million. He also led one of the biggest peanut plantations⁹ in Senegal, on land given by the government, and a network of hawkers, many of whom sell handbags and sunglasses and other petty goods, mostly with fake brands, in Europe and the United States.

Part of the profits from this global network are sent back to Touba and have helped fund the holy cities' growth.

In the city's palatial¹⁰ grand mosque¹¹, another Talibé who goes by his brotherhood branch's name, Baye Fall, expresses his sadness over his leader's death.

He explains the teaching of the marabout, as the sect's religious teachers are known, simply asked his followers to work and be pious¹². He says he, like all Baye Fall members, works in the marabout's fields.

These teachings have earned the Mourides great religious, economic and political power. The majority of Senegalese political officials had to seek the endorsement¹³ of Mbacké.

President Wade is a follower².

The marabouts' teachings are often learned at an early age at Koranic schools. Their education focuses on religious texts, but also on physical labor¹⁴.

Sitting in a circle on the floor of the grand mosque, young boys chant prayers for their late leader.

Many followers believe the death of their caliph is the beginning of a new era. Some have named it the era of the grandson.

1 jade   

n.玉石；碧玉；翡翠

参考例句：

• The statue was carved out of jade.这座塑像是玉雕的。
• He presented us with a couple of jade lions.他送给我们一对玉狮子。

2 follower   

n.跟随者；随员；门徒；信徒

参考例句：

• He is a faithful follower of his home football team.他是他家乡足球队的忠实拥护者。
• Alexander is a pious follower of the faith.亚历山大是个虔诚的信徒。

3 followers   

追随者( follower的名词复数 )； 用户； 契据的附面； 从动件

参考例句：

• the followers of Mahatma Gandhi 圣雄甘地的拥护者
• The reformer soon gathered a band of followers round him. 改革者很快就获得一群追随者支持他。

4 brotherhood   

n.兄弟般的关系，手中情谊

参考例句：

• They broke up the brotherhood.他们断绝了兄弟关系。
• They live and work together in complete equality and brotherhood.他们完全平等和兄弟般地在一起生活和工作。

5 wade   

v.跋涉，涉水；n.跋涉

参考例句：

• We had to wade through the river to the opposite bank.我们只好涉水过河到对岸。
• We cannot but wade across the river.我们只好趟水过去。

6 disciple   

n.信徒，门徒，追随者

参考例句：

• Your disciple failed to welcome you.你的徒弟没能迎接你。
• He was an ardent disciple of Gandhi.他是甘地的忠实信徒。

7 Founder   

n.创始者，缔造者

参考例句：

• He was extolled as the founder of their Florentine school.他被称颂为佛罗伦萨画派的鼻祖。
• According to the old tradition,Romulus was the founder of Rome.按照古老的传说，罗穆卢斯是古罗马的建国者。

8 helping   

n.食物的一份&adj.帮助人的，辅助的

参考例句：

• The poor children regularly pony up for a second helping of my hamburger. 那些可怜的孩子们总是要求我把我的汉堡包再给他们一份。
• By doing this, they may at times be helping to restore competition. 这样一来, 他在某些时候,有助于竞争的加强。

9 plantations   

n.种植园，大农场( plantation的名词复数 )

参考例句：

• Soon great plantations, supported by slave labor, made some families very wealthy. 不久之后出现了依靠奴隶劳动的大庄园，使一些家庭成了富豪。 来自英汉非文学 - 政府文件
• Winterborne's contract was completed, and the plantations were deserted. 维恩特波恩的合同完成后，那片林地变得荒废了。 来自辞典例句

10 palatial   

adj.宫殿般的，宏伟的

参考例句：

• Palatial office buildings are being constructed in the city.那个城市正在兴建一些宫殿式办公大楼。
• He bought a palatial house.他买了套富丽堂皇的大房子。

11 mosque   

n.清真寺

参考例句：

• The mosque is a activity site and culture center of Muslim religion.清真寺为穆斯林宗教活动场所和文化中心。
• Some years ago the clock in the tower of the mosque got out of order.几年前，清真寺钟楼里的大钟失灵了。

12 pious   

adj.虔诚的；道貌岸然的

参考例句：

• Alexander is a pious follower of the faith.亚历山大是个虔诚的信徒。
• Her mother was a pious Christian.她母亲是一个虔诚的基督教徒。

13 endorsement   

n.背书；赞成，认可，担保；签(注)，批注

参考例句：

• We are happy to give the product our full endorsement.我们很高兴给予该产品完全的认可。
• His presidential campaign won endorsement from several celebrities.他参加总统竞选得到一些社会名流的支持。

14 labor   

n.劳动，努力，工作，劳工；分娩；vi.劳动，努力，苦干；vt.详细分析；麻烦

参考例句：

• We are never late in satisfying him for his labor.我们从不延误付给他劳动报酬。
• He was completely spent after two weeks of hard labor.艰苦劳动两周后，他已经疲惫不堪了。