The Grand Magal of Touba is the Mouride Brotherhood's most important annual gathering, held 48 days after the Islamic New Year to commemorate the day Cheikh Amadou Bamba was sent into exile by the French colonial authorities in 1895. His followers consider the exile a spiritual triumph — he returned 7 years later with his reputation and authority only strengthened.
Attending the Magal is a remarkable and overwhelming experience. The city becomes a vast sea of people, Sufi chanting fills the air, and the atmosphere is one of collective joy rather than the solemnity that characterises many religious gatherings. Logistics are genuinely difficult: roads are impassable, accommodation is non-existent (Mouride families host pilgrims), and the heat can be intense. But for anyone seriously interested in West African Islam and the Mouride world, there is nothing quite like it.