The best museums Senegal

The Maison des Esclaves (Slave House), with its red walls and cellar chains, has been featured in every history book. Former curator Boubacar Joseph Ndiaye (who died in 2009) was an institution. Thanks to him, this building constructed by the Dutch in the ^17th century was renovated with the help of UNESCO in 1990. It is one of the last slave houses still standing, with a capacity of 150 to 200 slaves, and has become a symbol of the horror of the slave trade, from the sale of African slaves by the Africans themselves, to the commercialization of human beings sent to the Americas in their millions by Portuguese, then Dutch and French colonizers. Their country of destination depended on the needs of the buyers: the father might go to the USA, the mother to Brazil and the child to the West Indies. They left Gorée under matricule numbers. On the left is the weighing room - slaves weighing less than 60 kg were put on hold and force-fed until they reached their weight. Next door, the room where men fit to leave awaited their turn, then the room for children, young virgins and finally women. Under the stairs, dungeons for the recalcitrant. At the end of the corridor, the "door of no return", then the sea, the last passage before the Americas. Upstairs, an exhibition room features explanatory panels on the triangular trade, incorporating the latest research. A visit not to be missed.

Under the impetus of a French-Senegalese couple, Marie and Paul Bassene, this museum of traditional Diola culture saw the light of day in March 2018. Through ancient objects collected from the local population, we discover the Diola people and their traditions. The museum consists of four exhibition rooms: the construction of an impluvium hut in a green setting, everyday objects, seasonal activities and animist ceremonies. A pair of ostriches, in their enclosure, will majestically accompany your visit.

It was the precious dream of Léopold Sédar Senghor, Senegal's first president, to endow the country's capital with an exceptional museum, dedicated to the black peoples from the dawn of humanity to the present day. A promise that has now been fulfilled with the opening of the Museum of Black Civilizations in December 2018. Opposite the Grand Théâtre National, the circular building, inspired by the traditional Casamance impluvium hut, is now a landmark in the capital's landscape, at the gateway to the administrative and business district. It took seven years of work, begun under the mandate of Abdoulaye Wade, and an investment of more than 30 million euros, financed by the Chinese, for its construction and development. With a surface area of 14,000 m², it can accommodate up to 18,000 rooms, presenting the history and evolution of the African continent. Archaeological remains, objects of worship, photographs and contemporary creations are exhibited on two floors, around a gigantic metal baobab (4.5 metres high), created by the Haitian artist Edouard Duval-Carrié. Today, this fascinating museum only presents temporary exhibitions, fed by the collections of partner museums such as the Quai Branly, and which rotate regularly. At a time when the debate on the restitution of works of African art is being revived, this museum offers itself as an ultramodern infrastructure to host them.

Located in the city centre of Thiès, opposite the Senegalese Manufactures of Decorative Arts, the Regional Museum of Thiès took up residence in 1995 inside the old city fort, which has remained in its original state. It is a small museum, in very poor condition, but the current curator, Pierre-André Coly, will be pleased to show you around its collections, classified in small pavilions, including one devoted to the railways and their history in the region. You will also discover the ancient artistic universe of the kingdom of Cayor.

The museum is housed in the former Fort d'Estrées, built in the ^mid-19th century on the northern tip of the island. Twelve rooms and almost 500 exhibits present the history of Senegal from the Paleolithic to the present day. Simple, well-designed explanatory panels tell visitors all about the Paleolithic period in the region, the great empires and kingdoms of the Middle Ages, the slave trade, resistance, Islam and a history closer to home (colonization, decolonization...).

Installed on the Place du Souvenir africain since 2015, the Henriette Bathily Women's Museum is dedicated to the Senegalese women of yesterday and today and their stories. Through objects and accessories, it reveals the role and place of women in Senegalese society. The emphasis is also placed on women who have left their mark on their time, such as Aminata Fall, a pioneer of jazz in Senegal. There are also quality temporary exhibitions honouring women.

Here you are in the childhood home of former president Léopold Sédar Senghor, located across from the village market. This museum, whose name means "house of the Lion" in Serer, presents the life and work of the first president of the Republic of Senegal, both of which are equally rich. The visit is very pleasant, led by Etienne, the young curator of the museum, and immerses you in the intimate universe of Léopold Sédar Senghor and his family. The tour is also enlivened by readings of texts of the president-poet. A captivating and moving visit.

Kadioute is an open-air museum set in a forest of centuries-old cheese trees. On a guided tour at the foot of each tree, you'll discover instruments, utensils and detailed, humorous explanations of Diola culture. If possible, visit this museum at the beginning of your stay. You'll then have all the information you need to better understand your trip to Casamance. On the program: discovery of wrestling codes, palm wine harvesting, cooking, fetishes, the agrarian cycle, etc. Valère, the guide, is fascinating!

This open-air museum is located in the old village where the first inhabitants of Djembéring lived. Bones have been found there, proof of the existence of a cemetery, but no dating has been carried out. As in the Kadioute ecomuseum, we discover the culture and traditions of the Diola through an interesting journey, in the bush this time, where we discover objects of daily life such as fishing boats or mortar to plunder seeds. At the end of the visit, you will taste the local palm wine!

You will probably be offered a pirogue trip to the Bird Island and then Djilapao. It is an animist village which shelters a hut decorated by an artist named Jean, who died in 2005, and who made his own museum, with personal sculptures, rather eccentric and not very accomplished, but speaking about the Diola culture. Sculptures, very imaginative and finally quite funny, like this sai-sai (dredger) drawn in situation or this fetish that casts a spell! The interpretations of each scene are endless and everyone draws his own conclusion.

This traditional impluvium hut contains all the everyday objects used by a Diola family in the last century, following an ancestral tribal way of life. Tools, of course, for growing rice and catching fish, but also fetishes, kitchen utensils, the telephone drum used to pass messages to neighbors... An interesting visit, thanks to the explanations of Yannick, the museum's curator, who is passionate about Diola history.

In the heart of the magnificent Aïda Gardens, within the Miam Miam restaurant, the MAHICAO (Museum of Art and History of West African Cultures) is an exceptional museum presenting works of African art from different eras, all authentic. Sculptures, masks, archaeological pieces, traditional jewellery, textiles, ancient costumes... a total of nearly 500 objects retrace the history of West Africa, from the distant period of the Saharan Neolithic to the middle of the 20th century. They come from the personal collection of Reginald Groux, expert and professor of African art, as well as from many donors who have participated in this cultural project. In a Sudanese style building, the visitor walks through beautiful shell alleys and discovers unique pieces, arranged chronologically and enhanced by beautiful lighting. Explanatory panels mark out the route and allow visitors to better understand the history of West Africa. One of the rooms contains some forty photographs of masterpieces of African art donated by the Barbier-Müeller Museum in Geneva and a beautiful library presents numerous works on African art and culture, with illustrations for children. A museum that is highly recommended for its singular pieces and its pleasant setting. You can then enjoy the place at the restaurant le Miam Miam which offers a delicious cuisine with various influences.

Nicknamed the "teeth of the sea", the house of Léopold Sédar Senghor was converted into a museum in 2014. He lived there with his wife Colette, after his presidential term, from 1981 until his death on December 20, 2001. As you walk through the front door, you are plunged into the intimacy of the president-poet, from the reception room to the "pink room" where he received his guests. On the shelves, books and travel souvenirs. A touching visit, frozen in time.

Built in 1931, it is THE museum of primitive arts of Senegal and even of all West Africa! It is also known as the IFAN (Institut Fondamental d'Afrique Noire) museum, which is located within the Cheikh Anta Diop University. The permanent collection presents, on the ground floor, pieces from all over the continent: masks of the Diola from Casamance or the Senoufo from Ivory Coast, statuettes of the Bambara from Mali, musical instruments. Dance helmets, clothing, wood, fibre, cowries, raffia, feathers, etc., are also on display. The West may have plundered Africa of its artistic riches to put them in its own museums, but there are still some beautiful pieces to be admired. The originality here: small staging of traditional life, which, far from being kitschy, seem very much alive - the celebration of harvests among the Gourounsi of Burkina Faso, entertainment and social control among the Géré of Côte d'Ivoire, the appeasement of mothers among the Yoruba of Nigeria, the initiation of women among the Mende of Sierra Leone, etc. - are all original. It is a pity that all this is sorely lacking in explanations. On the walls, a few signs give indications on the history and social organization of these different tribes, but in such an austere way that one quickly stalls. Upstairs, more modern temporary exhibitions are organized, often in collaboration with western museums.

The two rooms of this small museum, created in partnership with the city of Toulouse, are located in the Gouvernance building and bring to life the adventure of l'Aéropostale and its heroes, led by Mermoz and Saint-Exupéry. But don't expect any extraordinary visuals. Here, the richness is iconographic and above all textual, with excerpts from letters by the author of The Little Prince. The whole thing is really fascinating, well-written and, if you take the time to read them, the visit takes on the allure of an epic.

Since 2018, Ziguinchor has had a small museum, which has the merit of existing, and which should soon develop into a second site, on the side of the Assane Seck University. It presents two aspects of Senegalese culture: heritage and contemporary art. On the one hand, you will see traditional and cult objects from various ethnic groups such as masks and musical instruments. On the other hand, works of Senegalese artists reflecting among others the colours of Casamance.