Wrestling with Philosophy: Mbër as a Point of Departure for Analyzing Philosophical Texts in Wolof

Abstract

English: Wrestling refers both to a physical activity and to the cognitive endeavour of wrestling with a problem or a difficulty. Philosophical texts in Wolof can be read from different angles. In this lecture, I take mbër, the wrestler, as a point of departure. Next to showing that texts use this concept, I aim at gaining a deeper understanding of what this notion of bëre, wrestling, does to the understanding of philosophy. In my explorations, I raise questions regarding the definition of philosophy, knowledge, and philosophers, and the practice of intercultural philosophy. 

Deutsch: Ringen kann sowohl eine physische Aktivität wie auch das gedankliche Ringen mit einem Problem oder einer Herausforderung bezeichnen. Philosophische Texte in Wolof können auf unterschiedliche Weise gelesen werden. In meinem Vortrag nehme ich mbër, den Wrestler, als Ausganspunkt meiner Betrachtung. Ich werde nicht nur zeigen, dass das Konzept gebraucht wird, aber es liegt mir daran ein tieferes Verständnis dafür zu gewinnen was das Begriffsfeld bëre, ringen, für das Verständnis von Philosophie bedeutet. Meine Betrachtung berührt dabei Fragen nach der Definition von Philosophie, Wissen und Philosophen und die Praxis interkulturellen Philosophierens.

Wolof: Baatu bëre dafa mën a tekki jakkarloo bi ay nit di amal, lewtoo, songoo ba am ku daan, maanam taggat-yaram bi, waye itam mën na tekki taxawaay bi lees am ci jakkarlook jafe-jafe àddina. Mbindu wolof yi jëm ci xeltu-xóotal bii di filosofi, mënees na ci am njàngat yu bari te wuute. Ci suñu njàngale mii, dañuy njkëkee amal taxaw-seetlu ci baatu mbër. Gànnaaw loolu, dana ñu jéem a am dégg-dégg ci baati filosofi, xam-xam, xeltukat. Tómb bi mujj dees na ci wax mbiri xeltu ak caada, wuuteek dëppoo xeltu yi ci nit ñi, waasoo yi, dëkk yi, añs.

Short Bio

Monika Christine Rohmer is a postdoctoral researcher. Within the project, she puts her focus on philosophizing in African languages, namely Hausa, Pulaar, and Wolof. Further, she is interested in ecosophies on and beyond the African continent. Monika is a transdisciplinary scholar combinig intercultural philosophy, applied linguistics, the study of verbal arts, and postcolonial theories.

Monika pursued her PhD in the framework of the Bayreuth International Graduate School of African Studies (BIGSAS). In her PhD, she compared conceptualisations and metaphors of water at the Senegalese Coast with a focus on French and Wolof. At the University of Bayreuth, she was the assistant of Prof. Dr. Alena Rettová, chair of African and Afrophone Philosophies, and Prof. Dr. em. Dymitr Ibriszimow, chair Afrikanistik II. Before obtaining her MA in African Verbal and Visual Arts at the University of Bayreuth, she majored in Political Science in her undergraduate at Leipzig University, during which she did a semester abroad UATM Gasa Formation Cotonou, Bénin.