ABSTRACT
This chapter engages with a series of issues regarding the cultural representation of time and of history that are well established in the anthropological literature. It argues that ‘non-linear’ representations of past and present are crucial to the workings of certain forms of magic and mysticism, and to the experience of such practitioners. Magic and mysticism constitute a very specific kind of social context in which particular time-shapes occur. The recital of genealogies of leading ruling families and of important Muslim religious leaders by professional praise-singers and others is a feature of many Senegambian societies. It is important to examine some of the rhythms that social life takes on and the way in which time and the daily round are punctuated, before examining the pedigrees of craftsmen in more detail.
