Simb - The False Lions of Senegal

• Prize
  Bronze in Events/Other
• Photographer
  Christian Bobst
• Technical Info
  Nikon Z System
• Photo Date
  2023

The Simb is a Senegalese tradition also called "Les Faux Lions", the false lions. The dance has its origin in a legend that says that people who were attacked by a lion were henceforth possessed by the spirit of the predator. To expel the spirit of the lion, an exorcism ritual was performed in which the shamans chanted an incantation that caused convulsive twitches in the possessed and forced them to dance until the spirit of the lion left the victim's body. This dance is called "Simb", and the dancers' costumes and make-up are based on a tradition handed down from generation to generation.