In a village near the modern town of Gabú, in Guinea-Bissau, a Mandinka descendant of the Kaabunké explained to me why everyone in his village was concerned at the aging of their marabout, or mooro, Talla Seydi. The reason, he explained, was that a good marabout helped a village to keep ahead. When Talla Seydi died, his village would no longer have the advantage that it then had over its neighbours and rivals. All the villagers feared the consequences.

In Guinea-Bissau marabouts are held to have strong supernatural powers. They are able to make charms which protect the wearer from knife attacks and gunfire, and other charms enable them to pass unseen through moments of danger. The invocation of magical prowess by my informant seemed to relate a village’s ability to be more powerful than its rivals to its access to these significant spiritual gifts. The Mandinka of Kaabu are still revered for the powers of their marabouts. Yet within and between different Mandinka villages of the region, the powers of the marabouts are also differentiated and are held responsible for a village’s success.