Father Henry Gravrand (France, 1921 – Abbey of
Latrun,
Palestine, 11 July 2003[1]) was a French
Catholic missionary to Africa and an
anthropologist who has written extensively on
Serer religion and
culture. He was one of the leading pioneers of
interfaith dialog and believed that
African religion was the "'first covenant between God and man".[1] His works about the
Serer people are cited by other historians and scholars writing on
Serer history, religion and culture, for instance
Martin A. Klein,[2] Charles Becker,[3]Alioune Sarr,
Marguerite Dupire,[4]Issa Laye Thiaw,[5] etc. Papa Massène Sene argues that his approach lacks scientific rigor and include fundamental linguistic and historical errors.[6] Alioune Sarr noted that Gravrand reported an oral tradition describing what he called the "Battle of Troubang", a dynastic war between the two maternal royal houses of Ñaanco and the
Guelowar, an off-shot and relatives of the Ñaanco (Nyanthio or Nyanco) maternal dynasty of
Kaabu, in modern-day
Guinea Bissau.[7][8] According to Charles Becker, Gravrand is confusing a description of the 1867 (or 1865)
Battle of Kansala.[9]
Biography
First
missionary of the
Congregation of Holy Spirit, Gravrand arrived in
Senegal on 28 December 1948[10] and lived there for 40 years in the
Sine area (the western part of the country). In Sine, he founded a mission and oversaw the
evangelization of some of the Serer community, but also studied the history, religion and culture of the
Serer people and became one of the leading scholars of
Serer religion and culture.[11][12]
In 1955, Gravrand created the Union of farmers of Sine, affiliated to the
French Confederation of Christian Workers (CFTC), which gave the farmers training enabling them to defend their own interests.[13]
"Rites d'initiation et vie en société chez les Sérères du Sénégal", Afrique Documents, no.52, July–August 1960, pp. 129–144
"Visage africain de l'Église : une expérience au Sénégal", Orante, Paris, 1961, p. 287.
"À la rencontre des religions africaines", Ancora, Rome, 1969
"Le Lup Serer comparé au Ndoep des
Lebou : psychothérapie des possédés", Congrès international des Africanistes, deuxième session, Dakar, [11–22 December 1967],
Présence africaine, Paris, 1972, pp. 237–243
"Le symbolisme Serer", Psychopathologie Africaine, vol. IX, no. 2, 1973, pp. 237–266
"Le Gabou dans les traditions orales du Ngabou", Éthiopiques (revue), no. 28, October 1981
[1]Archived 31 August 2011 at the
Wayback Machine
"L’héritage spirituel Sereer : valeur traditionnelle d'hier, d'aujourd'hui et de demain", Éthiopiques (revue), no. 31, 3e trimestre 1982
[2]Archived 1 September 2011 at the
Wayback Machine
La civilisation sereer, vol. I, "Cosaan", Nouvelles éditions africaines, Dakar, 1983
"Rites et symboles sereer face au sacré, Médiations africaines du sacré : célébration crematories et langage religieux", actes du 3e colloque international du ERA, Kinshasa [16–22 February 1986], Faculté de théologie catholique de Kinshasa, 1987, pp 125–143
La civilisation sereer, vol. II, "
Pangool", Nouvelles éditions africaines, Dakar, 1990
"Fils de Saint-Bernard en Afrique : une fondation au Cameroun, 1950–1990", Beauchesne, Paris, 1990, p. 181
^Klein, Martin A., "Islam and Imperialism in Senegal Sine-Saloum, 1847–1914",
Edinburgh University Press (1968), pp x, 12–13, 92, 244, 248, 271
^Crétois, Léonce; & Becker, Charles; "Le vocabulaire sereer de la faune", (Editor: Charles Becker), Centre de linguistique appliquée de Dakar (1983), p. 24
^Dupire, Marguerite, "Sagesse sereer : essais sur la pensée sereer ndut", Karthala, Paris, 1994, pp. 7, 91, 111, 118–119, 142, 153,
ISBN2-86537-487-4
^Thiaw, Issa Laye, "La femme Seereer", Sénégal, 2005, Sociétés africaines et diaspora, Edition L'harmattan, pp. 40, 125–6, 260,
ISBN2-7475-8907-2
^Innes, Gordon, Suso, Bamba, Kanute, Banna, Kanute, Dembo, "
"Sunjata: three Mandinka versions", p. 128, Psychology Press, 1974.
ISBN0-7286-0003-X
^Fage, J. D., Oliver, Roland Anthony, "The Cambridge history of Africa", p. 282, Cambridge University Press, 1975.
ISBN0-521-20413-5
^Sarr, Alioune, Histoire du Sine-Saloum (Sénégal) Introduction, bibliographie et notes par Charles Becker. 1986–87, p. 19
^(in French)Joseph Roger de Benoist, Histoire de l'Église catholique au
Sénégal du milieu du XVe siècle à l'aube du troisième millénaire, Karthala, Paris, 2008, pp. 384–385
^Henry Gravrand. La Civilisation Sereer – Pangool. Published by Les Nouvelles Editions Africaines du Senegal. 1990.
ISBN2-7236-1055-1
^(in English) Martin A. Klein. Islam and Imperialism in Senegal Sine-Saloum, 1847–1914, Edinburgh at the University Press (1968). p x
Joseph Roger de Benoist, Histoire de l'Église catholique au
Sénégal du milieu du XVe siècle à l'aube du troisième millénaire, Karthala, Paris, 2008, p. 581 [several references]
Jean-Paul Bourdier and Trinh T. Minh-ha, "Drawings from African dwellings",
Indiana University Press, Bloomington, 1996. [in]
JSTOR by Peter Mark (Review)