GuEWEL

Death is the oldest tradition.

Life is a journey towards this ultimate end. A journey that traverses the cosmos, spiritual and natural worlds. This journey is guided by the guewel - an intermediary between worlds - through a sequence of ancient African rituals that explore landscapes of the soul, preparing us for the end and the beginning. Intricately weaving together traditional and contemporary performance elements of dance, music, projection animation and filmed cultural landscapes, guewel imparts ancient, sacred knowledge that transcends cultural boundaries.

For over a decade, director Lamine Sonko has traveled to the remotest regions of Senegal, seeking out the guardians of this ancient wisdom. In a landmark production he brings this cultural knowledge to the stage in partnership with Senegal’s National Theatre Sorano.

‘Guewel obliges us to return to the fundamentals, to find the balance of being. We were taken....into a past that we have forgotten’

Prof. Magueye Kasse

‘Guéwel’ takes the spectator deep into the intricacies of African and Senegalese mythology, starting from a tragic ritual blending the sacred and the spiritual’

Agence Press Senegalaise