While Easter is fast approaching, marking the end of Lent for the Christian community, the Senegalese markets see the prices of essential products for the preparation of “ngalakh” fly away. This symbolic dish, consumed on Good Friday, is made up of millet couscous, peanut paste and baobab pulp, to which are often added sugar, raisins, grated coconut or nutmeg.
Despite a good supply of markets, like that of Tilene to the Medina, the sellers note a crowd well below normal. Khadim Sall, a local merchant, evokes an unusual atmosphere: “Last year at the same period, the market was black in people. Today, it is almost deserted.”
This drop in attendance is explained by a difficult economic situation. Many households, although attached to tradition, cannot afford to give in to festive expenditure and are satisfied with the bare minimum so as not to ignore the sharing of the “ngalakh”.
Prices have experienced high inflation: a bucket of 20 kg of peanut paste is now sold between 18,500 and 22,000 CFA francs, while the 50 kg sugar bag exceeds 26,000 CFA francs. Baobab pulp, transformed millet, essences and other ingredients follow the same ascending curve.
-Some consumers then turn to less expensive alternatives, such as millet semolina already ready. Badara, owner of a Tilène mill, justifies this increase by the cost of processing products: “We buy more expensive, we pay the workforce for fence and grinding, and electricity also costs more.” Result: the price of the Milu Millet basin reaches 800 CFA francs, according to Issa, miller at the Fass market.
Faced with this reality, families reduce their quantities. Raïssa, a faithful Christian met with his millet, says: “We will do less this year. It’s too expensive.” Others, like Elyane, categorically refuse to reduce their production: “It is a question of respect for our Muslim neighbors who, for Korite, also offer us Ngalakh. We cannot parade.”
For the latter, this dessert is not only a traditional dish, but a gesture of faith and social cohesion: “It is not a religious obligation, but a strong symbol. And no matter the difficulties, we believe that God will always give us what to do to share.”
aps
