Final answer:
El Sebou' is a cultural ritual to dismiss the angels that have guarded a newborn and to celebrate the new member's introduction to the community, observed in a Pular-speaking village in southeastern Senegal.
Step-by-step explanation:
‘El Sebou'’ is a cultural ritual performed when a baby is 7 days old. The stated purpose is to dismiss the angels that have protected the baby since birth, but the ritual clearly also celebrates the arrival of a new member into the community and formally introduces the child with their given name. During his fieldwork in southeastern Senegal, linguistic anthropologist Nicholas Sweet experienced such a ceremony. During this event in a Pular-speaking village, the family gathered, and an imam gave the blessings of the prophet, facing east, and then proceeded with the naming of the baby girl. This shows that the ritual practice involves both religious and social elements, intertwining the individual’s identity within the spiritual and communal contexts.