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Posted October 19, 2011
The Songhai people are descendants of the West African Songhai empire which was built and developed by sorcerers, Muslim kings and fearless warriors in the 15th and 16th centuries.
The ancient Songhai believed their sorcerers could master the river spirits. Though the empire no longer exists, the descendants of the Songhai still live on and around the Niger River.
Once a great empire dominating much of West Africa, today the Songhai are mostly sustenance farmers and fishermen. Three out of five children don’t live beyond their fifth birthday.
The Songhai live hand-to-mouth, never knowing where their next meal will come from. “We live among some of the poorest of the poor,” says IMB missionary John Smythe.* *name changed
“Today to be Songhai means to be Muslim,” Smythe declares. “However, this is often simply a veneer that covers their truer ties to the spirit world.”
“The Songhai really embody what we call Folk Islam — Islam by name, by action, but when you dig a little deeper, their truer faith is one of animism,” says Smythe.
“There are still spirit-possession ceremonies,” states Smythe. “[The Songhai] still give their children to be possessed by demons. They are involved in all sorts of witchcraft.”
Before moving to Niger’s capital, Smythe’s family lived in a village that never before had a Christian presence. “Our goal is to disciple Songhai believers and send them out to Songhai lands,” he says.
Three IMB families serve on the Songhai team. “We speak the name of Christ boldly and often — in places it’s never been spoken to people who’ve never heard it,” says Smythe.
“When a Songhai person accepts Christ it is a traumatic experience,” Smythe states. “Community is life. … To be pushed outside of that is a death sentence.”
“When I look for work, I’m not hired,” says Ibrahim, a converted Muslim. “I used to sell at my table, but now … some people won’t even come or buy from me.”
Boubacar, a converted Muslim and former gang member, was rejected by family and friends when he became a Christian. He was barred from entering homes and was considered “unclean.”
As the Songhai accepted Christ, a church was formed. “The village … had been on the same trajectory for 1000 years,” claims Smythe. “We literally got to watch history change.”
A Songhai proverb states: to know someone you must be willing to share a box of salt. Just as a box of salt isn’t quickly used, relationships require investment and time.
A Kentucky church partners with the Songhai team to build relationships. “It’s an aid to ministry when a church returns … to see the same people a second, third and fourth time,” says Smythe.
The women from the Living Hope Baptist Church volunteer team built relationships as they taught Songhai women how to paint items they could sell at market.
The volunteers share a “Creation to Christ” Bible-storying method. “Within a few minutes [we can] give a good overview of the history behind what Christ has done for us,” says Ami Walters.* *name changed
“We have two villages,” says Smythe, “where men heard the Gospel 20 years ago and have been waiting and waiting for someone to share with them what it means.”
The Songhai team is seeing lives changed. One village woman approached them and said, “We would never have heard [the Gospel] if you had not told us.”
“We’re seeing God open hearts and minds and eyes that have been closed for centuries,” says Smythe. A new kingdom — the Kingdom of God — is replacing this ancient Songhai kingdom.
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