In Senegal, ancient male rite collides with modern times

Young men, in the early stages of the initiation, attend a ceremony marking the end of the yearly initiation process for young men in Kabrousse, western Casamance. Photos: AFP

The dancers are a blaze of colour, swirling amid a deafening, pounding noise. In their midst, a young man stands up.

Wearing a beaded necklace and clad in a tight red shirt with multi-coloured scarves hanging from his waist, with his arms outstretched, he makes a long cry to the heavens.