Diana Bagnoli Photographer

Every family get together in the family village to join the Bukut every 30 years. All the boys and man will be initiated secretly during one month in the holy forest. During this time families will be living together in communities, they celebrate, eat and spend time together for all day long.

Diolà people use to demonstrate they physical and spiritual force cutting themselves with sharp knives protected by their amulets (Gris-gris) and by a special root that makes their skin stronger.

Diolà boys need to be shaved before enter to the forest. From this moment they’re not allowed anymore to see any women, touch them or come back to their houses. They will enter in the forest and never reveal to anyone what happen inside.

A man is praying in his family house in the countryside in Casamance, in a small village called Mlomb, where the initiation will take place this year.

A boy dances before to enter to the forest, supported by his men relatives, in order to say goodbye to their family

Two Diolà guys with knives and water with the special root.

A boy after dance, cut himself and drink a lot of potion, during the celebration for the boy initiation, the Bukut.

When the boys enter to the forbidden holy forest silence drags. Everybody stop dancing and singing. Just the rain fall down without breaks.

The kitchen of a family in the village of Mlomb, Casamance.

A night in Mane's house, Thiobon, Casamance.

Enrique is the official Marabout of the area, so he's a leader, healer and protector. He's demonstrating his physical strength pushing a nail in his nose.

Horns as a symbol of strength and proteccion at the entrance of the house of the village healer.

Demba is having a bath of bon chance prescribed by a famous Marabout. It’s made with holy water and several types of herbs. Very used to remove the evil eye and solve their personal problems.

A boy playing with rabbits in his house.

Initiated boys going out from the wild african forest after one month. Four of them have died.

Girls are waiting impatiently to see if their brother, son or fiancé survived and so are become men.

The father of one of the dead boys. He was killed by lightning under a tree. In Senegal this is the rainy season.

Initiated boys are exhausted but completely purified. Women bring them food and gifts and ask them a blessing.

Boys dress up elegantly for the end of the party and say goodbye to all the relatives.

One of the first trees of the holy forest

THE BUKUT, Casamance, August 2016.
The Casamance is the southern and more animistic area of Senegal.
People have a strong faith in God and the spirits of nature, they usually pray and respect the hard rules imposed. Marabouts are in charge of protecting their community and have the power to heal people from physical and emotional diseases. They interact with the spirits’ world to avoid bad luck and even death by potions, with special baths and ceremonies. They use amulets handed down since generations or strange objects as fetishes to foresee the future or prescribe a cure.
Bukut it's a men's secret initiation.
All the men of the same tribe have to go into the forest to endure one month of rituals, physical tasks and survival techniques without absolutely any contact with civilization, women and uninitiated men. Four of them died and where buried secretly in the forest this year.
The event, which only happens once every 30 years in each tribe, is designed to turn boys, children and men into real men, they will return initiated at their own home, blessed and purified.
What happens in the holy forest it's sworn to secrecy and nobody, except initiated men, can't know about it.