Well of history

Well of history

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With a bungee cord wrapped around his waist, a man rises from the depths of a massive former well during a traditional ceremony in the Senegalese village of Ndande.

The annual religious event involves three people descending into the shaft using bungee cords and ceremonially digging the well a little deeper - part of a ritual that is supposed to keep the spirits happy and which also promotes the history of the village.

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Slideshow

A child walks down a dusty path in the village of Ndande.
. NDANDE, Senegal. REUTERS/Joe Penney

A child walks down a dusty path in the village of Ndande.

A boy rides a horse by a disused colonial-era train station in the village.
. NDANDE, Senegal. REUTERS/Joe Penney

A boy rides a horse by a disused colonial-era train station in the village.

The crumbling old station is partially shaded by trees.
. NDANDE, Senegal. REUTERS/Joe Penney

The crumbling old station is partially shaded by trees.

Twenty-two-year-old Bineta Ndiaye looks at herself in the mirror as her 19-year-old friend Coumba Faye fixes her hair at her home in Ndande.
. NDANDE, Senegal. REUTERS/Joe Penney

Twenty-two-year-old Bineta Ndiaye looks at herself in the mirror as her 19-year-old friend Coumba Faye fixes her hair at her home in Ndande.

Aminata Diop poses for a picture in her house.
. NDANDE, Senegal. REUTERS/Joe Penney

Aminata Diop poses for a picture in her house.

Nineteen-year-old Coumba Faye fixes her headscarf.
. NDANDE, Senegal. REUTERS/Joe Penney

Nineteen-year-old Coumba Faye fixes her headscarf.

People from the Mouride sect of Sufi Islam attend a prayer session in the village.
. NDANDE, Senegal. REUTERS/Joe Penney

People from the Mouride sect of Sufi Islam attend a prayer session in the village.

Men from the sect sit in a circle and chant prayers.
. NDANDE, Senegal. REUTERS/Joe Penney

Men from the sect sit in a circle and chant prayers.

Light glows from a convenience store in a colonial-era building in the village.
. NDANDE, Senegal. REUTERS/Joe Penney

Light glows from a convenience store in a colonial-era building in the village.