Berthe Alinesitoué Diatta
Jola · mortal · Jola traditional religion; continuing · Recorded classification
Berthe Alinesitoué Diatta is a later prophet of the Jola, one of the women who continued the prophetic tradition into the post-war and post-colonial decades. She first came to public attention performing the role of the martyred prophetess Alinesitoué Diatta in local theatre in the 1960s, and in the 1980s she began to receive visions of her own from the supreme being Emitai. Her career illustrates how the memory of the earlier prophetess became itself a channel through which new revelation was received, sustaining the community's expectation that Emitai continues to speak to chosen women in times of drought and hardship.
Domains
- prophecy
- rain revival
Powers
- receives visions from Emitai
Sources
- Berthe Alinesitoué Diatta, who had played the prophetess Alinesitoué in 1960s local theatre, herself received visions from Emitai in the 1980s and became a prophet in the post-war Diola tradition.: Robert M. Baum, Women, Rain and Religion: Diola Prophets in Post-War Senegal (Library of Congress record 2025661458) (secondary)