Visiting day by day HLM and Malienne markes, I am more and more fascinated by the rich erotic tools , exposed in the numerous stalls and showing with nonchalance by Laobes merchants women. As people explained me, in Senegal the most intimate friends used to give as a gift to the bride a marriage kit, which is usually composed by seduction outfit. Among them we can find colorful waist pearls called Bine-Bine, extravagant loin-cloth, incense for the bedroom and perfume for the body. Laobe women, a Toucouleur caste originally from Fouta Toro region, have a long tradition in producing these seductive outfit and it is used to say in Senegal that if during a dance the waist pearls of a Laobè woman breaks, people run to collect the pearls because they bring luck!!!In addition, when a Laobè gives as a gift a bine-bine or a pearl it brings happiness and success !!...... Even a piece of Laobe cloth gives success and if you attach it to a tree it grows quickly. These legends have ancient roots which I m trying to figure out, the mystery of this superstition and its social representation seem still very alive. But Laobes women are especially famous in term of sexual knowledge. Most of brides used to visit them for receiving pieces of advice related to the first night with their husbands. The traders talk without shame about sexual behavior and erotic practices and I did not face any taboo in making questions about the Saf-safal literally " something very good made" , in other words the drugs of sex which seems very requested from women as well as from men. Among these drugs, I found a large variety of natural products such as seeds and herbs but in the last years, they told me, products from China and USA are becoming more and more in vogue. Aphrodisiac creams and oils have energizing and stimulation properties which sometimes made me little bit perplexed!!On the other hand I am wondering about the harmful consequences of these products on health., which are unknown and not yet investigated. Eroticism practices depend not just upon the morality of a given society but also upon the socio-cultural context and its historical change which influences the individual at public and private sphere. Sexuality represents at academic level still a taboo and as a researcher I can say that much effort should be done in order to deconstruct the African eroticism representation which through centuries has negatively defined Africa as the prototype of instinctual sexuality. Thanks to my research in Senegal, I m exploring the Laobe material creativity in producing eroticism behavior and alternative discourses on sensuality and love in Senegalese society. The bine-bine around my waist, given as a gift from a Laobe woman, will accompany me during my study, I m wondering if the legend will reserve some good surprises to my journey....in the meantime I decided to go for shopping in search of a new sexy look!!
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