Adja Cumba Chebe Chan, Lioness
Senegal Africa

LIONESS OF SENEGAL

Adja Cumba Chebe Chan is a lioness. She lived more than a century in a remote desert area of northern Senegal and remembers when lions roamed West Africa. 

Longevity is not uncommon in Senegal, but living over a hundred years in a tiny harsh remote rural village on the Mauritanian border probably is. Adja remembers when northern Senegal was full of lush forests with crocodiles lazing in the river, anacondas waiting on the shores to steal her cattle, and roaming hungry lions looking for an easy meal. That was before the government paid to have the forests cut for revenues and the land became just one more part of the great Sahara desert. 

Today Adja’s village, which hugs the long windy Senegal river that separates Senegal from Mauritania, has embarked on an environmental restoration programme. The local people are reclaiming the desert by replanting trees and trying to become food sustainable with new irrigation techniques. All of this is thanks to her son and grandson, Ouseman Aly Pam, today an university professor in the country’s capital.

Adja lives in a remote area where she traditionally moved around on foot with her 200 head of cattle. But a few years back, she realized one of her lifetime dreams when she went all the way to Mecca by plane for a pilgrimage. She was born near the village of the Moslem prophet El Hadj who imposed Islam on most of West Africa centuries ago and her gnarled fingers are constantly busy with her prayer beads. 

pilgrimage

Today Adja’s tiny two-room house is a point on the map for hundreds of local people and nomads who come to see her on their own pilgrimage. 

It is not uncommon to see people arrive on camels or horseback to say hello and pay their respects to this ancient woman who is full of wisdom and advice. She has thousands of stories to tell of how life was and will never be again.

Adja’s long life may be due to her faith, a good mix of genes, and a simple lifestyle without modern stress and pollution. Whatever the reasons, she is a pillar of strength in her community and a symbol of human resistance to the inevitable changes of time that envelop us all.

When Ousmane told me he had a grandmother in Africa who was more than one hundred years old, I jumped at the chance to meet her and instantly made plans to come for a visit. I had no idea what she looked like or who she was, but when I met Adja Cumba Chebbe Chan I was not disappointed.

This lively centenarian is an inspiration to her large extended family and the entire region where she lived. Adja has a big heart and a rich experience in life and it was a great honor to photograph her and to imagine the environmental changes that have touched her life.

"Since the writing of this story, our dear Adja Cumba Chebbe Chan passed away at 106 years old. May she rest in peace.”