Ceebu jën, or even thiéboudiène, literally means ” rice and fish »In Wolof. It is the national dish of Senegal, a dish appreciated and anchored in everyday life. This Wednesday, December 15, 2021, it was included in the intangible cultural heritage of humanity by Unesco, just like the bolon, a traditional percussion musical instrument from Mali.
Congolese rumba, Malian bolon, Senegalese thieboudiene from Saint-Louis, the fishing town. Here is the intangible cultural heritage of humanity, enriched with new elements 100% of African origin, today. The Senegalese Ministry of Culture submitted a request in October 2020.
Thiéboudiène is part of the daily life of Senegalese: they eat it at home, in restaurants and it is even found around the corner. For President Macky Sall, seeing it selected by Unesco therefore constitutes ” a beautiful illustration of the international renown of Senegalese culinary art “.
Amadou Diop is president of the Friends of Heritage Guides association in Saint-Louis. It is in this city in the north of Senegal that thiéboudiène was born. He participated in the project to inscribe the dish on the list of intangible cultural heritage of humanity. For him, it is an international recognition of this “national treasure”.
” Classifying thieboudiene as a Unesco World Heritage Site is something that was close to our hearts, he explains. All Senegalese, we cannot do without this dish. If we don’t eat thieboudiene for two days, we are in pain. “
He explains to our correspondent in Dakar, Charlotte idrac, that this dish is ” a brand for us Saint-Louisiens “:” When we talk about thieboudiene, of course, we are talking above all about thieboudiene from Saint-Louis. There is rice, there is fish, there are vegetables, carrots, cabbage, turnips, cassava … It is a combination of a lot of vegetables. “
At one point, we saw that we were really starting to devalue this dish, because currently, ingredients are added, chemicals that do not stick with the real thieboudiene that we have here in Saint-Louis. This is why we fought so that it is classified, that we can promote and preserve this dish which is close to our heart, or that at the international level, it is known.
Amadou Diop, president of Guides Amis du Patrimoine, in Saint-Louis, Senegal
Thiéboudiène, which sometimes also consists of tomatoes, joins couscous from the Maghreb, Neapolitan pizza or even Belgian beer, among the culinary elements selected by the UN organization. The recognition by Unesco of this essential dish is a real pride for Bator Dieng, Senegalese caterer contacted this afternoon by phone by Pierre Firtion, from the Africa service of RFI.
It is a Senegalese dish. Of course, West Africa and all of Africa has its own way, but the Senegalese way, unpretentious, I think it is the best. And so I am very, very proud as a Senegalese, as an African too. It is a dish which is complete, excellent, and which deserves this price.
Bator Dieng, Senegalese caterer: “For a good Thiéboudiène, you need a good fish”
At the “Mashallah” restaurant, Maïmouna Coulibaly offers thieboudiene as a daily special several times a week. The restaurateur is originally from Saint-Louis. The preparation of “thieb” takes time and requires know-how that is passed on from generation to generation, mainly between women, but not only.
Today’s thieboudiene has been flavored much too much. But the broth is not good. Our ancestors, they made the taste with …
Report in Dakar: thiéboudiène, the Senegalese dish par excellence
For amateurs, inclusion on the Unesco list, it will be understood, is a source of pride coupled with an opportunity to make their national culture better known abroad. A real “recognition” in the eyes of the Senegalese chef Tamsir Ndir, who evokes the passionate “battle” around this dish, with the jollof rice of Ghana and Nigeria; thiéboudiène from which they were inspired, he explains.
He also had a bit of a rivalry with Ghana and Nigeria over jollof rice. These are two dishes that for me are completely different. Jollof rice, they will do it with fish or with meat, chicken. While thieboudiene is exclusively with fish and vegetables
Senegalese chef Tamsir Ndir discusses the “battle” with jollof rice