Baye Fall followers balance buckets full of water on their heads at an outdoor kitchen ahead of Iftar during the holy month of Ramadan in Touba, on March 1, 2026. As if their lives depended on it, thousands of disciples from a singular Senegalese religious community devote themselves to their daily mission: preparing meals for the breaking of the fast during Ramadan ó an essential expression of their spirituality, which has few parallels in Islam.
They are known as the Baye Fall and they belong to the highly influential Mouride Sufi brotherhood in Senegal, a predominantly Muslim country. Yet their practice of Islam is unlike that of any other Muslim community: the Baye Fall neither pray nor fast, two fundamental precepts among the five pillars of the religion.
They are also instantly recognizable by their striking appearance ó dreadlocks, multicolored patchwork garments, and the many mystical accessories they wear. (Photo by PATRICK MEINHARDT / AFP)