Un 'généraliste' qui a des connaissances aussi bien dans la science des plantes, que dans celles des terres, propriétés agricoles ou médicinales, et dans la science des eaux, l'astronomie, la cosmogonie, la psychologie, etc. Il s'agit d'une science de la vie et d'une science éminemment pratique, consistant à mobiliser les énergies disponibles au service de la vie. (Bâ 1986: 101)

[a generalist who has a good knowledge of the science of plants and earth, agricultural and medicinal properties, and of the science of water, astronomy, cosmogony, psychology, etc. It is a science of living things and a science eminently

practical, consisting of mobilizing available energies for the promotion of life.]

Hence, an interesting analogy can be made between the dynamic network of oral speech, the "general" science of the traditionalist, and even T. Monod's universalist conception of natural science, the three of them being regulated by the same Humboldtian principle of life.

Bâ's originality lies in his attempt to re-organise – through a rigorous process of translation – the oral material into a written text. Because of its oral substrate, most African knowledge remained out of reach for colonial science, which could, therefore, let its imagination fantasize. In the case of Fulfulde traditions, the problem was as much historical as it was epistemological since, as the author puts it metaphorically, to deal with Fulfude matters is, for a European mind, to face profound chaos if one does not have the key and does not know the right door to open.

In order to elaborate his microscopic knowledge of Africa, Bâ reconciled ethnologic method and traditional African wisdom. Formed by Monod at the French Institute of Black Africa (IFAN) in 1942, Bâ became familiar with methods of investigation which allowed him to improve his work of collection and re-composition of oral sources. Following Théodore Monod's Conseils aux chercheurs and Marcel Griaule's L'instrument pour l'ethnologie, Bâ even wrote his own investigation manual. L'Empire peul du Macina and L'Étrange destin de Wangrin both rely upon the same requirement of scientific coherence. The latter can be understood as a narrative response to the conflict of interpretations. In the case of L'Étrange destin de Wangrin though, certain names and places have been slightly changed due to the promise made to Wangrin. From a methodological standpoint, Bâ insists upon the distinction between theory and practice. Theory is meant to unify and organise the chaotic stories patiently collected from traditionalists. As a whole, the theoretical work consists of reorganising narratives through the comparison of various and often contradictory testimonies. Within this process, the investigator may ask competent religious authorities for additional information. Funnily enough, the requirement of objectivity meets the traditionalist's concern for truth regarding his storytelling performance.

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