Both the rhythm of life in Senegal and the Senegalese mentality have evolved over a long time of time in a setting that was unacquainted with technology in the Western sense of the word. The attitudes of Senegalese in their relations with nature are accordingly different from those of Europeans in general. Fear, magic, and collectivism are dominant in orthodox Senegalese life. Writing is absent or constitutes at best the prerogative of no more than the few. The cultural heritage is preserved in oral tradition, of which the guardians have been the most experienced, that is to say the oldest, men. Society thus forms a hierarchy, at the summit of which stand the oldest people.

Art, sculpture, music, and dance remain typically Senegalese in expression. Sculpture is characterized by abstraction and by the ideogram; a sculptured gazelle, for example, may be described solely by its horns and its neck, while an elephant may be described only by the immense fan formed by its ears and its trunk. The Senegalese artist thus neglects the material aspect in order to give free rein to ideas and to feelings. Similarly, in the absence of written music, the imagination of the musician is released. Without falling into the realm of fantasy, the griot (a West African troubadour and historian) recites poems or tells stories of warrior deeds, drawing upon his own sources of inspiration. Both dance and music owe a great deal to improvisation, which, combined with rhythm, produces an intense effect upon the entire community.

Senegalese literature is incarnated by the former president Léopold Sédar Senghor. The quality and the importance of his work resulted in his election in 1983 as the first black member of the French Academy. He is the poet associated with Negritude, a concept that he defined as consisting, on the one hand, of an attitude of defense of the orthodox values of black Africa and, on the other, of tension toward the modernization of these same values. From this concept Senghor drew his political philosophy concerning not only Senegal but the whole of black Africa. Besides Senghor one may also cite the names of Birago Diop, who revived local legends, as well as of such writers as Ousmane Socé, David Diop, Alioune Diop, Cheikh Anta Diop, Cheikh Amidou Kâne, Abdoulaye Sadji, Abdoulaye Ly, Ousmane Sembene, and Bakary Traoré, all of whom are known for works which combine intelligence with the savour of Senegalese life.