Piety meets party: Senegal celebrates the Muslim New Year In the Khar Yalla district of Dakar, children head out onto the streets to sing, dance and beat on small drums. Girls are dressed as boys and boys as girls. They are celebrating Tamkharite, the Senegalese version of the Muslim festival of Ashura, which marks the beginning of the New Year according to the Muslim calendar. IMAGES AND SOUNDBITES