In the Muslim brotherhoods of Senegal, the marabouts are organized in elaborate hierarchies and the highest marabout of the Mourides, for example, has been elevated to the status of a ruler, almost a demigod, by the faithful.
A major fact of marabouts is the need to give them money from time to time. Often there is obligation to the marabout that has accumulated over generations within a family. Marabouts normally dress in traditional West African robes.