SENEGAL: THE LAND AND THE PEOPLE

The sands of Senegal. For millions of Africans across centuries, the Senegalese coastline is where they took their last footsteps on the African continent as they were stolen from their ancestral lands and transported across the ocean in the Transatlantic Slave Trade. Although records were purposely not well kept as to their origins, it’s estimated that nearly half of the Africans who were taken came from the Senegambia region (Senegal and Gambia along with parts of Mali and Guinea-Bissau) and west-central Africa. Can you imagine what this country (and the entire continent for that matter) would look like if colonialism didn’t happen?  

 

The country is named after the Senegal River, which serves as part of its northern border. Its origin is often attributed to a phrase in the Wolof language, sunu gaal, which means “our canoe,” and has even been used as a modern phrase of solidarity. It’s also thought that it was spawned out of a misunderstanding between Wolof fisherman and Portuguese sailors who had landed there in the 15^th century. There are some other theories out there, but none with quite the colloquial charm as this one, though.

Senegal is located in western Africa along the Atlantic coast. It completely surrounds The Gambia (which also shares a coastline with the Atlantic) and shares a border with Mauritania to the north, Mali to the east, and Guinea and Guinea-Bissau to the south. Cape Verde (oh, sorry: Cabo Verde) lies off the coast about 350 miles. The country mainly consists of the sandy plains of the Sahel and low foothills. Senegal’s capital city, Dakar, lies on the Cap-Vert peninsula, which is the westernmost point in mainland Africa. It has a tropical climate, characterized by a hot, dry season that sees plenty of harmattan winds (December-April) contrasted with a rainier season typically between June-October.

 

African Renaissance Monument in Dakar

The area encompassing present-day Senegal has been home to many ethnic groups since pre-historic times. It was part of several kingdoms and empires throughout the centuries including the Takrur Kingdom, the Jolof Empire, and the Ghana Empire. Islam spread through the area as they came into contact with people from Islam-influenced northern African states. By the mid-15^th century, the Portuguese were the first Europeans to arrive, quickly followed by the French, the British, and the Dutch. They were just itching to get in on that human trafficking that was all the rage. (15^th century kids know what I’m talking about.) By the mid-17^th century, France became a dominant player in the slave trade and set up a base point at Dakar. During the 1850s, Christianity was introduced. As slavery was also abolished around this time, France began to move farther inland to take over many of the regions. Of course, the Senegalese were basically like, “Oh, hell no,” and fought to the teeth over it. French Sudan (which later became Mali) and Senegal formed the short-lived Mali Federation, only to break up a few months later (followed by ice cream, crying, and crossing him out of photos); Senegal became its own independent country in 1960. In 1982, Senegal and Gambia joined together to form Senegambia, but that broke apart seven years later. The Casamance region (the part of Senegal that is south of Gambia) has had several clashes between the government and separatist groups.

Because the capital city of Dakar is located on the Cap-Vert Peninsula, it makes it not only the westernmost city in Africa, but in the Old World (Europe, Africa, Asia). Although it was once used as a base for the slave trade, it is now home to many multinational companies, financial institutions, as well as the end point for the sort-of-defunct Dakar Rally (a long off-road challenge from Paris to Dakar; it ended in 2007 due to security reasons in Mauritania and later moved to South America). Today, there are several colleges and universities, libraries, museums, sports stadiums, and theatres around the city.  

Some of Senegal’s main industries include chemicals, artificial fertilizer, cement, food processing, mining, and refining petroleum.  Tourism has become a driving economic factor, even though there are certain areas that are not recommended to travel (Casamance, for instance – if you haven’t visited travel.state.gov, it’s a really good resource for global travel advisories). Because they’re on the ocean, they also depend on fishing (and stopping other countries from illegally overfishing their waters). They also farm for cotton and groundnuts. Senegal is one of the countries that the US Peace Corp sends volunteers to. I seriously thought about the Peace Corp after I graduated college. I kind of wish I had.   

On the books, Senegal is a secular state. However, roughly 92-94% of the people follow some form of Islam (mostly Sunni and Sufi). A smaller number of Christians (mostly Roman Catholic with a few Protestant churches here and there) are also represented. The Serer religion and other African belief systems are still a part of their society, many times in tandem with other religions. Other religions include Baha’i, Judaism and Buddhism.

French remains Senegal’s official language, but there’s been a sort of cultural backlash again using it. Wolof is gaining preference as a lingua franca since most people speak their own ethnic language. There are a number of languages that do hold a national legal status, though: Balanta-Ganja, Wolof, Hassaniya Arabic, Soninke, Jola-Fonyi, Serer, Mandinka, Pulaar, Mandjak, Noon, and Mankanya. Although Arabic is used in Islamic schools, it’s not really spoken outside of that environment. There’s also apparently a Portuguese Creole that is spoken in areas close to Guinea-Bissau and elsewhere.

So, apparently a few years ago hippos in the Senegal River mauled several fishermen who were fishing in the river. Quite a few people have died over the past decade from this. So much so, that it’s impacted the local’s fishing ability. One guy stated that he’s cheated death-by-hippo a couple of times. That would probably make me think twice about fishing as a career choice. But I guess you gotta do what you can to get work. Hippos are very aggressive, killing machines. In fact, it reminds me of one of John Oliver’s recent segments on guardianship (you can watch the entire thing, but the part that mentions hippos starts around 13:32. Oh, and I hope you don’t get offended at the F bomb. It’s such a versatile word. As I tell my kids, listen past it). 

Up next: art and literature

THE GAMBIA: MUSIC AND DANCE

Traditional music in The Gambia is very similar culturally to that of its neighbor, Senegal.  Certainly the most prominent part of Gambian music is the percussion traditions of the Wolof and Serer people.

The sabar is not only a specific type of drum, but it has also lent its name to the style of playing using this drum.  In saber music, the ensemble includes the saber drum as a rhythmic drum, but it also includes the nder drum that is used as the lead drum, and the tama drum (also called a talking drum – it has different pitches and timbres when you squeeze the sides of the drum, almost sounding like it’s talking).

In both njuup and saber music, styles commonly performed by the Serer tribes, music is divided into smaller motifs, each with its own meaning.  Tribes used to use this style of drumming as a means of communication between themselves and other tribes; these rhythmic motifs could be heard for up to 15 km (about 9.3 mi) away.  That sounds incredible, but I suppose perhaps the lack of noise pollution and their location near the river help the sound travel. 

The Mali Empire influenced Gambian music with the role of griots (sometimes called jelis). Griots were a type of historian-musician-praise singer-storyteller-poet.  They’re sometimes likened to what a bard was in British and Celtic history. 

Mbalax is a type of dance music that mixes Western style music with the sabar and other traditional musical styles of the Wolof and Serer peoples.

Gambian musicians started venturing into modern musical styles during the 1960s and 1970s. Among the first notable musicians include Guelewar (I can hear influences of jazz, reggae, American rock, African styles, and maybe even early ska, relies heavily on African drums and percussion.) and Laba Sosseh. I listed to two albums of Laba Sosseh and absolutely love it. It’s heavily influenced by jazz and reggae, and Latin music. I listen to his music while I work.

Other more contemporary musicians that I listened to are Ifang Bondi and Jaliba Kuyateh.  Both of these musicians tend to borrow from other African styles.  Ifang Bondi means “be yourself” in Mandrika, one of the languages spoken in The Gambia. They were known for incorporating traditional instruments, rhythms, and traditional styles into their music. Jaliba Kuyateh is extremely gifted at the kora, an instrument made of wood (originally, it was made from a calabash or goard), stretched with cow skin, and has 21 nylon strings. Eleven strings are played with the left hand and the right hand plays the other ten.  His use of the kora in his music has rendered him the nickname “King of Kora.” Foday Musa Suso is another kora player who performed years before Kuyateh. I love this instrument; it’s so beautiful. It almost has a harp-like or like a Russian balalaika even. I could listen to it all day. I highly recommend the album The Dreamtime for anyone interested in the kora. (It’s on Spotify.)

And The Gambia also has a sizable hip-hop scene, mostly influenced by the styles from the US, UK, and the Caribbean. And since I’m extremely interested in hip-hop music from other countries, I had to make sure I have some in my playlist. Unfortunately, I could only find one musician available on Spotify, and that honor goes to Singateh. There is a deep reggae influence in his music, and he also uses other featured singers in his music. I also noticed that his music isn’t strictly rapping; he also has many songs where he sings as well. I really like it. It’s pretty cool.  Like me.

Up next: the food