>On 8 Jan 2002, at 18:31, Habib Ghanim wrote:
>To all well-wishers
>Brothers and sisters on the L
>I visited Dr Nyang on Sunday and he wants me to extend his thanks and
>appreciation to all of you on the L who sent messages to him directly and
>indirectly especially to Dr Katim who was able to talk to him
Brother Habib,
May Allah (SWT) grant him a quick recovery.
Here is one of the contributions by Dr. Nyang that I dug from the old archives
of Gambia-l. We have a lot to learn from him and I look forward in his
contributions to the L again.
Momodou Camara
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Date sent: Tue, 14 Jan 1997 19:51:05 -0500 (EST)
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From: Sulayman Nyang <[log in to unmask]>
To: GAMBIA-L: The Gambia and Related Issues Mailing List <gambia-
[log in to unmask]>
Subject: Re: Tribalism & Politics
Originally to: The Gambia and Related Issues Mailing List <gambia-
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From: Sulayman S. Nyang ([log in to unmask])
I have followed with interest the on-going discussion on the circumcision
issue and the ethnic/tribal question.I gave an historical analysis of this
issue and thought that we the members of this list would move forward and
address ourselves to more immediate issues of bread and butter for the
greater masses of Gambians. Let me deal with some of the points raised by
individual members of this list. The first issue is the number of seats
given to Foni region of the country. The only justification for increasing
the number of seats should be number of people living in the area.If the
population of Foni is greater than Banjul, Kiang West or any other
constituency in the country, then Foni deserves its number. If however
there is no statistical evidence to warrant such allocation, then it is
simply a case of political gerrymandering. Truth be told,Jammeh is not the
first politician to do this in the country. The first act of
gerrymandering was done soon after the PPP defeated the United Party (UP)
of Pierre Sarr Njie.Banjul had five constituencies in 1962.Because the PPP
won by a narrow margin of five seats,certain strategists of the PPPand its
small Banjul-based political ally,the Democratic Congress Alliance(DCA) of
the late Rev. J.C. Faye and the late I>M> Garba Jahumpa ,decided that it
was politically prudent to cut down the number of seats in Banjul.Hence
Banjul North, Banjul South and Banjil Central. Prior to this act of
gerrymandering,Banjul had the following constituencies: (1) Half-Die
Ward; (2) Jollof & Portuguese Town Ward; (3) Soldier Town War; (4) New
Town East; (5) New Town West. The Up won all but Jolof & Portuguese Town
Ward.
With respect to the use of the term "Jola" to identify the maids of
the urban areas,let us get the historical record straight. From 1816-1860s
the persons who were serving in the capacity of maids were mainly drawn
from poor Wolof and Serer families working for Gambian mulatos who were
the concubines of European men in early colonial times. They wre either
"mbindans", a word of Serer/Wolof origins.In Serere it points to the
responsibility involved in the household. In Wolof it refers to the
contract written and signed by both employer and employee.There was
another related notion which is part of this appropiation of labor from
the poorer sections of the society.In the days when the Mulatoos were
known as "Senoras", portuguese for ladies or madams in French,those
poorer members of the Wolof and Serer groups who followed the white men to
Banjul from Goree and St Louis in the early nineteenth century were
sometimes voluntarily sent over to the Senoras as "Yarluwans". Many Wolof
and Serer Banjulian families came to Banjul in this capacity.A Gambian
historian, Florence Mahoney, in her dissertation on the Creoles in Banjul
social history also narrated how some of the Creoles from Sierra Leone who
were brought to the Gambia by Lt. Governor Rendall found themselves in the
households of these Senoras.The recruitment of the Jolas as maids goes
back to the interwar period when Jolas from various sub-regions of the
Senegambia began to come to the growing urban area of Banjul to search for
employment.A thorough social history of the Gambia would show that whereas
Jola men found employment as cooks and garden boys of Europeans, their
sisters found access to the labor market through maid service.Lest we
forget, the pattern of recruiting Wolof and Serer from the poorer sections
of these communities has continued in urban Senegal. This cannot be missed
by those who folowed Senegalese TV theater. A good example would be the
show called " Sagane," a TV show that makes it categorically clear to
middle class urban married women that their maids could steal their
husbands.The use of the term "Jola" to classify all maids is the result of
the greater dominationof this section of the job market by this particular
ethnic group. A review of the literature on maids in African societies
would reveal ethnic specialisation.Again, lest we forget, in the Gambia
there is the common popular belief that Serahulis are very successful
businessmen.There is a long historical connection between this group and
the long distance trade of West Africa. Those who now identify Serahulis
with succesful businesses are simply generalising about a whole group
based on a historical pattern of behavior among a sizable number of this
particular group.Instead of stereotyping Gambian ethnic groups,we should
be learning to replicate the most positive characteristics of all
Senegambian groups.The Jolas have proven beyond reasonable doubt that they
are among the most hardworking Gambians.This does not mean that they must
be relegated to the lowest levels of the pecking order in the
society.Another quality of the Jolas long before Yaya Jammeh entered he
Gambian political scene.Those of us who are not familiar with the social
history of the region should read some of the works written by scholars
writing on these Sengambian groups. One can profit from the writings of
D.P. Gambia (Wolof of Senegambia) and the works of L.V. Thomas on the
Jolas(written in French).There are many others written by Senegalese like
Pathe Diagne.I hope some of the younger Gambians who are inclined towards
scholarly research would begin to examine these fields of knowledge. Had
there been a rich body of knowledge about the social history of the
Senegambian region , especially the Gambia, most of the arguments made
here would have been irrelevant and unnecessary.
To conclude this contribution to the discussion on the Gambian
ethnic groups and their relations with each other, let me leave you with
five points to remember about the history of the Gambian peoples and their
inter-mixing over the last three hundred years:-
1.In the Gambian ethnic purity is a myth that can only be perpetuated by
tribalist or persons who are ignorant of the social history of the area.
2.Any social marker that differentiates peoples of the Senegambia region
can be based only on language and certain cultural differences.As I stated
several months ago,despite these lingusitic and cutlural differences,the
peoples of the Gambia and Senegal have more things to unite
them.Islam,Christianity and Western secularism have created new
moral,intellectual and emotional bridges between the islands of ethnicity.
3.Any Gambian who tries to be tribalist, check him closely and you would
find that his brother or uncle is married to a member of another Gambian
group.This is to say, no Gambian I have ever known lives in an ethnic
island all by himself or with all members of his clan.None of the Gambian
politicians so far can claim ethnic purity.The Gambia,and Senegambia for
that matter , is a multiethnic enclave and the struggle for power must not
be allowed to poison the waters of inter-ethnic living and cooperation.
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