One may not acquire a full understanding of African and Gambian in
particular, cast system lest you comprehend the historical, cultural and
social context of the concept. Historically, our ancestors must have had
convincing reasons for the cast system as in many parts of the world. As
human beings, we have the inherent tendency to feel and act "above" a
certain level of humanness. For this reason, our ancestors may have felt
and acted "above" a certain group of people from a certain part of the
world for flimsy reasons such as the clothes they wear, the food they eat,
the things they do for a living, etc. This abhorrent behavior is
manifested in a each and everyone of us albeit at varying levels depending
on how much one can control their perceptions or prejudice.

The cast system is just another form of bigotry that had been justified
throughout our history for economic, social and cultural reasons.

We should however, find solace in the fact that changes are happening due
to modernization through westernization. Formal education is another
catalyst for the abandonment of traditional bigotry that affects social
cohesion including marriage. Religion, mainly Christianity, as part of the
western individualist tradition, has also been a cause in the shift from
traditions of bigotry. As mentioned by one of the contributors, urban
dwelling communities tend to stay away from these cast systems because
they are becoming more and more identifiable as to whom they are rather
than what they are.
Where changes are not in effect, however, they must be exposed to some
kind of almost mystical "traditionalism", religious control or some
psychological quirk must have been used to explain this bigotry as
justifiable.



-BambaLaye
Radio Free Gambia Now at:
www.freegambia.NET

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