Jola people

Last updated
Jola
Ajamat
DiolaBaila.JPG
Jola girls dancing
Total population
900,000 [1]
Regions with significant populations
Senegal, the Gambia, Guinea-Bissau
Flag of Senegal.svg  Senegal 687,852 (4%) [2]
Flag of The Gambia.svg  Gambia 182,807 (10.5%) [3]
Flag of Guinea-Bissau.svg  Guinea-Bissau 6,000 (0.4%) [4]
Languages
Jola, French, Kriol, English, Portuguese
Religion
Majority: Islam [5]
Significant minority: African traditional religion (Jola religion), Christianity [5]
Related ethnic groups
Serer people and Wolof people

The Jola or Diola (endonym: Ajamat) are an ethnic group found in Senegal, the Gambia, and Guinea-Bissau. Most Jola live in small villages scattered throughout Senegal, especially in the Lower Casamance region. [6] The main dialect of the Jola language, Fogni, is one of the six national languages of Senegal. [7]

Contents

Their economy has been based on wet rice cultivation for at least one thousand years. [8] This system has been characterized "one of the most significant examples of 'agrarian civilizations' in West Africa". [9] However, the Jola probably reached the Lower Casamance region in the 14th century, assimilating the previous Bainuk people and their rice tradition. [10] [11] In colonial times, the Jola began to cultivate peanuts as a cash crop in the drier forests. [6] Other activities include palm wine tapping, honey collecting, livestock rearing and the production of other crops such as sweet potatoes, yams and watermelon. [12]

The traditional religion of the Jola is animism, which is practised through fetishistic rituals and ceremonies. However, the Jola populations living in well-connected areas have become Islamized due to the influence of the nearby Mandinka people. As a result, many Jola no longer speak their own language and more than half are now Muslims. [6] Unlike the dominant cultures of West Africa, most Jola communities lack any social or political stratification, being organized into families or neighborhoods. However, some communities have a central authority, a king, whose role resembles more that of a priest than of a traditional secular leader. [10] The most prominent Jola kingdom is in Oussouye. [10] Among the Muslim Jola, there is also the marabout, a religious leader and teacher. Traditional animist rituals are overseen by elders, who have an important role in Jola society. For Jola boys to attain manhood, they must take part in the initiation festival known as futamp , which takes place every 15 to 20 years in every Jola village.

Name

The word Jola is the Mandinka name for this ethnic group and means 'payback', since Jolas are renowned for doing back what has been done to them, be it a good or a bad deed. The name of the Jola tribe in their own language is Ajamat (singular) or Ajamataw (plural). Diola is the traditional transliteration in French, which is also very common in English sources.

Language and subgroups

The Jola speak the Jola language, which is divided into a variety of dialects which may not, at times, be mutually intelligible. These dialects correspond to the different Jola tribes:

Religion

Overall, more than half of Jolas (54%) are Muslims. In Gambia, 90% of Jolas are Muslims. Some Jolas continue to follow their traditional religion and rituals in spite of the influence of Islam and Christianity in recent times. [5] Even though some accepted Islam after the Soninke-Marabout war, they honour the traditional use of palm wine in their rituals. [13] They have one God that they associate with the natural phenomena like sky, rain, and the year, Emit or Ata Emit, literally, "To Whom Belongs The Universe" or "The Master-Owner Of The Universe". [14] They have charms and sacred precincts that they honour and with which they communicate (but do not worship). The Jola people believe that spirits called Bakin or Eneerti (Mandinka Jalang) can protect their families, their villages, and their rice fields; and can even protect them from conversion to Islam and Christianity.[ citation needed ]

Before the influence of Islam and Christianity in their ways of beliefs, all Jolas placed great respect in the proper observation of funeral ceremony, and still today some do, for they are of the belief that it enables the dead person's soul to go to its final destination to join his or her ancestors. It was and still is strongly accepted by those Jolas who still practice their ancestral religion that without performing these funeral sacred rites, the soul is prevented from entering the presence of the creator (Ata Amit), and the ancestors. Jolas believed strongly in living a good humanistic life in this world. They believe that if one lives a bad life in this world, when the person dies the soul of the dead person is punished to become an exile spirit with no bed to lie on. In the Jola Cassa subgroup this exile spirit is called a Holowa. This exile spirit becomes a roaming spirit with no respect from the other spirits.

Some Jola religious festivals include the Samay, Kumpo and Niasse.

Culture

Jola village AOF-Village diola.JPG
Jola village
Diola (circa 1902) Diola-1902.jpg
Diola (circa 1902)

Unlike most ethnic groups of the Senegambian region, the Jola do not have a caste system of Jewels[ clarification needed ] griots, slaves, nobility, leather workers, etc. Their communities are based on extended clan settlements normally large enough to be given independent names, including the Jola Karon, Jola Mlomp, Jola Elinnkin, Jola Caginol, Jola Huluf, Jola Jamat, Jola Joheyt, Jola Bayot, Jola Brin, Jola Seleky, Jola Kabrouse, Jola Jiwat, and Jola Foni. [15] Jolas are also able herbal medicine practitioners. Their high adaptation to the nature and environment allowed them to be able to create musical centred civilisation, natural medicine centred civilisation, and most important of all, rice cultivation centred civilisation which they do effectively by using a locally made farming tool called the kajando.

Like some of the other indigenous ethnic groups of the Senegambian region—the Baga, the Balanta, the Konyagi, etc.—the Jola ethnic group did not develop a political scale that expanded beyond village level compared to ethnic groups that migrated to the region like the Soninke and the Mandinka. But this does not mean they did not develop a sophisticated political system. The egalitarian nature of their societies (rare in most societies), structured around the limited village environment gave them the possibilities to develop a political system based on collective consciousness, which they worked through their initiation rites. In a sense, the Jolas' political achievement in the village was socialism. It was totally tied to their religious belief in the Bakin. This political achievement is not easy to reach if the society that runs it does not have well-defined rules of administration and penalties. Jolas have many traditional economic activities like fishing, farming groundnuts, tapping palm wine, and processing palm oil: their most intensive economic activity is rice cultivation, which is tied closely to their religion and social organization. Jolas are also palm oil manufacturers and palm wine tappers in the Senegambian region. They farm cows, pigs, goats, chickens, sheep and ducks. Jola crafts include basket weaving, pottery, and building. [16]

Elders are considered very important in Jola society and are believed to possess occult powers and guard societal traditions. In villages, a council of elders make many of the daily decisions for the community and exert much influence. Despite the patriarchal nature of Jola society, many women played major roles in the community and were often members in village councils, religious leaders, and landowners. Women are also important as cultivators of wet rice fields in which they predominated. Polygamy and genital mutilation are not practiced by the Jola although outside influence has made these more common in certain villages. [17]

Music

Ekonting

An ekonting Econtine.jpg
An ekonting

The ekonting is a three-string gourd instrument, the folk lute of the Jola people. It has an internal pass through body dowel stick with a round gourd body and its sound box is made of a hemispherical calabash, with a nailed goatskin. Before the invention of nails, palm tree thorns or wood pegs were used as nails. The three strings, which are attached to a long neck, today are nylon fishing line. Before, they were made of palm tree roots (Jola language: kuhall kata kubekel). The neck is a bamboo stick (Mandinka language: bangoe) that passes through the calabash to the other side. A hole is made in the sound box to allow the sound to escape. The bridge of the ekonting is not fixed to its skin as many lutes are. It is free, and can be moved back and forth on the skin of the sound box and it is always held in position by the pressure of the strings when it is in playing position.

Galire

The galire is a one-string instrument of the Jola of Thionck-Essyl, with its strings stretched across a single 1-meter curve made of fine mangrove wood. At first sight, it looks like a hunter's bow. It is played with one hand holding a flexible fine string (made of palm leaves) beating on the arc's string, while the other hand holds one end of the arc and adjusts the tune with the thumb. The other end of the arc rests in the mouth of the player, who sings. The vibration from the player's song on the string of the arc and the beating with the fine flexible string leads to the pleasant and characteristic sound of the galire.

The exile of young people to cities has led to the stark decline in usage of this traditional instrument among the Jola people of Casamance and the Gambia.

Other musical instruments

Below is a list of few Jola instruments. Note: The Jola language of Thionck Essyl is used to name them. Their names may differ somewhat in other villages' languages.

  • Bakiti: like two maracas without the handle attached with one cord
  • Bougarabou
  • Ediando: used by the women during initiation dances
  • Efemme: a calebasse reversed in a container full of water. Used by women to improvise for or replace a drum when it's raining.
  • Elere
  • Emombi: used only during initiation - sacred and rarely seen - once each 20 to 30 years
  • Etantang: used for Koumpo dance and wrestling festivities
  • Ewang: used during male initiation
  • Fouindoum: drum used during initiation
  • Gabilene: sound make with a horn of an animal

History

The Jola are widely considered the first inhabitants of the lower reaches of the Casamance and Gambia rivers.

The megaliths and stone circles of the area may have been built by the ancestors of the Serer people or of the Jola. [18] [19] [20] [21] [22] [23]

Around the 11th century, in response to a progressively drying climate, Jola farmers created a padi system for growing rice, impounding rain and stream water during the wet season in padis. [24]

The Serer and Jola people believe in a common ancestry and have a joking relationship with each other which they assign to their ancient shared cultural heritage. According to the legend of Jambooñ and Againe (an ancient Serer and Jola legend [25] ), two sisters boarded a pirogue with their parties. Due to act of nature, the pirogue broke into half at the Point of Sangomar. Those who headed south became the ancestors of the Jola (descendants of Agaire) and those who headed north became the ancestors of the Serer people (descendants of Jambooñ). [26] The Point of Sangomar is one of the sacred Serer sites.

Notable Jola people

See also

Related Research Articles

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Serer-Ndut people</span> Senegalese ethnic group

The Serer-Ndut or Ndut also spelt are an ethnic group in Senegal numbering 38600. They are part of the Serer people who collectively make up the third largest ethnic group in Senegal. The Serer-Ndut live mostly in central Senegal in the district of Mont-Roland, northwest of the city of ancient Thiès.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Mandinka language</span> Mande language spoken by the Mandinka people of West Africa

The Mandinka language, or Mandingo, is a Mande language spoken by the Mandinka people of Guinea, northern Guinea-Bissau, the Casamance region of Senegal, and in The Gambia where it is one of the principal languages.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Casamance conflict</span> Ongoing low-level conflict in Senegal

The Casamance conflict is an ongoing low-level conflict that has been waged between the Government of Senegal and the Movement of Democratic Forces of Casamance (MFDC) since 1982. On May 1, 2014, the leader of the MFDC sued for peace and declared a unilateral ceasefire.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Wolof music</span> Musical traditions of the Wolof ethnic group of Senegal

The Wolof, the largest ethnic group in Senegal, have a distinctive musical tradition that, along with the influence of neighboring Fulani, Tukulor, Serer, Jola, and Malinke cultures, has contributed greatly to popular Senegalese music, and to West African music in general. Wolof music takes its roots from the Serer musical tradition, particularly from the Serer pre-colonial Kingdom of Saloum. Virtually all Wolof musical terminology including musical instruments comes from the Serer language.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Languages of Senegal</span> Languages of the country and its people

Senegal is a multilingual country: Ethnologue lists 36 languages, Wolof being the most widely spoken language.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Akonting</span> Folk lute of the Jola ethnic group

The akonting is the folk lute of the Jola people, found in Senegal, Gambia, and Guinea-Bissau in West Africa. It is a banjo-like instrument with a skin-headed gourd body, two long melody strings, and one short drone string, akin to the short fifth "thumb string" on the five-string banjo.

Daniel Laemouahuma Jatta is a Jola scholar and musician from Mandinary, Gambia, who pioneered the research and documentation of the akonting, a Jola folk lute, as well as the related Manjago folk lute, the buchundu, in the mid-1980s. Prior to Jatta's work, these instruments were largely unknown outside the rural villages of the Senegambia region of West Africa.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Serer people</span> West African ethnic group

The Serer people are a West African ethnoreligious group. They are the third-largest ethnic group in Senegal, making up 15% of the Senegalese population. They are also found in northern Gambia and southern Mauritania.

Jola (Joola) or Diola is a dialect continuum spoken in Senegal, the Gambia, and Guinea-Bissau. It belongs to the Bak branch of the Niger–Congo language family.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Mlomp</span> Rural community and village in Ziguinchor Region, Senegal

Mlomp is a rural community and village in the Ziguinchor Region of Senegal in the Casamance, situated approximately 40 km (25 mi) south-west of Ziguinchor.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Carabane</span> Village in Senegal

Carabane, also known as Karabane, is an island and a village located in the extreme south-west of Senegal, in the mouth of the Casamance River. This relatively recent geological formation consists of a shoal and alluvium to which soil is added by accumulation in the branches and roots of the mangrove trees which cover most of the island. Along with the rest of Ziguinchor Region, Carabane has a tropical climate, cycling between a dry season and a wet season. The island was once considered an arid location where no useful plants were likely to grow, but it now supports several types of fruit tree, the most common of which are mangos and oranges. Although the nearby Basse Casamance National Park and Kalissaye Avifaunal Reserve have been closed for years because of the Casamance Conflict, Carabane has continued to attract ornithologists interested in its wide variety of birds. Various species of fish are plentiful around the island, but there are very few mammals.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Seleki</span> Village in Ziguinchor, Senegal

Seleki is a village in Basse Casamance in the south of Senegal. The presence of cases à impluvium, typical of Jola architecture, greatly contribute to the reputation of the village.

Kagnout is a village in Casamance, Senegal. It is located near the left bank of the estuary of the Casamance River. It is part of the rural community of Mlomp, in the district of Loudia Ouoloff, the department of Oussouye and the region of Ziguinchor. Administratively, it is made up of three official villages: Cagnoute Bouhibane, Cagnoute Ebrouaye and Cagnoute Houyoho.

The Niominka people are an ethnic group in Senegal living on the islands of the Saloum River delta. They are currently classified as a subgroup of the Serer.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Boukout</span> Rite of passage among the Jola ethnic group

Boukout is a Jola rite of passage practiced in Ziguinchor, Senegal.

The Serer-Laalaa or Laalaa are part of the Serer ethnic group of Senegambia. They live in Laa, the Léhar Region, which comprises eighteen villages north of Thies and whose inhabitants are Serer-Laalaa. Although the people are ethnically Serer, their language Laalaa is not a dialect of the Serer-Sine language, but—like Saafi, Noon, Ndut and Palor, one of the Cangin languages.

The Serer-Noon also called Noon are an ethnic people who occupy western Senegal. They are part of the Serer people though they do not speak the Serer-Sine language natively.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Musée de la Culture Diola</span> Local museum in Mlomp, Senegal

The Musée de la Culture Diola is a museum located in Mlomp, Casamance, Ziguinchor Region, Senegal.

Babacar Sedikh Diouf or Babacar Sédikh Diouf is a Senegalese historian, author, researcher, campaigner against "Wolofization", a Pan-Africanist, and former teacher. He has written extensively about the history and culture of Senegal, Africa, and that of the Serer ethnic group to which he belongs. He usually writes by the pen name Babacar Sedikh Diouf.

Wolofization or Wolofisation is a cultural and language shift whereby populations or states adopt Wolof language or culture, such as in the Senegambia region. In Senegal, Wolof is a lingua franca The Wolofization phenomenon has taken over all facets of Senegal and encroaching on Gambian soil. This phenomenon has caused other Senegambian ethnic groups great concern and resulted in taking steps to preserve their languages and culture. In this regard, the Serer ethnic group who have had a long history fighting against Islamization and Wolofization have been taking active steps in the past decades by setting up associations and other organisations in order to preserve their languages, culture and "ancient religious past." Haalpulaar speakers, namely the Fula and Toucouleur have also been taking steps to preserve their language.

References

  1. ↑ Klein, Martin A. "Shrines of the Slave Trade: Diola Religion and Society in Precolonial Senegambia." The Journal of Interdisciplinary History 31.2 (Autumn 2000): 315. Accessed through Gale (Cengage), 6 Aug. 2009
  2. ↑ "Senegal Population 2021 (Demographics, Maps, Graphs)". worldpopulationreview.com. Retrieved 2021-06-17.
  3. ↑ "Distribution of the Gambian population by ethnicity 1973,1983,1993,2003 and 2013 Censuses - GBoS". www.gbosdata.org. Archived from the original on 2021-11-19. Retrieved 2021-06-17.
  4. ↑ "Guinea-Bissau | World Directory of Minorities & Indigenous Peoples". Minority Rights Group. Retrieved 2021-06-18.
  5. 1 2 3 "Understanding the Personalistic Aspects of Jola Ethnomedicine" . Retrieved 2021-06-17.
  6. 1 2 3 Olson, James Stuart; Meur, Charles (1996). The Peoples of Africa: An Ethnohistorical Dictionary. Greenwood Publishing Group. pp. 255–256. ISBN   978-0-313-27918-8.
  7. ↑ Minahan, James (2002). Encyclopedia of the Stateless Nations: Ethnic and National Groups Around the World A-Z. ABC-CLIO. p. 397. ISBN   978-0-313-07696-1.
  8. ↑ Davidson, Joanna (2009). ""We Work Hard": Customary Imperatives of the Diola Work Regime in the Context of Environmental and Economic Change". African Studies Review. 52 (2): 119–141. doi:10.1353/arw.0.0179. ISSN   0002-0206. JSTOR   20638911. S2CID   144115501.
  9. ↑ Sané, Tidiane; Mering, Catherine; Cormier-Salem, Marie-Christine; Diédhiou, Ibrahima; Ba, Boubacar Demba; Diaw, Amadou Tahirou; Tine, Alfred Kouly (2018). "Permanences et mutations dans les terroirs rizicoles de Basse-Casamance (Sénégal)" (PDF). Espace Géographique. 47 (3): 201. doi:10.3917/eg.473.0201.
  10. 1 2 3 Peacock, James L.; Thornton, Patricia M.; Inman, Patrick B. (2007). Identity Matters: Ethnic and Sectarian Conflict. Berghahn Books. p. 165. ISBN   978-1-84545-308-4.
  11. ↑ Knörr, Jacqueline; Kohl, Christoph (2016). The Upper Guinea Coast in Global Perspective. Berghahn Books. p. 102. ISBN   978-1-78533-070-4.
  12. ↑ Stride, G. T.; Ifeka, Caroline , "Peoples and empires of West Africa: West Africa in history, 1000-1800", Africana Pub. Corp., 1971, p. 6.
  13. ↑ Gambian Jola scholar Daniel Laemouahuma Jatta Archived 2018-07-02 at the Wayback Machine
  14. ↑ See article J. David Sapir
  15. ↑ Patience Sonko-Godwin, Ethnic groups of the Senegambia Region, Banjul, Gambia 1986 ISBN   9983-86-001-5,Ethnic Groups of the Gambia: A Brief History (1988),quoted by Daniel Laemouahuma Jatta
  16. ↑ Daniel Laemouahuma Jatta
  17. ↑ Skutsch, Carl, ed. (2005). Encyclopedia of the World's Minorities. New York: Routledge. p. 400. ISBN   1-57958-468-3.
  18. ↑ Gravrand, Henry, "La Civilisation Sereer - Pangool ", Les Nouvelles Editions Africaines du Senegal, 1990, p 77, ISBN   2-7236-1055-1
  19. ↑ Gambian Studies No. 17., "People of the Gambia. I. The Wolof with notes on the Serer and the Lebou", By David P. Gamble & Linda K. Salmon with Alhaji Hassan Njie, San Francisco (1985)
  20. ↑ Espie, Ian, "A thousand years of West African history: a handbook for teachers and students", Editors : J. F. Ade Ajayi, Ian Espie, Humanities Press (1972), p 134, ISBN   0391002171
  21. ↑ (in French) Becker, Charles: "Vestiges historiques, trémoins matériels du passé clans les pays sereer". Dakar. 1993. CNRS- ORS TO M PDF (Excerpt) (Retrieved : 28 June 2012)
  22. ↑ Hughes, Arnold; David Perfect (2008). Historical Dictionary of The Gambia (4th revised ed.). Scarecrow Press. p. xix. ISBN   978-0810858251.
  23. ↑ Stride, G. T.; Ifeka, Caroline , "Peoples and empires of West Africa: West Africa in history, 1000-1800", Africana Pub. Corp., 1971, p 8
  24. ↑ Brooke, George E. (August 1985). "WESTERN AFRICA TO c1860 A.D. A PROVISIONAL HISTORICAL SCHW BASED ON CLIMATE PERIODS". Indiana University African Studies Program: 83.
  25. ↑ According to both Serer and Jola tradition, they trace their descend to Jambooñ (also spelt : Jambonge, Jambon, etc.) and Agaire (variantes : Ougeney, Eugeny, Eugene, etc.). For the legend of Jambooñ and Agaire, see :
    • (in French) Ndiaye, Fata, "LA SAGA DU PEUPLE SERERE ET L’HISTOIRE DU SINE", Ethiopiques n°54 revue semestrielle de culture négro-africaine Nouvelle série volume 7, 2e semestre 1991 "Le SIIN avant les Gelwaar" Archived 2013-10-29 at the Wayback Machine
    • (in English) Taal, Ebou Momar, "Senegambian Ethnic Groups : Common Origins and Cultural Affinities Factors and Forces of National Unity, Peace and Stability", [in] The Point, 2010 thepoint.gm (transitional error in Ebou Taal's work, line of descent is other way round)
  26. ↑ (in French) Ndiaye, Fata, "LA SAGA DU PEUPLE SERERE ET L’HISTOIRE DU SINE", [in] Ethiopiques n°54 revue semestrielle de culture négro-africaine Nouvelle série volume 7, 2e semestre 1991 "Le SIIN avant les Gelwaar" Archived 2013-10-29 at the Wayback Machine (Retrieved : 6 July 2012)

Commons-logo.svg Media related to Diola at Wikimedia Commons

This page is based on this Wikipedia article
Text is available under the CC BY-SA 4.0 license; additional terms may apply.
Images, videos and audio are available under their respective licenses.