Ethnic Groups In Senegal
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Ethnic Groups In Senegal
There are various ethnic groups in Senegal. According to "CIA World Factbook: Senegal" (2019 estimates), the ethnic groups are Wolof (39%); Fula (probably including the Halpulaar speaking Toucouleur) (27.5%)); Serer group (probably including the Serer Cangin peoples (16%)); Mandinka (4.9%); Jola (4.2%); Soninke (2.4%); other 5.4% (includes Europeans and persons of Lebanese descent), and other minor ethnic groups like the Bassari, Maures or (Naarkajors)).CIA World Factbook: Senegal(retrieved 15 April 2024): * "Wolof 39.7%, Pulaar 27.5%, Sereer 16%, Mandinka 4.9%, Jola 4.2%, Soninke 2.4%, other 5.4% (includes Europeans and persons of Lebanese descent) (2019 est.)." Many subgroups of those can be further distinguished, based on religion, location and language. According to one 2005 estimate, there are at least twenty distinguishable groups of largely varying size. Major groups *The largest group is the Wolof, representing 39% of the population of the country. They l ...
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Cayor
The Cayor Kingdom (; ) was from 1549 to 1876 the largest and most powerful kingdom that split off from the Jolof Empire in what is now Senegal. The Cayor Kingdom was located in northern and central Senegal, southeast of Waalo, west of the kingdom of Jolof, and north of Baol and the Kingdom of Sine. Etymology Cayor (also spelled Kayor, Kadior, Cadior, Kadjoor, Nkadyur, Kadyoor, Encalhor, among others) comes from the Wolof language, Wolof Endonym and exonym, endonym for the inhabitants "Waadyor" meaning "people of the ''joor''", a fertile soil found in northern Cayor. This distinguishes the people of Cayor from their neighbors, who to the present day refer to themselves by doubling the name of their native region (e.g. Waalo-Waalo, Saloum-Saloum). History There are no written sources for the early history of Cayor, and even oral traditions are sparse. The legend of Ndiadiane Ndiaye, the first ''Buurba Jolof'', claims that the ruler of Cayor voluntarily submitted to him, but this i ...
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Senegal River Valley
The Senegal River ( or "Senegal" - compound of the  Serer term "Seen" or "Sene" or "Sen" (from  Roog Seen, Supreme Deity in Serer religion) and "O Gal" (meaning "body of water")); , , , ) is a river in West Africa; much of its length marks part of the border between Senegal and Mauritania. It has a drainage basin of , a mean flow of , and an annual discharge of . Important tributaries are the Falémé River, Karakoro River, and the Gorgol River. The river divides into two branches once it passes Kaédi. The left branch, called the Doué, runs parallel to the main river to the north. After the two branches rejoin a few kilometers downstream of Podor. In 1972 Mali, Mauritania and Senegal founded the Organisation pour la mise en valeur du fleuve Sénégal (OMVS) to manage the river basin. Guinea joined in 2005. , only very limited use was made of the river for the transportation of goods and passengers. The OMVS have looked at the feasibility of creating a navigable cha ...
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Ferlo
The Ferlo Desert, also known as the Ferio Desert, is a desert in northern-central Senegal. It is inhabited by the Serer and the Fulani. Geography and landscape The Ferlo Desert occupies an area of some 70,000 km2, over one-third of the country's total area. It forms part of the region of Djourbel which extends to within 45 miles (70 km) to the east of Dakar to the west and south of St Louis, known as "Baol" to the locals. The Senegal River flows through the region, and valleys occur in the Sine Saloum Delta north of The Gambia. There are expansive plains and sand dunes, with scattered rocks and small valleys with clay soils in which small water bodies form. The plain is crossed by the courses of numerous tributaries of the Senegal River, which for most of the year are dry and fill with water only occasionally during the rainy season (July to September). The climate is very dry, characterised by a long dry season (which lasts for nine months a year), with winds from ...
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Fula Language
Fula ( ),Laurie Bauer, 2007, ''The Linguistics Student's Handbook'', Edinburgh also known as Fulani ( ) or Fulah (, , ; Adlam script, Adlam: , , ; Ajami script, Ajami: , , ), is a Senegambian languages, Senegambian language spoken by around 36.8 million people as a set of various dialects in a Dialect continuum, continuum that stretches across some 18 countries in West Africa, West and Central Africa. Along with other related languages such as Serer language, Serer and Wolof language, Wolof, it belongs to the Atlantic languages, Atlantic geographic group within Niger–Congo languages, Niger–Congo, and more specifically to the Senegambian languages, Senegambian branch. Unlike most Niger-Congo languages, Fula does not have Tone (linguistics), tones. It is spoken as a first language by the Fula people ("Fulani", ) from the Senegambia, Senegambia region and Guinea to Cameroon, Nigeria, and Sudan and by related groups such as the Toucouleur people in the Senegal River Valley ...
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Wolofisation
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 Mwakikagile, Godfrey, ''Ethnic Diversity and Integration in The Gambia: The Land, the People and the Culture'', Continental Press (2010), pp.84, 221, /ref> 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. ...
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Petite Côte
The Petite Côte is a stretch of coast in Senegal, running south from the Cap-Vert peninsula to the Saloum Delta, near the border with the Gambia. The northern section near Dakar contains seaside resorts such as Saly Portudal, Rufisque, Nianing and Popenguine-Ndayane. The entire coast is part of the city of M'Bour, with fishing villages, such as Toubab Dialaw, Joal-Fadiout, Palmarin and Djiffer.Connolly, Sean,''Senegal'', Bradt Travel Guides (2015), p. 139-140, (Retrieved 14 April 2019) History During the late fifteenth and early sixteenth centuries, Portuguese emigrants known as lançados formed communities along Petite Côte in the region of Senegambia. Some were Jews fleeing the Portuguese Inquisition, who married African women and formed local families. During the early sixteenth century these Luso-Africans had established trading centers in Petite Côte and elsewhere along coastal West Africa. Luso-Africans descended from continental Africans, Portuguese settlers, ...
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Cap-Vert
Cap-Vert, or the Cape Verde Peninsula, and Kap Weert or Bopp bu Nëtëx (in Wolof), is a peninsula in Senegal and the westernmost point of the continent of Africa and of the Afro-Eurasia mainland. Portuguese explorers called it Cabo Verde or "Green Cape". The Cape Verde islands, further west, are named after the cape. Dakar, the capital of Senegal, occupies parts including its southern tip.Roger J., Banton O., Barusseau J.-P., Castaigne P., Comte J.-C., Duvail C., Nehlig P., Noël B. J., Serrano O., Travi Y., ''Notice explicative de la cartographie multi-couches à 1/50 000 et 1/20 000 de la zone d’activité du Cap-Vert'', Ministère des Mines, de l’Industrie et des PME, Direction des Mines et de la Géologie, Dakar, 245 p., 2009d. The peninsula marks the border between Grande Côte The Grande Côte is a stretch of coastline in Senegal, running north from the Cap-Vert peninsula of Dakar to the border with Mauritania at Saint-Louis, Senegal, St-Louis. A sandy beach runs ...
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Lebou People
The Lebu (Lebou, ''Lébou'') are a subgroup of Wolof in Senegal, West Africa, living on the peninsula of Cap-Vert, site of Dakar. The Lebu are primarily a fishing community, but they have a substantial business in construction supplies and real estate.Keese, Alexander, "Ethnicity and the Colonial State: Finding and Representing Group Identifications in a Coastal West African and Global Perspective (1850–1960)", BRILL (2015), p. 94/ref> They speak Lebu Wolof, which is closely related to Wolof proper but is not intelligible with it. Culture The Lebu political and spiritual capital is at Layene, situated in the Yoff neighborhood of northern Dakar. The largely Lebu religious sect and theocracy, the Layene, are headquartered there. In addition to Yoff, other Lebu centres are nearby Ouakam, Cambérène and Ngor, Dakar, Ngor. Lebu society emphasizes piety and respect for elders. Lebu families include not only living people but also associated ancestral spirits. The Lebu are noted for ...
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Tijaniyyah
The Tijjani order () is a Sufi Tariqa, order of Sunni Islam named after Ahmad al-Tijani. It originated in Algeria but now more widespread in Maghreb, West Africa, particularly in Senegal, The Gambia, Gambia, Mauritania, Mali, Guinea, Niger, Chad, Ghana, Northern Nigeria, Northern and Southwestern Nigeria and some parts of Sudan. The Tijāniyyah order is also present in the states of Kerala, Tamil Nadu and Karnataka in India. Its adherents are called Tijānī (spelled ''Tijaan'' or ''Tiijaan'' in Wolof language, Wolof, ''Tidiane'' or ''Tidjane'' in French). Tijānīs place great importance on culture and education and emphasize the individual adhesion of the Apprenticeship, disciple (''murid''). To become a member of the order, one must receive the Tijānī ''Dhikr#Sufi view, wird'', or a sequence of holy phrases to be repeated twice daily, from a ''muqaddam'', or representative of the order. History and spread of the order Foundation of the order Ahmad al-Tijani (1737–181 ...
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Mouride
The Mouride brotherhood (, ''aṭ-Ṭarīqat al-Murīdiyyah'' or simply , ''al-Murīdiyyah'') is a large ''tariqa'' (Sufism, Sufi order) most prominent in Senegal and The Gambia with headquarters in the city of Touba, which is a holy city for the order. Adherents are called Mourides, from the Arabic word ''murid, murīd'' (literally "one who desires"), a term used generally in Sufism to designate a disciple of a spiritual guide. The beliefs and practices of the Mourides constitute Mouridism. Mouride disciples call themselves ''taalibé'' in Wolof and must undergo a ritual of allegiance called ''njebbel'', as it is considered highly important to have a sheikh "spiritual guide" in order to become a Mouride. The Mouride brotherhood was founded in 1883 in Senegal by Amadou Bamba. The Mouride make up around 40 percent of the total population, and their influence over everyday life can be seen throughout Senegal. History Founding The Mouride brotherhood was founded in 1883 in Seneg ...
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