The Serer-Laalaa or Laalaa are part of the Serer ethnic group of

Senegambia The Senegambia (other names: Senegambia region or Senegambian zone,Barry, Boubacar, ''Senegambia and the Atlantic Slave Trade'', (Editors: David Anderson, Carolyn Brown; trans. Ayi Kwei Armah; contributors: David Anderson, American Council of Le ...

(

Senegal Senegal, officially the Republic of Senegal, is the westernmost country in West Africa, situated on the Atlantic Ocean coastline. It borders Mauritania to Mauritania–Senegal border, the north, Mali to Mali–Senegal border, the east, Guinea t ...

and the

Gambia The Gambia, officially the Republic of The Gambia, is a country in West Africa. Geographically, The Gambia is the List of African countries by area, smallest country in continental Africa; it is surrounded by Senegal on all sides except for ...

). They live in Laa (var : Lâ), 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 (or Lehar) is not a dialect of the Serer-Sine language, but—like Saafi,

Noon Noon (also known as noontime or midday) is 12 o'clock in the daytime. It is written as 12 noon, 12:00 m. (for '' meridiem'', literally 12:00 midday), 12 p.m. (for ''post meridiem'', literally "after midday"), 12 pm, or 12:00 (using a 24-hour cl ...

, Ndut and Palor, one of the Cangin languages.

Other names

Serer-Lehar, Serer-Lehaar, Serer-Laalaa, Serer-Laal, Serer-Lala, Laalaa or just Serer.

Culture

Their language, Laalaa or Lehar, is one of the Cangin languages, closely related to the

and Saafi languages, and more distantly related to Serer proper. They are people who once practiced agro-pastoral activities. Nowadays, agricultural activities predominate their lives. Livestock has been virtually decimated by repeated

droughts A drought is a period of drier-than-normal conditions.Douville, H., K. Raghavan, J. Renwick, R.P. Allan, P.A. Arias, M. Barlow, R. Cerezo-Mota, A. Cherchi, T.Y. Gan, J. Gergis, D. Jiang, A. Khan, W. Pokam Mba, D. Rosenfeld, J. Tierney, ...

in the late 1990s. The Laalaa have a younger generation of many intellectuals, a typical Serer traite.

Population

The number of speakers of their language is 12,000 in Senegal excluding

the Gambia The Gambia, officially the Republic of The Gambia, is a country in West Africa. Geographically, The Gambia is the List of African countries by area, smallest country in continental Africa; it is surrounded by Senegal on all sides except for ...

where they are also present. As part of the Serer ethnic group, they collectively make up the third largest ethnic group in

numbering over 1.8 million. The Laalaa (also called Léhar) are mostly found in the north of Thies around the villages of Pambaal, Bargaro and Duuña. They have about 18 villages namely: Baam, Bapat, Bargaro, Besi, Bicoona, Duuñë, Gogona, Haak, Jalkin, Jëëfuñ, Joy, Kaadaan, Kii, Kolobaan, Pambal, Sowaaboon, Tuuba and Yindën. The Laalaa are also found outside the region of Thies. A large Laalaa community migrated between 1984 and 1986 to Saal Ngeen in the Tambacounda Region.

History

Religion

They practice the

Serer religion The Serer religion or Serer spirituality (''Serer language, Serer:'' A ƭat Roog, meaning "the way of the Divine", "path of God", or "religious life"Kalis, Simone, ''Médecine traditionnelle, religion et divination chez les Seereer Siin du Sén� ...

which involves

ancestor veneration The veneration of the dead, including one's ancestors, is based on love and respect for the deceased. In some cultures, it is related to beliefs that the dead have a continued existence, and may possess the ability to influence the fortune of t ...

, covering all dimensions of life, death and space. Gravrand, Henry, "La Civilisation Sereer - Pangool", Les Nouvelles Editions

Africa Africa is the world's second-largest and second-most populous continent after Asia. At about 30.3 million km2 (11.7 million square miles) including adjacent islands, it covers 20% of Earth's land area and 6% of its total surfac ...

ines du

, 1990, p 9, Some Serer-Laalaas are Christians or Muslims whose conversion is very recent (like most Serer converts to Islam).Abbey, M T Rosalie Akouele. ''Customary Law and Slavery in West Africa.'' Trafford Publishing, 2011. , p 481-482 Both the Christian and Muslim groups mix it with Serer religion whilst the Ultra orthodox follow orthodox Serer religion.

Notes

Bibliography

*Gambian Studies No. 17. “People of the Gambia. I. The Wolof. With notes on the Serer and Lebou” By David P. Gamble & Linda K. Salmon with Alhaji Hassan Njie. San Francisco 1985 *Senegambian Ethnic Groups: Common Origins and Cultural Affinities Factors and Forces of National Unity, Peace and Stability. By Alhaji Ebou Momar Taal. 2010 *Elisa Daggs. All Africa: All its political entities of independent or other status. Hasting House, 1970. , {{Ethnic groups in Senegal Serer people