Jufureh (also spelled Juffureh or Juffure) is a town in

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 ...

, 30 kilometres inland on the north bank of the

River Gambia The Gambia River (formerly known as the River Gambra, French: ''Fleuve Gambie'', Portuguese: ''Rio Gâmbia'') is a major river in West Africa, running from the Fouta Djallon plateau in north Guinea westward through Senegal and The Gambia to t ...

in the

North Bank Division North Bank was one of the five administrative divisions of the Gambia. Its capital was Kerewan. It was subsequently reorganised as the Kerewan Local Government Area (LGA), without any change in the area covered. Per 2013 census, the region had ...

near

Kunta Kinteh Island Kunta Kinteh Island, formerly called James Island and St Andrew's Island, is an island in the Gambia River, from the river mouth and near Juffureh in the Republic of the Gambia. Fort James is located on the island. It is less than 3.2 km ...

. The town is home to a

museum A museum is an institution dedicated to displaying or Preservation (library and archive), preserving culturally or scientifically significant objects. Many museums have exhibitions of these objects on public display, and some have private colle ...

and Fort Jillifree. Jufureh is known for its appearance in

Alex Haley Alexander Murray Palmer Haley (August 11, 1921 – February 10, 1992) was an American writer and the author of the 1976 book '' Roots: The Saga of an American Family.'' ABC adapted the book as a television miniseries of the same name and ...

's 1976 novel '' Roots: The Saga of an American Family'', as the birthplace of Haley's ancestor

Kunta Kinte Kunta Kinte ( ) is the main character from the 1976 novel '' Roots: The Saga of an American Family'' by American author Alex Haley. Kunta Kinte was based on family oral tradition accounts of one of Haley's ancestors, a Gambian man who was born ...

. After the publication of ''Roots'', Jufureh became a significant tourist destination. This led to economic benefits for the town, including the construction of an elementary school, a new market aimed at tourists, and improved roads.

History

In 1651 a small plot of land from the village was leased by

Jacob Kettler Jacob Kettler (; ; 28 October 1610 – 1 January 1682) was Duke of Courland and Semigallia from 1642 to 1682. Under his rule, Courland and Semigallia became more independent of its Polish suzerain, reached its peak in wealth, and even engage ...

, the

Duke of Courland The Duchy of Courland and Semigallia was a duchy in the Baltic region, then known as Livonia, that existed from 1561 to 1569 as a nominal vassal state of the Grand Duchy of Lithuania and subsequently made part of the Crown of the Polish Kingdo ...

, from the king of

Kombo Kombo or Combo was a kingdom and later a chieftaincy in Gambia during the colonial period. Kombo was part of the Mali Empire and gained independence after its fall, and was then ruled by the Sambou Bainunka clan. Mansa Karapha Yalli Jatta bec ...

, as part of the

Couronian colonization Curonian colonisation was the colonisation efforts of the Duchy of Courland and Semigallia (today part of Latvia), a vassal duchy of the Polish–Lithuanian Commonwealth. Small, but wealthy, the Duchy took a modest part in the European colo ...

of Africa. Jufureh was a part of the

Kingdom of Niumi The Kingdom of Niumi, also known as the Kingdom of Barra, was a West African nation at the Gambia River. Niumi was located at the mouth of the river, and extended nearly along and north of its north bank. For much of its existence, its eastern ...

and by the 18th century the town had become an important centre of the

Atlantic slave trade The Atlantic slave trade or transatlantic slave trade involved the transportation by slave traders of Slavery in Africa, enslaved African people to the Americas. European slave ships regularly used the triangular trade route and its Middle Pass ...

. The Tall family of Jufureh traditionally held the position of ''falifo'' in the kingdom, and were responsible for collecting customs revenue from passing traders and adjudicating disputes. The town took part in the

Marabout In the Muslim world, the marabout () is a Sayyid, descendant of Muhammad (Arabic: سـيّد, Romanization of Arabic, romanized: ''sayyid'' and ''sidi'' in the Maghreb) and a Islam, Muslim religious leader and teacher who historically had the f ...

revolt launched in the 1860s against the Niumi king Buntung Jamme and as a result the town was razed by the royal forces. Demographically, the predominant religion in the village is

Islam Islam is an Abrahamic religions, Abrahamic monotheistic religion based on the Quran, and the teachings of Muhammad. Adherents of Islam are called Muslims, who are estimated to number Islam by country, 2 billion worldwide and are the world ...

. In 1999, a

mosque A mosque ( ), also called a masjid ( ), is a place of worship for Muslims. The term usually refers to a covered building, but can be any place where Salah, Islamic prayers are performed; such as an outdoor courtyard. Originally, mosques were si ...

and school, the Alex Haley Mosque and School Complex, was opened in Jufureh, where Haley traced back his ancestry through genealogical research.

References

External links

Jufureh photos, Information & Roots Story
Populated places in the Gambia Former colonies of Courland Gambia River North Bank Division {{Gambia-geo-stub