Winter Term in Gambia

Vanessa Champagne

Jetlag is an understatement!

For two weeks I lived in Banjul, Gambia with Professor Adenike Sharpley and three other

members of Dance Diaspora.

I studied small aspects of Gambian culture through observation, interaction, and

conversations with the residents of Kotu, Banjul.

All of the sources I read from about the Gambia to prepare for the trip spoke of

only 6 tribes in the Gambia. On this trip, I learned of 10: the Mandinka,

Wolof, Fula, Jola, Sarahuli, Aku, Sere, Manjago, Bananda, and Owsa. The

We studied dance and rhythms with Kumba and Sene Jaila, members of a

family troupe called Nimba. My teachers belonged to the Owsa tribe

and are SouSous, originally from Guinea.

Learning

The off-daysOn the days we did not have class, we traveled to the Birikama Wood Market and Baka Batik Market where we got to observe

master carvers and batik makers at work.

James Island, AlbredaAslave fort where African captives from the West cost were held before the Atlantic

voyage. We were told a story that after the slave trade was outlawed the fort’s officials told the prisoners that if they could swim to shore they would be freed.

Weak from poor nourishment and mistreatment, many of the prisoners who took the challenge drowned in the water. The ones that made it to shore were killed.

The shore is home to a monument on which “Slavery, Never Again!” is written. It is a statue of an open armed body

wearing broken shackles.

Juffure, Gambia

Juffure, GambiaWe met the only female mayor in the Gambia, and visited the

descendants of Kunta Kinteh in Juffure.

The family is sustained primarily through tourism and interactions with people who travel to Juffure as part

of the Roots Festival, which takes place every 2 years. Therefore the family struggles financially. Alex Haley

promised to help the family but did not keep his word. Professor Sharpley brought rice and gave it to the

eldest member of the family-- who was so overwhelmed with joy that she prayed for each one of

us.

The Kinteh Family

“This trip will be life changing!”

Its truly was.