Headed for

Senegal

West Africa

SENEGAL, WEST AFRICA...

* Area 196,192 sq km

* Population 8.5 million

* Capital…Dakar

* Official Language…French

French and Wolof is spoken

by most people

* Religion Muslim…85%

Other religious practices…

* Christianity

* ‘Traditional Religions’

Detailed map of Senegal

SENEGAL,WEST AFRICA

* Ethnic Groups…

* Wolof 35% live countrywide,

predominantly in Dakar and

Thies

* Serer 17% live mainly

east - southeast of Dakar

Art exhibit in Dakar

A roundabout in Dakar

Building with black angels in Dakar

Visiting a high school

outside of Dakar

Senegalese dress

A Senegalese male in his ethnic outfit

A Senegalese female in her ethnic dress

GOREE ISLANDGOREE ISLAND

* Located 3 km east of

Dakar

* Population…1000

* Portuguese settled in 1444

* Stayed 150 years

View of Goree IslandGoree Island from the ferry

Goree Island…Goree Island…

One of the main ports where slaves from different parts of Africa were gathered before their horrendous journey across the Atlantic Ocean to the Caribbean and the Americas.

A room where slaves were weighed

Partial view of a room where slaves were housed

GoreeGoree reflects the brutality

of the Slave Trade.

This can be seen in the dungeons

that previously housed the slaves.

Holding room in House of Slaves Goree IslandGoree Island

View of two rooms from outside

GOREE ISLANDGOREE ISLAND

* French owned the island

in the 16th century

* The Europeans traded

slaves , gold, ivory, and

other commodities

Curator at the House of Slaves

Chains

held the slaves

in bondage

Ball attached to the chains

Standing above the slave rooms

Today,

Goree Goree is described as…

* ‘a wonderfully peaceful

place’

* It has no modern roads

* No modern modes of

transportation

Strolling beneath bougainvillea on Goree IslandGoree Island

Residents relaxing on Goree IslandGoree Island

View of Boabab trees Goree IslandGoree Island

Visit to a Boabab tree

SENEGAL,

WEST AFRICA

* Most Western country in

Africa

* Landscape…flat

A busy city scene

Bush Taxis

Resting

A Boabab tree and its ‘Monkey’ fruit

A hillside of nuts

Travelling in a donkey cart

Sheep crossing

Cattle crossing

Waiting for Bush Taxis

Recreation space outside the hospital near Diofor--a village located not far from Dakar

Breakfast before travelling from Diofor

Making the drum

SENEGAL,

WEST AFRICA

Major Rivers…

*The Senegal River

*The Casamance River

*The Gambia River

Located in middle of Senegal is the country of Gambia,

along its course the River Gambia meanders through:

* Bamboo Forests,

* Mangrove Swamps

The River borders on:

* “Cotton trees”… and

* The “Salt Flats”

* The River Gambia

Area unsuitable for irrigation because of

‘Saline Waters’ which go very far

upstream.

Strolling at the edge of the River Gambia

View of a rice field

Crossing the River Gambia

SENEGAL, WEST AFRICA

Ethnic groups…

* Peul or Fulani 12% live

North and East along

the Senegal River

* The Mandinke… Central

Eastern areas

* The Soninke… East

A mother and her children waiting to

cross the River Gambia

View of the River Gambia with boats

Waiting for the ferry

The Casamance SenegalCasamance Senegal...

* Located to the South of

the River Gambia

*Inhabited by ethnic group

Diola (JOU-lah)

* Fertile area

* Green and lush

DIOLA VILLAGE WASH DAY

CHILDREN IN THE DIOLA VILLAGE COMPOUND

A brother and a sister

Vegetables for lunch

Well in the backyard of the Diola home

Pounding maize

Traditional meal of fish and vegetables with okra condiment

Outside the living quarters in the Diola village compound

Outhouse in the Diola village

Making preparations for a meal

Some Peul villagers

Chief of the Peul village

Dawn in the Peul village and early activity

The village pet

The village lamb and chicken

Another view of the Peul village at dawn

The school teacher

Hotel in Toubab Diallao a village on the outskirts of Dakar

Second view of the hotel

Resting in a hammock outside the hotel

Beach at Toubab Diallao

Second view of the hotel

Resting in the garden of the hotel Toubab Diallo

Bendure, Glenda, and Ned Friary.Eastern Caribbean: a Lonely Planet Travel

Survival Kit. Berkeley CA: lonely Planet

Publications, 1994.

Newton, Alex, and David Else. West Africa: a

lonely Planet Survival Kit. Oakland CA:

lonely Planet Publications, 1995.

BibliographyBibliography

Maps provided by Central Intelligence Agency.

United States of America.

Sound Sound

African DrummingAfrican Drumming by Marilyn Middleton’s Dance Troop

Carribbean DrummingCarribbean Drumming by Jerry Victory

Chanting Nam-Myoho-Renge-KyoNam-Myoho-Renge-Kyo by Cheryl Gittens

Shaduh Uh Voodoo’Shaduh Uh Voodoo’ theme designed by Cheryl Gittens

Sound EngineeringSound Engineering by Keith Jones

Photography Photography

by

Cheryl Gittens and Lee Bouse

© Cheryl Gittens 1998.