The Gambia can boast of a rich and diverse music culture owing to a multi ethnic and cultural society. More…
About the videos: These videos(except where specified) are from the late 1980's recorded by the Gambia Film Unit during the first Jangjanbureh cultural festival. Jangjangbureh is a town, founded in 1832 , on Janjanbureh Island in the River Gambia in eastern Gambia . It was formerly known as Georgetown and was the second largest in the country. It is now best known as home to Gambia's main prison . The Wassu stone circles lie near the town . {Note: I am working on a flash video player for this page so for now my apologies for the 'scrolling'}
Lenjengo is a dance of the Mandinka tribe. It can be played for a variety of occasions at different times of the year. Typically performed at the end of a harvest, featuring female dancers carrying 'sawundangs', implements used for separating chaff from grains after the millet, maize or coos have been ground. Other dance/drumming types include Sewruba or Fere, Nyaakaa Julo('young mother's play') initiation ceremony.
Kankurang dancers line-up young boys for the final celebrations after spending weeks in the forest where they underwent circumcision and introduction into manhood.
Bugarabu drumming accompanied with singing
and dancing is a music style of
the Jola ethnic group of the Gambia
and Senegal. A dance which was
performed at funerals of the society
elders has today lost some of this
connection and is also performed
during naming and marriage ceremonies
Traditional Mandinka wedding songs and dance
Mandinka wedding songs and dance-continued. The
final stage in the ceremony where the bride in the company of
elderly women walks to meet the bridegroom(watch the smile on
his face).
Short history of Mansa Janlali and some
old scary tradition. Please share
with us if you know more about
the video than we do.
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