THE THREE INTERVALS OF CIRCUMCISION IN THE GAMBIA (An Article About Culture )

Welcome back to the blog of 'The Voice of the Pen' that comes your way every Friday. It's good to see you here. How was your weekend last week? I vomited twice yesterday morning in the presence of my boss-lady, and she looked at me somehow. Should I remind her that I am a man and not pregnant? (laughs 😂) I wasn't feeling wellaftergdevelopingd a sickness while trying to adapt to my new environment. My weekend was great because I am not married, have no time for women, and actuallyhadtfewers things to do during the weekend. However, I spent my weekend reading my books and gettingreadytfor ther resumption ofschools in October  How about you?In this blog post, you will learn "HOW CIRCUMCISION IS TRADITIONALLY DONE IN GAMBIA".  To get started, let me humbly remind you thatTheeGambia) is one of the smallest countries in Africa. It's alsocalledl the Smiling Coast of Africa because of the navigable RiverGambia  and the hospitable people of thecountry,y known for their hospitality, peace,love,e and unity. There areeightt(8)) actual ethnic groups in TheGambia,a and eachhase their own way of preserving their culture, caste, language clothing, dancee,  music, cooking, etc.


Each of these eight tribes speaks their own language and at least two or more other local languages of The Gambia, which is not actually their tribe. Although the official language of The Gambia is English, the "lingua franca," meaning a language commonly used in trade, is Wolof. Having said this, I would also like to tell you that most of the people of The Gambia shared common values, cultures, food, and caste with their neighboring country, Senegal. Almost three-quarters of all The Gambians have family members or relatives living in Senegal, which surrounded The Gambia on three sides except for the Atlantic Ocean. History has reliably and ceremoniously told us that all of the people in The Gambia came from Casamance, Futa Toro in Guinea-Conakry,  Senegal, Sierra Leone, Mali, Guinea-Bissau, and other West African countries to actually build the country today called The Gambia. Therefore, no tribe owns The Gambia because the settlers there all came from somewhere. Although some history books say the Gambia belongs to the Mandinkas,.

ETHNIC GROUPS OF THE GAMBIA

The largest ethnic group in The Gambia is the MANDINKA (Mandingos), whose origin is Kangaba or Manding in the Ancient Mali Empire. The WOLOFS are the second-largest ethnic group in The Gambia and are mainly found in the capital city of Banjul, in some villages, and in the Senegambia area. The FULAS (Fulanis) or Pol Futa are the third largest ethnic group in The Gambia and are engaged in herding cattle and trading; almost three-quarters of all businesses in The Gambia are owned and run by them. The JOLAS, or Jola, are the backbone of The Gambia and are mainly involved in the cultivation of rice, farming, and agriculture. The majority of them are found in the Foni district of the West Coast Region (WCR) of The Gambia.

The SERAHULES, or Sarahule people, are the traders and property owners of The Gambia. They can be found in their largest numbers in the district of Upper River Rigion (URR), and most of the rich men of The Gambia are Sarahules who are settled in the urban areas of the country.

The SERER ethnic group of The Gambia are involved in fisheries and have customs, and their culture and language are very similar to the Wolof because most of them are a mixture of Wolof and Fula, or other tribes.

Lastly, there are other minority ethnic groups in The Gambia known as the
'BALANTA', the 'AKUS', and the 'MANJAGOS.' But the Creoles, or Akus, are mostly Christians who are descendants of freed slaves who first came to The Gambia in 1787 from Sierra Leone.


Having known all the ethnic groups of The Gambia, let's now discuss CIRCUMCISION, which is common amongst them and almost done the same way, except for a few. In The Gambia, all ethnic groups except for a few usually circumcise their young boys before they reach puberty, and for the young girls, before they see their menstrual blood. Though the tradition is being eroded, particularly in urban areas, it is more adhered to in the country in towns and villages. The traditional ceremony is called 'Kuiyangho' in Mandingo or 'Harraf' or 'Lél' in Wolof, and these names have also been adopted by all the other ethnic groups of The Gambia, although each of them has their own specific names.

The circumcision ritual is done in two different ways: at home or at the hospital. This is mostly done by those Gambians living in urban areas, and middle-class men and women prefer this for their families. And the second type, which is the best type of circumcision traditionally done in The Gambia, involved young boys and girls being led away inside the bush for a number of days, months, or weeks while they were being initiated into manhood or womanhood and taught certain things such as respect for elders, the names and uses of some herbs, the names of birds and animals, tribal traditions, how to keep oneself away from sex before marriage, male and female responsibilities, etc.

The circumcised boys are called 'Kambano', and the circumcised girls are called 'Suunkuto', and the uncircumcised boys and girls are both called 'Solima' in Mandingo, respectively. The circumcision ritual is very dark and secretive, so much so that the secrets must not be revealed to anyone. In Mandingo society, it is the 'Kankurang' who leads the initiates into the bush and is supposed to protect them from evil spirits during their stay for weeks or months. The Kankurang is a traditional Mandingo masquerade that originated from Cassamance in Senegal,  and the masquerade is worn by men of proven integrity who not only evoke words to drive away the evil spirits but also see them live as they live with men in societies. The Kankurang therefore has the power to fight and defeat even genies and demon spirits. This is an image of the Kankurang in three different masquerades. The first one is called 'Chorimama', the one in the middle is called 'Faraa Kankurango', and the last one is called 'Boto Kankurango'.

In The Gambia, circumcision is done in three intervals, namely:

1. The Initiation Ceremony (the circumcision itself),
2. The Traditional Education Programme for the Circumcised, and
3. The celebration

The people who circumcise are called 'Munkanoo' for males or 'Ngansimbaa' for females. The intitiates are called 'Nyanssinyo' in Mandinka and 'Njunlit' in Wolof. Aside from the three types of Kankurangs discussed above, there are other three types of masquerades that protect the initiates both before and after their circumcission. But the most efficient and fearful is called the 'Fambondy'.
The Fambondy is the most dangerous masquerade that comes out a few days before the celebration, in the middle of the initiation, and also on the day of the celebration. The Fambondy have the power to fly and be invisible to everyone except strong-headed people.

                    This is a picture of the Fambondy

The Kumpo is a Jola masquerade that comes out during the first week of circumcision, few days before the celebration, and on the day of the celebration. The Kumpo sees with its heart and brain. As you can see, its mask covers its entire face- and ordinary people don't wear this masquerade. It is worn by soothsayers among men.

Jamba Kankurango is another Mandingo masquerade. It is fearless because it only comes out on the day of the celebration- and its purpose is to celebrate the initiates and lead them into dancing in order to free them from the pain of circumcision and the dark secrets involved.