GAMBIAN MANDINKA

The Mandinka of the Gambia are the western branch of the Mande peoples; they look back to the time of Sunjata and the leadership of Tira Magan Traore for their origins (the text of Bamba Suso in Innes 1974 illustrates this perception). In the 18^th and 19^th centuries, the society was dominated by the nyanchos, a warrior aristocracy devoted to slave-raiding for the Atlantic trade; the figure of Kelefa Sane evokes the ethos of this period. Around 1867, ongoing hostilities with the Muslim Fulbe of the Futa Jallon led to warfare, and the Almami of Timbo led an army that captured Kansala, capital of Kaabu. In a sense, the modern Gambia dates from this period.

This listing includes Sunjata texts and hunters' narratives that also appear separately in the specialized sections. Following the table of performances is a list of sources and secondary readings.

Sherif Jabarteh	Kinte History Wright 1979, pp. 117-123	Mandinka English	ca. 1975
	Kelefa Sanneh and Niumi/Jokadu Wright 1979, pp. 95-109	Mandinka English	1 Jan. 1975
Unus Jata	History of Niumi Wright 1979, pp. 30-40	Mandinka English	Sept. 1974
Amadou Jebate	La jeunesse de Soundiata Recueil de littérature pp. 108-125	Mandinka bilingual -F	ca, 1980
Amadu Jebate	Janke Waali Innes 1976, pp. 31-71	Mandinka bilingual	April 1969
Ba Ansu Jebate	Musa Molo Innes 1976, pp. 181-254	Mandinka bilingual	pre-1969
Shirif Jebate	Kelefa Saane Innes 1978, pp. 79-115	Mandinka bilingual	pre-1968
Bakari Kamara	Mambi and the Crocodile Innes and Sidibe 1990, pp. 15-73	Mandinka English	1969
	Mammadu and the Great Beast Innes and Sidibe 1990, pp. 74-120	Mandinka English	1969
Banna Kanute	Sunjata Innes 1974, pp. 136-259	Mandinka bilingual	1969
Dembo Kanute	Faa Koli Innes 1974, pp. 260-323.	Mandinka bilingual	1968
Sana Kuyate	Battle of Kansala Sidibe 1980	Mandinka English	pre-1980
Kemo Kuyate	Early History of Niumi (Jasey) Wright 1979 pp. 73-89	Mandinka English	15 Sept. 1974
Samba Laoube and Boubacar Senn	Guelowar History Wright 1979, pp. 149-170	Mandinka English	4 Feb. 1975
Afang Lasana Saane	The Battle of Kansala Trilling, Sourcebook pp. 6-11	Mandinka English	ca. 1980
Saajo Saane	Battle of Kansala Trilling Sourcebook, pp. 13-22	Mandinka English	ca. 1980
Abdoulie Samba	Early Gambian history Wright 1979, pp. 129-140	Mandinka English	12 Nov. 1974
Bamba Suso	Sunjata Innes 1974, pp. 34-135	Mandinka Bilingual	1969
	Musa Molo Innes 1976 pp. 127-180	Mandinka bilingual	1969
	Fode Kaba Innes 1976, pp. 255-306	Mandinka bilingual	1969
	Kaabu Mandinka Innes 1976 pp. 72-126	Mandinka bilingual	1969
	Kelefa Saane Innes 1978, pp. 28-78	Mandinka bilingual	pre-1968
Various	Local histories Cissoko and Sambou 1974	Mandinka bilingual F	1969

REFERENCES
Sources

Sékéné-Mody Cissoko and Kaoussou Sambou. Recueil des Traditions Orales des Mandingues de Gambie et de Casamance. Niamey, CELHTO, 1974.

Kandioura Drama, ed. "Epopée de Naling Sonko (Gabou)." Dakar: IFAN. Paper presented at the Conference on Gabou.

Ethiopiques 28 (July-Oct. 1981). Special Issue: Actes du colloque international sur les traditions orales du Gabou.

Gordon Innes, ed. and trans. 1974. Sunjata: Three Mandinka Versions. London, School of Oriental and African Studies.

-----. 1976. Kaabu and Fuladu: Historical Narratives of the Gambian Mandinka. London, School of Oriental and African Studies.

-----. Kelefa Saane: His Career Recounted by Two Mandinka Bards. London, SOAS, 1978.

Gordon Innes and Bakari Sidibe, eds. and trans. Hunters and Crocodiles: Narratives of a Hunters' Bard Performed by Bakari Kamara. Sandgate, Paul Norbury/Unesco. 1990.

Amadu Jebaate.1980. "La jeunesse de Soundiata." ed. and trans. D. Creissels and S. Jatta. Recueil de Littérature Mandingue. Paris. pp. 108-125.

Bakari Sidibe. The Battle of Kansala, recided by Sana Kuyate. Banjul, Oral History and Antiquities Division, 1980. Paper Presented at a Conference on the History of Gabou, Dakar.

Alex Trilling. "A Sourcebook on the Fall of Kansala and the Life of Janke Waali." Banjul, Oral History and Antiquities Division, 1980. Paper Presented at a Conference on the History of Gabou, Dakar.

Donald Wright. Oral Traditions from the Gambia: volume 1. Mandinka Griots. Athens, Ohio. Ohio University Center for International Studies, 1979.

Donald Wright. Oral Traditions from the Gambia: volume 2. Family Elders. Athens, Ohio. Ohio University Center for International Studies. 1980.

See Also:

Alice Bellagamba. Ricordati di ieri: Storia e storie in una regione del Gambia. Torino: L'Harmattan Italia, 2000.

Djibril T. Niane. Histoire des Mandingues de l'ouest. Paris: Karthala, n.d. (1989?)

Charlotte Quinn. Mandingo Kingdoms of the Senegambia. Evanston: Northwestern University Press, 1972.

Christian Roche. "Les trois Fode Kaba." Notes Africaines 128 (Oct. 1970), pp. 107-111

Patience Sonko-Godwin. Ethnic groups of the Senegambia Region: Social and Political Structures. Banjul: Government Printers, 1986.

------. Ethnic Groups of the Senegambia Region: A Brief History. Second Edition. Banjul, Sunrise Publishers, 1988.

-----. Leaders of the Senegambia Region: Reactions to European Infiltration, 19^th -20th Century. Banjul: Sunrise Publishers, 1995.

Donald Wright. "Kaabu and Niumi." Paper presented to the conference on Manding Studies. London, 1972.

------. The Early History of Niumi. Ohio University, Center for International Studies. Africa Series No. 32. 1977.

------. "Koli Tengela in Sonko Traditions of Origin." History in Africa 5 (1978), pp. 257-271.

------. "The Epic of Kelefa Sane as a Guide to the Nature of Precolonial Senegambian Society -- and Vice Versa." History in Africa 14 (1987), pp. 287-309.

-----. The World and a Very Small Place in Africa. Armonk: M. E. Sharpe, 1997.

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