Family

[Olùkọ́ Ọbádélé]

Family

The African family, and Wolof in particular, is considered in a very much wider sense than the Occidental family. It put a very strong emphasis on the line of parents having the same ancestors and includes not only the parents and the children but also the grandparents, the uncles and aunts, the nephews and nieces, the cousins, and so on.

The term njaboot (literally: “those that are carried on the back”) only indicates the offspring and waa juur (“those that have given birth”) the parents themselves. It is the word mbokk (“belonging” , to bokk = “belong to”) that comprises all the members of the Wolof family; the family as such normally is called kër, that is “the house”.

Every member of the family has his role which is shown at the occasion of ceremonies. For example, the uncle, nijaay or najaay, ("let him sell”) is the one who marries his nephews and nieces.

Recently, under the French influence, the traditional family has a tendency to becoming set up in the restricted form of parents and children; to this form the word famic is given, from French “famille”.

In order to describe the Wolof family, it is to be noted that uterine lineage, meen (“mother’s milk"). On top of this gêno (“girdle”). This secondary role has been reinforced by the introduction of Islam and later the French system.

Therefore, the Wolof consider that the mother (nday or ndey) brings the:

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blood (derat)
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flesh (soox)
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character (jiko)
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intelligence (xel)
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possibly a magic power (ndëmm) powerful enough to “eat” someone's soul

Sayings such as nday ndëmm (“mother = witch”), xel danu koy namp (“the intelligence comes from mother’s bosom”), or doom ja, nday ja (“such mother, such daughter”) show the important role of the mother.

The father (baay), on the other hand, brings the:

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bones (yax)
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nerves (siddit)
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courage (fit)
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magic power (nooxoor), although much less powerful than the mother’s and incapable of “eating” the soul.

The father transmits the family name (sant), but one can still find in Africa ethnic groups where the name indicates belonging to the same uterine lineage, to the same meen (for example the Dyoos among the Serer).

Note: Sometimes the uterine lineage is identified by adding the mother name to a boy’s first name (sometimes with the prefix ma- to show the masculine form. Therefore a man could have a name like Lat Dior N’goné Latir Diop where N’gone is the forename of the mother, possibly transformed to Mangone. However, this tradition is disappearing.

[Olùkọ́ Ọbádélé]

La Famille
bokk to share
mbokk person whom you share, network: family, neighbors, contacts
boot to carry
jaboot people you carry on your back: immediately family, parents, brothers, sisters, children, people in your home

Nit, nitay garabam--A person is a person's remedy.

If you have a problem, you go to your mbokk to find a solution. Therefore, never break relationships. If you break a relationship, God will break something in your life.

Your mbokk are people who help you climb the tree. When you get to the top and get the fruit, you should bring it down and share it with those who helped you get there.