Society-WOLOF

[Olùkọ́ Ọbádélé]

Society-WOLOF

The Wolof constitute a large ethnic group located mainly in the western
part of the former French West African colony of Senegal, and extending
southward into The Gambia--a former British colony. Wolof (Ouolof
in the standard French orthography) is the name by which the people
refer to themselves, and the label commonly used in scholarly publications.
But a large number of orthographic variants occur in the literature,
ranging from Chelofes, Guiolof, and Iolof, to Joloffs, Valaf, and
Yuloff.

The indigenous language is also called Wolof. It is classified within
the Northern Branch of the West Atlantic subfamily of the Niger-Congo
language family. The most closely related languages are Serer and
Fulbe (Fulani) (Greenberg 1966: 7-8, 25; Voegelin 1977: 28-29). The
Lebu, a separate ethnic group centered in the Cap Vert peninsula of
Senegal, speak a distinct Wolof dialect. The Wolof language is rapidly
becoming the national vernacular of Senegal. Members of other ethnic
groups are increasingly learning Wolof as a second language, especially
in the urban areas. It was recently estimated that 80 percent of Senegalese
speak Wolof (Nelson et al. 1974: 81).

The total Wolof population as of 1977 was approximately 1,500,000.
The great majority of this population falls within the area of northwestern
Senegambia. The northern boundary of this area is the Senegal River,
which flows from east to west at approximately lat. 16 degrees 30
minutes N; the Atlantic coast forms the western boundary, while the
southern boundary is marked by the Gambia River at roughly lat. 13
degrees 30 minutes N. There is no clear-cut eastern boundary, but
based on population distribution and density maps, it is possible
to set the effective eastern limit of the area at about long. 14 degrees
W. Some Wolof are distributed to the east and south of this area in
Senegambia, and it has been estimated that neighboring countries such
as Guinea, Mali, and Mauritania may each contain a few thousand Wolof.

As of 1963, the predominant ethnic groups in The Gambia were the Malinke
(130,000) and the Fulbe (70,000), while the Wolof ranked third with
a population of about 40,000, or about 13 percent of the total Gambian
population of 316,000. Except for those living within the city of
Banjul (formerly Bathurst) and its environs, most of the Wolof are
located north of the Gambia River.

Senegal is by far the most important national unit since this is where
approximately 95 percent of the Wolof are located. They constitute
the dominant ethnic group in Senegal both politically and numerically
as over one-third of the national population. The census of 1960-61
produced an estimate of 1,103,000 Wolof, which was about 35 percent
of the total Senegalese population (Pelissier 1966: 18-26). In 1971
the Wolof population of Senegal was estimated at 1,375,000, or about
36 percent of the total population of 3,800,000.

The first solid documentary information on the Wolof dates from the
travels of Ca da Mosto in 1455, but according to oral traditions,
the Wolof ethnic group may have been in the process of formation sometime
around the beginning of the thirteenth century. Probably during the
fourteenth century, the Wolof were unified into a loose political
federation known as the Djolof Empire centered in northwestern Senegal.
Around the middle of the sixteenth century, this empire fragmented
into its component parts, giving rise to the four major Wolof kingdoms
of Walo, Djolof proper, Cayor (Kayor), and Baol, running roughly from
north to south. The subsequent history of these kingdoms is rife with
political intrigue and exploitation, rebellions, and warfare both
against one another and against the Moors. As a result, their boundaries
fluctuated over time, but their relative locations and the core areas
of each remained stable for over 300 years.

European contacts with the Wolof began about the middle of the fifteenth
century, but they did not reach any major significance until the nineteenth
century. Gradually, a few commercial centers were established along
the coast, the principal ones being at St. Louis and Goree. The Europeans
were mostly interested in trade, and this centered on gum arabic and
slaves. Peanut-growing was introduced into Senegal about 1840, and
soon became the principal item of export, with the Cayor developing
as the main peanut-producing region. In the 1850s, primarily to protect
their economic interests, the French launched their first serious
attempts to conquer the Wolof kingdoms. Although the Wolof put up
a bitter resistance to French conquest, by the end of the century
they were completely subjugated and the French colonial administration
fully implanted. During this same period, and probably to a large
extent in reaction to French pressures and conquests, the Wolof, who
had a long and ambivalent involvement with Islam, became rapidly and
thoroughly Islamicized. The French also stimulated the development
of urban centers, which became the most profound sources of change
and Westernization during the twentieth century. Finally, these developments
generated two major migratory patterns among the Wolof, which continue
to the present day. First, the Wolof spread from their traditional
center in the northwest to the south and southeast of the main Serer
area in the Sine-Saloum, and eastward into the western Ferlo and the
region of Senegal Oriental. This migratory trend has been motivated
mainly by the search for new, more fertile lands for the commercial
exploitation of peanuts. The second migratory pattern is the persisting
movement from rural to urban areas, particularly in the post-World
War II period. Although the bulk of the Wolof, probably 70 to 75 percent,
are still rural villagers, the remainder constitute an important element
in many of the larger urban centers of Senegal.

The Wolof manifest a broad range of cultural variation and also share
many cultural features with neighboring peoples such as the Lebu,
Serer, and Tukulor. As Gamble (1957: vii) has clearly pointed out:
"The variability in Wolof culture means that almost every statement
made abnout them needs to be accompanied by a label as to time and
place." Several major components of variation will be discussed briefly.

Perhaps the most obvious distinction is that between the Senegalese
and the Gambian Wolof. The former were subjected to French colonization,
administration, education, linguistic and other cultural influences,
while the latter were subjected to the same range of influences by
a different European power, the British. This has resulted in important
cultural differences between these two groups of Wolof. The remainder
of this discussion will deal only with the Wolof of Senegal.

The most fundamental basis of distinction among the Senegalese Wolof
is the rural-urban differentiation. This does not include all urban
Wolof, however, but only that relatively small segment which is truly
urbanized and to a significant extent Westernized. Their importance
is much greater than their numbers would indicate, however, because
they constitute a part of the national elite.

Another dimension of variation, particularly among the rural Wolof,
consists of regional differences coinciding roughly with the domains
of the former kingdoms plus the more recent areas of settlement. Environmental
differences, the influence of the various neighboring cultural groups,
varying access to modes of transportation, etc., have all contributed
to regional demographic and sociocultural modifications.

A closely related element of variation is differences among rural
villages in the degree of urban influence and involvement in national
affairs. Villages fall along a continuum, from a quite isolated type
to a highly "progressive" type, where one finds a modern school, a
dispensary, national political party representation, etc. Greenfield's
studies (1966A, 1966B) have shown that the simple fact of children
having a few years of formal, Western-style education has a significant
impact on their cognitive development and orientation.

There are also religiously based variations. Nearly all Wolof are
Muslims and are organized mainly into two major Muslim brotherhoods.
Villages occupied largely or entirely by members of one of these brotherhoods,
the Muridiyya, differ in a number of respects from other Wolof villages,
particularly in social organization.

The final component of variation, which crosscuts all of the above,
is the time dimension. As previously indicated, the Wolof have a documented
history of over 500 years. Significant changes have occurred throughout
this history. Nevertheless, there has been a basic sociocultural continuity
to the extent that the earliest and most recent accounts of the Wolof
are remarkably similar in many respects.

Despite the differences outlined above, there are some major unifying
elements which contribute to the ethnic integrity and continuity of
the Wolof. These include a common language, a highly conscious sense
of ethnic identity and pride, the persistence of the traditional system
of social stratification (although in somewhat modified form) and
of basic patterns of kinship and marriage, a common religion, Islam,
along with the retention of crucial beliefs and practices from their
traditional magico-religious system, and common patterns of interpersonal
relations, with their associated emotional loadings. The following
sketch will focus upon the major patterns of life as manifested primarily
among the rural village Wolof of northwestern Senegal.

The Wolof mainly occupy a tropical, semi-desert environment called
the Sahel. Vegetation is sparse and the topsoil consists of loose
sand. Through most of this ecological zone there is no surface water,
so villagers must depend on wells for all of their domestic water
needs. The subsistence economy is based on agriculture which in turn
depends on rainfall, the key environmental factor. The year is divided
into two sharply distinct seasons, a rainy season lasting from June
into October, which is the agricultural period, and a dry season the
rest of the year. Unfortunately, there may be wide annual variations
in the amount of rainfall, and in some years the harvest is very poor--which
for many people means serious hunger if not actual starvation.

The basic subsistence crop and staple food is millet (primarily Pennisetum
gambicum), while the main cash crop is peanuts (Arachis hypogaea).
The second major foodstuff is rice, but it is not grown by most villagers
and must be purchased. Manioc (cassava) is often grown mainly as a
cash crop, but some is also eaten. Other vegetables are grown by a
few villagers, especially in the better watered region near the coast,
but most villagers must buy their vegetables. The predominant domestic
animals which serve as sources of meat are chickens, goats, and sheep.
The primary source of protein, however, is fish, which villagers usually
purchase in a dried or smoked form. Only a small percentage of Wolof
are fishermen. In each village a few people own cattle, but these
are considered more as a sort of wealth reserve than a food resource.
Beef tends to be eaten only when cattle are killed for a ceremonial
feast.

The average size of Wolof villages tends to be quite small, with a
mean population range of about 50 to 150 (Pelissier 1966: 135-59).
In a few regions, more favorable ecological conditions probably combined
with various socioeconomic and political factors have resulted in
larger villages. For instance, in the southern part of the Cayor,
villages seem to average from 300 to 350 in population size. There
is also an occasional village with a much larger population--1,000
to 2,000 people--usually due to special historical circumstances,
such as being the political center of a broad area.

Two types of settlement plans are found among most Wolof villages.
Probably the most traditional type is the plan according to which
a village consists of two or three completely separate groups of residential
compounds with no central focus. The other type consists of a nucleated
village with nearly all of the residential compounds grouped around
a central plaza. On the fringe of the plaza are often found small
shops and public buildings, and a mosque is usually located in the
center of the plaza. Many Wolof villages have an attached hamlet or
encampment of Fulbe (Peul) who "belong" to the village and herd their
cattle. Village social organization is reflected in the spatial organization.

Wolof society is characterized by a relatively rigid, complex system
of social stratification. This system consists of a series of hierarchically
ranked strata in which membership is ascribed by patri-filiation.
Although these strata are usually called "castes" (and less commonly,
"social classes") in the literature, here they will be referred to
as status groups. The status groups are organized into three major
hierarchical levels. The first of these is an upper or dominant level
called geer, which is pre-conquest times was divided into several
status groups including the garmi or royal lineages, the dom-i-bur
or nobility, and the jaambur or free-born commoners, the majority
of whom were small-scale cultivators called baadolo; these distinctions
may still be alluded to on special occasions, but essentially the
different strata have fused into a single status group which retains
the label geer. Second is a lower or artisan level called nyenyoo,
consisting of several occupationally-defined status groups. These
groups include the metalsmiths (teug), the leatherworkers (wude),
the weavers (rab), and the griots (gewel), who are the lineage genealogists,
musicians, and general carriers of gossip. The lowest level is composed
of the descendants of slaves (jaam), who are still called by that
term. The jaam are differentiated into subgroups which are named and
ranked according to the status of their former masters.

This stratification system is a crucial aspect of village social life,
and still retains a great deal of significance in the urban areas.
Membership in a particular status group coordinates with specific
social prerogatives and obligations which are ascribed, and which
are manifested in social behavior. Each status category tends to be
an endogamous unit, and the three major levels are strictly endogamous.
In the villages the geer usually hold all of the key political offices
and most of the dominant ritual roles rooted in Islam.

The basic social units in the village are locally recognized and spatially
demarcated residential groups usually occupying a single compound.
The Wolof term for these units is ker, while the French usually call
them "carres." The core of each ker generally consists of a patrilocal
extended family. The component family units tend to be polygynous.
The Wolof follow Islamic marriage laws which permit up to four legal
wives. There is also some preference for marriage with either cross-cousin.
The ker is a corporate group and has an official head, the borom ker,
who is the senior male of the dominant family unit. The borom ker
allocates the fields to be cultivated by the ker members, settles
minor disputes within the ker, and represents the ker in important
village affairs. The ker may or may not constitute a single household.
The main exceptions occur in the case of the larger ker which often
incorporate an unrelated family unit of a lower status category. The
head of that family unit stands in a client-patron relationship with
the borom ker.

Groups of contiguous ker are usually related patrilineally, and form
localized patrilineal lineages. The patrilineal lineage (genyoo) is
the pivotal kin group at the politico-jural level. The patrilineages
are the groups that control the land, and they are the crucial units
from the standpoint of property inheritance and usufruct. Political
rank and the control of political offices in the village are also
determined primarily by patrilineage affiliation. The senior male
of a patrilineage is its official head (laman). This title is often
interpreted in economic terms, since it is he who actually "controls"
the lands of the patrilineage, and usually receives the tithe or waref
for the use of these lands. The waref is generally equivalent to 10
percent of the production or income from a field. The Senegalese government
has been making strenuous attempts to change this traditional system
of land control which it considers exploitative.

The Wolof also recognize a matrilineal descent line, the men. This
is not a corporate group, and it has no basic politico-jural functions.
Therefore, the Wolof do not have a true double descent system--at
least at the village level in modern times. It is true that royal
matrilineages played a significant social role within the traditional
kingdoms, but there are no data as to whether matrilineages were also
found at the commoner level.

The importance of Islam among the Wolof has already been noted. In
fact, it would be very difficult for a convert to Christianity to
continue living in a Wolof village. The two dominant Muslim brotherhoods
(tariqas) among the Wolof are the Tijaniyya and the Muriddiyya. Men
become members of a brotherhood upon circumcision. They normally follow
the brotherhood of their fathers. Women become members of a brotherhood
upon marriage, joining the same one as their husbands'. The basic
complimentary religious roles are those of taalibe, a disciple or
follower, and marabout (serigne), a kind of religious leader. There
is an intricate hierarchy of marabouts ranging from those who have
only an elementary knowledge of the Koran and little influence, up
to the powerful khalifs who head the brotherhoods. The most common
function of marabouts at the village level is to make protective amulets
worn by all villagers, and for which the marabout receives a fee.
These amulets consist of passages from the Quran written on slips
of paper encased in leather packets. Various types of amulets are
believed to have the power to protect the wearer from injuries, illness,
evil spirits, witchcraft, or other misfortunes.

The Wolof villager does not see any contradiction between his or her
adherence to Islam and a continuing adherence to many traditional
(i.e. Pre-Islamic) magico-religious beliefs and practices. In fact,
probably even the practice of circumcision is pre-Islamic, since it
is traditionally performed by a blacksmith, and the ritual specialist
who is in charge of a group of boys scheduled for circumcision occupies
a completely non-Islamic role. Each village usually has several traditional
ritual specialists. Some specialize in the treatment of snake bites,
others in the treatment of mental illness, and so forth. One of the
most prominent traditional ritual roles is that of the jabarkat. This
person is a combination magician, shaman, and sorcerer. Just as the
marabout, he is frequently called upon to make protective amulets,
but in this case the amulets contain pieces of roots or plants rather
than passages from the Koran. Finally, the traditional system emphasizes
beliefs in evil spirits and witches, and the need to protect oneself
from the harm they may do. A great deal of anxiety and fear is associated
with these beliefs, and they constitute the most emotionally "loaded"
aspect of Wolof culture.

Gamble (1957) is a general survey of Wolof history and culture based
mostly on the literature, but including some of his own data from
fieldwork in The Gambia. This is still a useful introduction to Wolof
ethnography.

Irvine (1974) is another of the most important studies available on
the Wolof. She focuses on a sociolinguistic analysis of caste and
communication in a Wolof village called Ker Matar (a pseudonym) located
in the southern Cayor of Senegal. In the process, she also manages
to present a fairly comprehensive village ethnography.

Culture summary by Robert O. Lagace



Gamble, David P. The Wolof of Senegambia, together with notes on the Lebu and the Serer.
London, International African Institute, 1957.
110 p. Illus., maps.
Greenberg, Joseph H. The languages of Africa.
Bloomington, Indiana University, 1966.
Greenfield, Patricia Marks.
On culture and conservation.
In Jerome S. Bruner, et al.
Studies in Cognitive Growth;
a Collaboration at the Center for Cognitive Studies.
New York, John Wiley and Sons, 1966A: 225-256, 327-334.
Greenfield, Patricia Marks.
On culture and equivalence: II.
By Patricia Marks Greenfield, Lee C. Reich, and Rose R. Oliver.
In Jerome S. Bruner, et al.
Studies in Cognitive Growth;
a Collaboration at the Center for Cognitive Studies.
New York, John Wiley and Sons, 1966B: 270-318.
Irvine, Judith Temkin.
Caste and communication in a Wolof village.
Ann Arbor, University Microfilms, 1974.
1, 66, 484 l. Maps, tables.
(University Microfilms Publications, no.
74-14,082) Dissertation (Anthropology)--University of Pennsylvania, 1973.
Nelson, Harold D. Area handbook for Senegal.
By Harold D. Nelson et al.
2d ed.
Washington, D. C., U. S. Government Printing Office, 1974.
Pelissier, Paul.
Les paysans du Senegal: les civilisations agraires du Cayor a la Casamance [The peasants of Senegal: the agrarian civilizations from the Cayor to the Casamance].
Saint-Yrieux (Haute-Vienne), Imprimerie Fabregue, 1966.
Voegelin, C. F. And F. M. Voegelin.
Classification and index of the world's languages.
New York, Elsevier, 1977.


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