Wolof people

The Wolof are an ethnic group found in Senegal, The Gambia, and Mauritania.

In Senegal, the Wolof form an ethnic plurality with about 40% of the population self-identifying as Wolof. They are also the majority in the region stretching from Saint-Louis in the north, Kaolack in the south, and Dakar to the west. However, there are few Wolof who reside in Casamance.

In The Gambia, about 15% of the population are Wolof. Here, they are a minority, where the Madinka are the majority with 40% of the population, yet Wolof language and culture have a disproportionate influence because of their prevalence in Banjul, The Gambia's capital, where 50% of the population are Wolof.

In Mauritania, about 7% of the population are Wolof. They live largely in the southern coastal region of the country.

Culture

Language

"Wolof" is the name of the native language of the Wolof people (see Wolof language). Because 80% of Senegal's population speak Wolof, Wolof culture and language have an enormous influence.

Religion

Orthography

In older French publications the spelling "Ouolof" is often used instead of "Wolof". In some English publications, predominantly those referring to Gambian Wolof, the spelling "Wollof" is used, because this spelling will induce native English speakers to pronounce the term correctly as a Wolof speaker. In publications of the 19th century and before the spelling "Volof" and "Olof" can also be found. Rarely used are also the spellings "Jolof", "Jollof" and "Dyolof". - The term "Wolof" itself may also refer to the Wolof language or to things originating from Wolof culture or tradition.

Bibliography

Michel Malherbe, Cheikh Sall: Parlons Wolof - Langue et culture. L'Harmattan, Paris, France 1989, ISBN 2-7384-0383-2.
Gabriele Aïscha Bichler: Bejo, Curay und Bin-bim? Die Sprache und Kultur der Wolof im Senegal (mit angeschlossenem Lehrbuch Wolof). Europäische Hochschulschriften Band 90. Peter Lang Verlagsgruppe, Frankfurt am Main, Germany 2003, ISBN 3-631-39815-8.
Arame Fal, Rosine Santos, Jean Léonce Doneux: Dictionnaire wolof-français (suivi d'un index français-wolof). Karthala, Paris, France 1990, ISBN 2-86537-233-2.
Rolf Goetz: Senegal - Gambia: Praktischer Reiseführer an die Westküste Afrikas. Verlag Peter Meyer Reiseführer, Frankfurt am Main, Germany 1996, ISBN 3-922057-09-8.

External links