By Sanna Camara

Before the coming of televisions to the family sitting rooms and computer tablets or cell phones connected to wireless internet technologies or data from GSM operators, bedtime stories were told in the form of folklores – triumph of heroes and sheroes in stories of valour and adventures that irk little children’s imaginations and open their minds to community lifestyles through cultures – around fires at compound centers.

In the same vein, Tibadaa and Tibang singo (Thatching), a craft of building a roof with the use of dry vegetation called njamaloo, (a type of locally available grass) to shed water away from the inner roof is now becoming increasingly uncommon, thanks to modern iron roofing techniques that come with concrete and cement block housing across the country.

Yet, thatched-roofs are still an important source of shelter for a great number of the rural communities across The Gambia. Thatching has been historically a means of housing – both roofing, and, in other instances, even round-walls bulilt on aquatic environments to provide shelter for people and families. Njamaloo is harvested and plaited into braids to cover a roof or make a fence around the compound. At the apex of the roof, kukuwo (sticks) are covered by kumbirinyasso (grass) to shape the structure like a hat.

Despite its vulnerability to flames, strong winds and floods, it is considered a great method of disaster risk reduction and sustainable management of natural resources, that communities can easily put together and re-erect and easier-to-roof housing within hours after the disaster strikes.

Thanks to the Heritage Management Organisation in The Gambia in 2021, there have been 30 registered elements of The Gambia’s heritage that have been identified and designated as part of the national heritage of The Gambia, in partnership with the national Center for Arts and Culture and the Ministry of Tourism and Culture.

This register, covers not just thatched-roof heritage, but also the Hunting Devil of Banjul, the Manyobitoo (wedding ceremony) of Bakau and Kanifing Municipality, Bampurang janno (Mandinka), Mbotu (Wolof) for an indigenously hand-crafted baby wrapper, to oyster harvesting of Lamin village, and the Community Tribunal of Busumbala, the Tabulo of Badibu; and the Sutoo Kankurang of Niumi Kanuma…. These elements today all formed part of an inventory of Gambia’s cultural heritage that beckon preservation and proper management for future generations.

Heritage Management Project (HerMaP) Gambia, was never meant to be a one-time intervention in The Gambia, according to its Director, Evangelos Kyriakidis, speaking at the official closing ceremony of the event held in Bakau this week.

“Instead, it was designed as a catalyst for long-term capacity building, sustainable heritage management, and economic empowerment,” Dr Kyriakidis said. “We have seen firsthand the impact of this initiative: young entrepreneurs launching heritage-based businesses, local leaders gaining the skills to advocate for cultural preservation, and new partnerships emerging to protect The Gambia’s unique traditions and sites,” he said at a closing event where stakeholders gathered, including the Minister of Tourism and Culture Abd Jobe, representatives of the National center for Arts and Culture (NCAC), the National Commission for UNESCO and the National Assembly Select Committee on Tourism, Arts and Culure, all joined by project beneficiaries to discuss next plans as they drew the curtain on this one.

To Minister Jobe, HerMap Gambia Project has had a profound impact on the arts, culture and tourism community, aligning perfectly with the Ministry’s strategic goals of cultural preservation, capacity building, and the promotion of sustainable tourism development.

“The initiatives and milestones we have achieved, such as the establishment of the Heritage Club, the establishment of the Fulani Mud House Museum, the revitalization of Juffureh Village, and the development of the Intangible Cultural Heritage (ICH) Register, have been remarkable steps forward,” Minister Jobe said.

Through these efforts, The Gambia has documented 30 elements of intangible cultural heritage, ensuring that these treasures are safeguarded for future generations. According to Minster Jobe, the HerMaP project has not just deepened the country’s understanding of its history and traditions but has also provided a platform for local communities to actively engage in preserving and celebrating their heritage.

Hence the future of this cultural heritages is a shared responsibility for government, civil society, community-based organisations, traditional rulers and everybody’s to look after. As Minister Jobe said, this is an important cornerstone of Gambia’s development and a national identity.

“By protecting cultural sites and museums, The Gambia would be able to attract more tourists to the country.  This also will require growth in other related areas, such as the artisanal industry, hospitality industry, tour guides association, among other sectors,” EU’s Head of Cooperation in The Gambia, Enrica Pellacani, whose office co-funded the HerMaP project Gambia.

Through this project, the Gambia Youth Chamber of Commerce (GYCC) implemented a training for 15 youths on heritage management, supported five entrepreneurs in the heritage sector to exhibit at the OIC Trade Fair held in May 2024, thus – giving them market access and networking opportunities, revealed Fatima Muloshi, President, GYCC.

“There are a lot of people who are doing great with their minds, their hands and their environment, Modou lamin Gassama, CEO and Board Chairman, GYCC also said.  “They just need a slight touch so that they can get connected to some of the potentials that are yet to be exploited,” he added.

The keeping of the crocodile – more popular in bakau Katchikally and Folonko in Kartong, is known as Bamba Malayandoo in Mandinka. In Niumi Berending, it is fostered over a period of time as members of the bearer community avoid fishing from the stream in observance of a taboo. It is widely believed that whosoever hunts fish from the said stream shall encounters a mysterious death. This allows the crocodiles to fend freely on the fishes. The stream is visited by many people who go there to seek prayers from the sacred crocodiles and sometimes swim in its waters.

This is also important element of Gambian heritage registered by the NCAC, just is the salt harvesting in Kachang, Lower Badibu, or the wrestling and Kumpoo in Foni or the oral tradition of Foday Kabba Dumbuya la tariko or the Nyansing Denkiloo in Kiang – It is a national identity, which is why Dr Evangelos Kyriakidis, Heritage Director said the future of HerMaP Gambia belongs to all to shape: “The government, civil society, and the private sector must continue to work together to safeguard The Gambia’s cultural heritage and transform it into a pillar of national pride and prosperity.”

The Gambia’s National Centre for Arts and Culture (NCAC) and the Heritage Management Organization (HERITΛGE) have proudly launched The Gambia’s Intangible Cultural Heritage Register.

The Heritage Register, realised partly through this project, documents elements of The Gambia’s intangible cultural heritage (ICH) selected during the Pilot Inventory Project on the contribution of ICH to sustainable development in the country, along with the role of this heritage in Disaster Risk Reduction (DRR) as established by the field findings of research conducted in 2021. Both activities were funded by UNESCO.

“This Register is a great step forward in our desire to conserve, preserve and interpret Gambian culture,” Mr Hassoum Ceesay, Director General of the NCAC is reported as saying.

“The Register lists 30 elements of our ICH including the domain, description, bearer Community and pictures and videos to illustrate the element.”

Following the pilot inventory, the NCAC received extra funding to widen the inventory exercise to all Regions of The Gambia.

HERIΤΛGE is hosting the inventory on its digital infrastructure and working to enrich and disseminate the information included in the framework of the HerMaP Gambia program, an initiative co-funded by the European Union to upskill and strengthen the country’s heritage and tourism sectors.