and prejudices while taking a critical look with
a view at possibly eliminating any dysfunctional
aspects of the tradition.
Djibo SobukweSeealsoCandomblé; Vodou in Haiti; Yoruba
Further Readings
Gyekye, K. (1996).African Cultural Values: An
Introduction. Philadelphia: Sankofa.
Kamalu, C. (1990).Foundations of African Thought.
London: Karnak House.
Mbiti, J. (1970).African Religions and Philosophy.
New York: Anchor Books.
Price, R. (1996).Maroon Societies Rebel Slave
Communities in the Americas(3rd ed.). Baltimore:
Johns Hopkins University Press.
Stephen, H. (1985).Winti Afro-Surinaamse religie en
magische rituelen in Suriname en Nederland.
Amsterdam: Karnak.
Wooding, C. (1979).Winti: Een Afroamerikaanse
Godsdienst in Suriname. Meppel, Netherlands: Krips
Repro.
Zaalman, J. (2002).August, een bonoeman De beleving
van Winti. Paramaribo, Suriname: RALICON.
WOLOF
Traditionally, the Wolof language and people are
considered to have derived from Mali after the
fall of ancient Ghana. They were considered a
wide socially organized group referred to as the
Djolof Empire, which historically dwelled in the
northwestern part of Senegal in the 14th century.
A strong linguistic case has been made to show
that the western African Wolof people derive from
ancient Kemet.
The kinship between Wolof and Medu Neter
(ancient Egyptian language) is critical in pointing
out Wolof’s language heritage that is not solely
restricted to a 13th- or 14th-century blank slate
appearance. Languages are never isolated systems,
and there is always change.
More than 3 million people speak the Wolof
language, and they primarily dwell in the Senegal
and Gambia regions. The language could be
considered one of Africa’s most bonding lan-
guages. Wolof is a national language that is com-
monly spoken by many citizens of Senegal.
The Wolof people are family oriented. They are
intelligent, and many work as peanut and cotton
farmers and merchant traders of various other
products. The Wolof people predominately prac-
tice Islam, which was brought to Senegal from
Maurentania as early as the 11th century, but they
are not adverse to the use of the Wolof ritualist
referred to asjabarkat, for example, who makes
use of various religious devices to protect a person
specifically against evil spirits. Under Islam, there
is the use of brotherhoods led by khalifs who
have instituted a strong system of discipline and
discipleship.
As for the populated urban areas of Wolof
people, there is the capital city named Dakar
where a high concentration of Wolof people
reside. Dakar, Senegal, is geographically the most
western part of Africa. There are Wolof-speaking
people in Mali and Mauritania, as well as Gambia
and Guinea, but most Wolof are located in
Senegal.Jorge SerranoSeealsoBamanaFurther Readings
Diop, C. A. (1973).Introduction à l’étude des migrations
en Afrique centrale et occidentale: Identification du
berceau nilotique du peuple sénégalais. InBulletin
IFAN,série B, nº4, Sciences Naturelles, Annales de la
Faculté des Sciences, Dakar, Sénégal (West Africa).
Opoku, K. A. (1978).West African Traditional Religion.
Accra, Ghana: FEP International Private Ltd.WOMEN
Women occupy a paradoxical status in traditional
African communities. They possess power and
authority in their own right, but also live in some
societies that have been reluctant to value the role
of women equally alongside that of men. Africa
may have started with matriarchal societies, but
these were replaced with the intervention of both724 Wolof