354 Jola
JOLA
The Jola, Dyola, Diola, or Yola (people) reside
primarily on the Atlantic coast between the south-
ern banks of the Gambia River, the Casamance
region of Southern Senegal, and the northern part
of Guinea-Bissau. Diola society has long been
characterized by regional diversity.
The cultivation of rice is perhaps the oldest eco-
nomic activity, but Diola people are also skilled in
other traditional economic activities, such as fish-
ing, farming groundnuts, taping palm wine, and
processing palm oil. They also raise cows, pigs,
goats, chickens, sheep, and ducks. They are skilled
at crafts such as basket weaving, pottery, and
house building.
Hundreds of years before the introduction of
Christianity or Islam, the Diola people believed in
Emit or Ata Emit (Person of the sky) as the
Creator God. The Esulalu, a cogroup of Diola
people, say thatEmitai, the Supreme Being of the
sky, created the Earth, its peoples, and various
types of religious paths for different peoples to
seek spiritual assistance in resolving the problems
of human existence. Emitai created and continues
to create various types of spirit shrines called
ukine that serve as intermediaries between the
Diola and their Supreme Being.
Adebayo Adesanya (a Yoruba writer), John S.
Mbiti, and others depict the Creator God as man-
ifested in all elements of nature in traditional
African philosophy. Religion, social theory, land
law, medicine, birth, and death are all interrelated.
Hence, for traditional Africans, there is no division
between sacred and secular. Although there are
differences in the nuances of language among the
Diola people, general themes emerge in terms of
religious and political practices. For example, one
major theme that emerges is that the political
system is based on collective consciousness totally
linked to the religious belief of supernatural spirits
known asBakin,Eneerti, and MandinkaJalang.
Before Islamization of the northern Diola, each
extended family maintained a shrine calledbekin
orenaati,depending on the region.
Thousands of years ago in African societies, ani-
mals, birds, and reptiles were recognized as double
or twin spirits of human beings. These twin spirits
were established as a major component of a cultural
system in Africa. J. David Sapir describes the Diola-
Kujamaat double or twin system as a “totemic
system.” Totemic doubles (human/animal doubles)
are called anewúúm(pl.siwúúm), which literally
means “result of transformation.” Sapir makes it
clear thatewúúmonly refers to the animal double
and not reincarnation. Some animal doubles are
antelopes, leopards, monkeys, snakes, lizards, and,
on rare occasions, a hyena or a crocodile; in the bird
family, vulture, and in the fish family, the biting fish.
Doubles are always the same sex, that is, men’s
double are males and women’s doubles are
females. Men’s doubles include antelopes, leopards,
and monkeys that live in the bush, whereas
women’s doubles include antelopes, lizards, and
snakes that reside in the residential compound.
According to Ogotemmêli, the late Dogon priest
from Mali, “every human family was part of a
long series of creatures.” When a human is born,
somewhere an animal (the human’s twin) is born.
Ogotemmêli’s twin animal was the antelope.
Funeral andBukut (boys’ initiation) are two
of the most prominent rituals among the Diola
people. Before the influence of Islam and
Christianity, the Diolas placed great respect in the
proper observation of the funeral ritual. Both of
these rituals required enormous amounts of food,
which included rice, meat (usually cattle), and
palm wine. This food is required to feed the entire
local population as well as visitors for a week or
more. The traditional African belief is that a
proper funeral ensured that the dead person’s soul
would return to and enter the presence of the cre-
ator (Ata Amit) and join with his or her ancestors.
The ancient ritual ofBukut, or initiation, takes
place every 20 to 25 years for an entire generation
of men between the ages of 12 and 35. Many men
living abroad return to their local regions to par-
ticipate in the ritual ofBukut. Likeporosocieties
in West Africa,bukuttakes place in the sacred for-
est. Elders and spiritual leaders teach the initiates
ancestral secret knowledge as well as practical
knowledge while secluded for a period of time in
the sacred forest.
Bukut is a village (community) event that
includes public celebrations such as singing, danc-
ing, feasting, and shooting ancient trade muskets
or homemade cannons; these acts of celebration
are performed by those who have been initiated as
well as by the neophytes. Women also play a