GriotA griot (ˈɡriːoʊ; ɡʁi.o; Manding: jali or jeli (in N'Ko: ߖߋߟߌ, djeli or djéli in French spelling); kevel or kewel / okawul; gewel) is a West African historian, storyteller, praise singer, poet, and/or musician. The griot is a repository of oral tradition and is often seen as a leader due to their position as an advisor to members of the royal family. As a result of the former of these two functions, they are sometimes called bards. They also act as mediators in disputes.
SaloumThe Kingdom of Saloum (Serer language: Saluum or Saalum) was a Serer/Wolof kingdom in present-day Senegal. Its kings may have been of Mandinka/Kaabu origin. The capital of Saloum was the city of Kahone. It was a sister kingdom of Sine. Their history, geography and culture were intricately linked and it was common to refer to them as the Sine-Saloum. Saloum, just like its sister kingdom (the Kingdom of Sine), is known for its many ancient burial mounds or "tumuli" containing the graves of kings and others.
TakrurTakrur, Tekrur or Tekrour ( 800 – c. 1285) was a state based in the Senegal River valley in West Africa which was at its height in the 10th and 11th centuries, roughly parallel to the Ghana Empire, but lasted in some form into the 18th century. There are a number of conflicting theories about the origin of the Kingdom of Takrur. It was first mentioned in Arab sources only in the 10th century, but was already well established by that time. The formation of the state may have taken place as an influx of Fulani from the east settled in the Senegal valley.
Senegambian languagesThe Senegambian languages, traditionally known as the Northern West Atlantic, or in more recent literature sometimes confusingly as the Atlantic languages, are a branch of Atlantic–Congo languages centered on Senegal, with most languages spoken there and in neighboring southern Mauritania, Gambia, Guinea-Bissau, and Guinea. The transhumant Fula, however, have spread with their languages from Senegal across the western and central Sahel.
