The Serer (or Serrer, Serere as they are sometimes
known) make up less than 2%
of the population of The Gambia. They are traditionally fishermen and
boat builders and
can be found along the coastal regions, as well as the entrance to the Gambia
River and in particularly Barra. They and the
Jola are believed to the
original first migrants to inhabit the country.
Traditional Social Structure
The
Serer had about 5 social class groups. First there was the ruling
noble class, then there were the soldiers
or Tyeddo who surrounded the
ruling class, then there were the Jambur who were the free-born
commoners. Then came the group which belonged to a series of
lower castes
based on occupation (artisans) with the
griot being the most socially
significant and who frequently managed to amass great wealth. However,
like the Wollof there was a social taboo about marrying into griot
families and their bodies were not allowed to be buried in the ground but
instead were placed in the branches of large baobab trees! And finally
there were the slaves who are further divided into two types: domestic
and those captured in war or bought and sold. The system of
inheritance among the tribe was through the female line (matrilineal).
Political Structure
The Sere had a
Bur the highest office in the land and was in control of state affairs
and controlling the forces of nature. When he became quite elderly he
was ritually killed as their belief was that he was no longer able to
ensure the fertility of female members of the tribe or of livestock.
History:
One theory for their
origins are they came from Kaabu in Upper
Casamance about
400 years ago after a civil war ensued following the death of a
prominent chief. The losers of the war fled past Foni, across the
Gambia River and finally settled in Mbissel, present day Senegal. The
Soninke-Marabout wars however, displaced them yet again and a few
thousand refugees eventually arrived at Barra and later some crossed
the estuary to settle in Bathurst on
St. Mary's Island and along the coastal areas.
The
other theory is that they originally came from the territories north
of Senegal but were forced by more powerful people to move to
Futa
Toro in Senegal and came under the domination of
Tukulors. Later
around the 12th century the Wollof tribe forced them to move south
west to Sine-Saloum. They established small states there which later
expanded to include the Gambian states of
Wuli and Niani but
Sine-Saloum came under Mandinka control. However, Sere tradition, culture
and society prevailed so much so that the Mandinkas in these areas
absorbed their language, customs and culture.
Their Serer's new
Mandinka rulers were known as the Guelewarr (or Gelwar) who were a
branch of the tribe from Kaabu known as the Nyanchos. In the late
1300s under Mansa Wali Jon or as he became better known M'began N'dure
they gained control of Saloum from their Mandingo overlords and he
became Bur or king. By the mid 1500s they ruled both Sine and Saloum.
They were highly resistant to being converted to Islam so the
Soninke-Marabout wars of from the 1850s
onwards under
Maba Jakhu Bah was waged
against them which caused great devastation of the land and loss of
life. Many Serer fled to Barra, on the north bank of the River Gambia
to seek refuge and protection from the British. Some were later
allowed to cross the estuary to the island of St. Mary,
Bathurst and
the Kombo area. Other tribal members residing in Kaolack were also
forced to flee the wrath of the Jihadists and also moved south into
Gambia. They engaged in farming and fishing along the coastal villages
such as Bakau,
Gunjur, Kartong and
Brufut.
The states of Sine-Saloum
lost their independence in the latter part of the 19th century when
the French colonialists managed to subdue them during the
turbulence of the Soninke-Marabout wars. Both the Burs of Sine and
Saloum effectively signed away their independence in 1891 in a
treaties with the French making their states French protectorates. The
French agreed in return to allow the hereditary line to continue for both
rulers.
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