Portal:The Gambia

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The Gambia Portal

The Gambia, officially the Republic of the Gambia, is a country in West Africa. Geographically, The Gambia is the smallest country in continental Africa; it is surrounded by Senegal, except for its western coast on the Atlantic Ocean. It is situated on both sides of the lower reaches of the Gambia River, which flows through the centre of the country and empties into the Atlantic Ocean. The national namesake river demarcates the elongated shape of the country, which has an area of 11,300 square kilometres (4,400 sq mi) and a population of 2,468,569 people in 2024. The capital city is Banjul, which has the most extensive metropolitan area in the country; the second- and third-largest cities are Serekunda and Brikama.

Arab Muslim merchants traded with native West Africans in The Gambia throughout the 9th and 10th centuries. In 1455, the Portuguese were the first Europeans to enter The Gambia, although they never established significant trade there. The region was made a part of the British Empire by establishment of a colony in 1765, and exactly 200 years later, in 1965, The Gambia gained independence under the leadership of Dawda Jawara. Jawara ruled until Yahya Jammeh seized power in a bloodless 1994 coup, with Jammeh ruling until 2017. Adama Barrow became The Gambia's third president in January 2017, after defeating Jammeh in the December 2016 elections. Jammeh initially accepted the results, but then refused to leave office, triggering a constitutional crisis and military intervention by the Economic Community of West African States that resulted in his removal two days after his term was initially scheduled to end.

The Gambia has been a member of the Economic Community of West African States since its conception in 1975 and is a member of the Commonwealth, with English being the country's sole official language, both legacies of its British colonial past. The Gambia's economy is dominated by farming, fishing, and especially tourism. In 2015, 48.6% of the population lived in poverty. In rural areas, poverty was even more widespread, at almost 70%. (Full article...)

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Serer maternal clans or Serer matriclans (Serer : Tim or Tiim; Ndut : Ciiɗim) are the maternal clans of the Serer people of Senegal, the Gambia and Mauritania. The Serer are both patrilineal (simanGol or Simangol) and matrilineal. Inheritance depends on the nature of the asset being inherited – i.e. whether it is a maternal asset which requires maternal inheritance (ƭeen yaay or den yaay) or paternal asset requiring paternal inheritance (kucarla). The Serer woman play a vital role in and. In pre-colonial times until the abolition of their monarchies, a Serer king would be required to crown his mother, maternal aunt or sister as Lingeer (queen) after his own coronation. This re-affirms the maternal lineage to which they both belong (Tim). The Lingeer was very powerful and had her own army and palace. She was the queen of all women and presided over female cases. From a religious perspective, the Serer woman plays a vital role in Serer religion. As members of the Serer priestly class (the Saltigues), they are among the guardians of Serer religion, sciences, ethics and. There are several Serer matriclans; not all of them are listed here. Alliance between matriclans in order to achieve a common goal was, and still is very common. The same clan can be called a different name depending on which part of one finds oneself in. Some of these matriclans form part of Serer mythology and dynastic history. The mythology afforded to some of these clans draws parallels with the Serer creation narrative, which posits that: the first human to be created was a female. Many Serers who adhere to the tenets of Serer religion believe these narratives to contain profound truths which are historic or pre-historic in nature. (Full article...)

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Image 1Front and back view of the Gambian dalasi and coins from 5 bututs to 1 dalasi
Image 2Gambian postage stamps from 1953
Image 3A view of Janjanbureh, Gambia
Image 4Life in Serekunda
Image 5A Spotted Hyena (Crocuta crocuta) in the Abuko Nature Reserve in The Gambia
Image 6Arch 22 in the Gambian capital city of Banjul
Image 7Banjul International Airport

Image 7Banjul International Airport
Image 8Gunjur is a small coastal town in south-western Gambia.
Image 9Traders at a fish market on the Gambian coast
Image 10Fish being smoked in Tanji
Image 11A donkey cart at a beach in The Gambia

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... that the Bateleur (pictured) is the official symbol of Kiang West National Park in The Gambia?

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Portrait of Sir Gilbert by Alexander Bassano, 1893

Sir Gilbert Thomas Carter (also Gilbert-Carter) KCMG (14 January 1848 – 18 January 1927) was an administrative officer in the Royal Navy and a colonial official for the British Empire.

Starting as a Collector of Customs for the Gold Coast, he then became a Treasurer of the Gold Coast and the Gambia. Moving on to colonial administration, he started as the Administrator for the Gambia, where he dealt with the aggression of the native king of Gambia. (Full article...)

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Gambia Regiment Gambia women's national football team Alexander Grant (British Army officer) The Gambia at the 2000 Summer Olympics The Gambia at the 2008 Summer Olympics The Gambia at the 2012 Summer Olympics The Gambia at the 2016 Summer Olympics The Gambia at the 2016 Summer Paralympics