On 19 May 2004 at 15:25, Bassirou Dodou Drammeh wrote:

> Mr.Jaiteh,
> I would apprecite it if you send me a copy of the list of the Gambian First
> Names mentioned below. As for the one presently under consideration namely,the
> Gambian Surnames and their meanings and /or their genesis,I think it would be
> faster if each and every member of the this forum provides his/her surname,what
> it means and how it came about, if possible.Those who don't know could easily
> call grandma back home. It is important to note here that the sources of our
> traditional knowledge back home are disappearing faster than anyone of us could
> imagine,all the more reason why it is so important for us and for our
> kids,esp.those in the diaspora,to have such a document as is proposed here. So
> mine is as follows:
>
> SURNAME: Drammeh
> CLAN DESCRIPTION: Santang Farrah Kanji-Mori (Mandinka)
> DEFINITION: Santango is a tree inSenegambia region known for its strenght and
> size;Farrah means to split into two halves;Kanji-Morri means the Islamic scholar
> to whom people appeal for help or protectionin times of crisis. THE (Epic) STORY
> BEHIND IT: The first Drammeh supposedly split open a Santang tree by channeling
> all his magical powers into it todemonstrate to all the pretendingmedicine men
> and magicians in town that such would be the fate of anyone of them who tries to
> mess with him or his family. Regards Basss!

Bass,
The typical Gambian names can be found in the archives from 7 august 1999
onwards with the subject: COLLECTING TYPICAL GAMBIAN NAMES. I wonder if Saiks
ever made a complete list of all the names submitted.

You have inspired me to come with the following from grandma:-)

Camara - Song tang ning feng jaw faala
Camara - Dambel koto
Camara - Makang banna
Camara - Yilleh
Sibi Camara
Taabong Camara

Translation: "Song tang ning fen jaw faala" - One without bad habits, killer of
the evil thing.
Legend: There is a legend, which says that there was a time when people were
prevented from going outside the village because of a very big serpent. The
person who later killed this very evil serpent without showing fear was the
ancestor of the Camaras.

Camara - "Dambel koto" meaning Camara old Dambel (Dambel is a surname).
Both Sibi and Taabong are places in old Mali Empire.

Other surnames are:
Touray ngana manding mori
Jawo Banna
Jallow  Jeri
Sanneh Balamang kumbaling fing


What do the Ceesays have for us?

Rregards,
Momodou Camara

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
To Search in the Gambia-L archives, go to: http://maelstrom.stjohns.edu/CGI/wa.exe?S1=gambia-l
To contact the List Management, please send an e-mail to:
[log in to unmask]

To unsubscribe/subscribe or view archives of postings, go to the Gambia-L Web interface
at: http://maelstrom.stjohns.edu/archives/gambia-l.html

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~