Are we forgetting that the former president of The Gambia Dawda Kairaba
Jawara was himself from a "karanke" or cobbler background.
Yet, I would dare say that no Gambian family would have refused him to marry
one of theirs.  The families out of which he married never flashed the
cobbler card in his face for obvious reasons.

Another example is Youssou Ndure.  How many women from the so-called noble
families would say no if he wanted to marry them just because he is a
"gewel"?

It is therefore evident that the demarcations that tend to classify some
African societies could easily crumble under the pressure of wealth,
affluence and political power.  I don't want to say that these divisions are
feudal  in origin, but they may, to a great extent, be a reflection of the
former economic and political structures of African societies.

The question is why are some societies such as the Jola casteless?

We cannot however sweep the racism that is often tied to the precursors of
Islam and Christianity under the carpet of religious zealotry. That would
mean insulting the conscience of our people who died under the sword in
Segou, in Kansala, in Mombasa, and most recently in the Zongo-Kataf region
of Nigeria.







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