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