Unit 4: Ousman Kijera 1

Videos
Community Images
Pedagogical Activities

Metadata

TitleConversation with Ousman Kijera 1
InterviewerFallou Ngom, Bala Saho
SubjectMandinka Ajami poetry, poetic styles, performing poetry
ContentOusman Kijera was born in 1989 in Banjul, the Gambia. He spent part of his Quranic studies in the Gambia and another part in Casamance, Senegal. He worked as a Quranic teacher for years. During those times, he spent ten years researching  healing methods based on African medicine and Quranic methods of healing. He learnt the elders’ methods of healing based on plants and Islamic panacea, which helped him understand and practice many of them. He serves now as a Mandinka Ajami writer, poet, singer, and healer with a focus on plants and Islamic panacea.  He has written on different topics related to culture, moral values, and African cultural rules. In this conversation, Ousman Kijera talks about how to write and recite Mandinka poems.
LanguageMandinka
ScriptMandinka Ajami
LocationJeeda Kayrakunda, Birikama, The Gambia
Pedagogical content/applicationIncludes relevant linguistic, stylistic and cultural skills as identified in our assessment guidebook/ ACTFL guidelines
Access condition and copyrightThese materials are subject to copyright and are distributed under the terms of the Creative Commons Attribution-NonCommercial 4.0 License, which permits non-commercial use, distribution, and reproduction in any medium, provided the original author and source are credited. For use, distribution or reproduction beyond these terms, contact Professor Fallou Ngom (fngom@bu.edu).
ContributorsFallou Ngom, Daivi Rodima-Taylor, Bala Saho, Ablaye Diakite, Mamadou Aw Ndiaye, Ousmane Cisse, Alison Parker, and Frank Antonelli.
Required citation informationFallou Ngom (PI), Daivi Rodima-Taylor, Bala Saho, Mamadou Aw Ndiaye, Ousmane Cisse, Ablaye Diakite, and other contributors. 2022. “Conversation with Ousman Kijera 1.” https://sites.bu.edu/ria/mandinka/mandinka-unit-4/

Videos

Mandinka with English Subtitles

Mandinka with Latin Script Subtitles

Community Images

loading slideshow…

  • Banjuuluu niŋ a daala saateelu la Karambuŋ baa, Pipeline, Gambiyaa. || Greater Banjul Senior School, Pipeline, The Gambia.

  • Dalasi keme fula kayitoo, Gambiyaa la Kodi Maradulaa baa. || 200 Dalasi note, Central Bank of The Gambia.

  • Kayirabaa Siloo, Seerekundaa, Gambiyaa. || Kairaba Avenue, Serrekunda, The Gambia.

  • Gambiyaa la kumburuŋ dookulaalu la kafoo, Ñambaayi Wuloo. || The National Beekeepers Association of The Gambia, Nyambai Forest.

  • Musilima karambuŋo daala, Birikaama, Gambiyaa. || Near an Islamic School, Brikama, The Gambia.

  • Gambiyaa la beŋdulaa buŋ baa, Senegambiyaa siloo kaŋ. || Gambia’s Conference Building, Senegambia Highway.

  • Tyga la duŋ feŋ waafi-dulaa, Busumbaala, Gambiyaa. Tyga fashion shop, Busumbala, The Gambia.

  • Musu fula be looriŋ siloo daala, Seerekundaa, Gambiyaa. || Two women standing next to the road, Serrekunda, The Gambia.

  • Birikaama la dindiŋ karambuŋo, Gambiyaa. Brikama Lower Basic School, Brikama, Gambia.

  • Birikaama la dindiŋ karambuŋo aniŋ fondinkeelu la karambuŋo, Gambiyaa. || Brikama Lower Basic and Senior Secondary School, The Gambia.

Pedagogical Activities

Glossary
Notes
Exercises
Mandinka Keyboard

Glossary

  1. Alfaa, alifaa: Respected person, leader, elder, ancestors, plural (alfaalu, alifaalu)
  2. Beŋ dulaa, bendulaa: Meeting point, meeting place, conference venue
  3. Daa-woo-daa: Anywhere, everywhere, each place
  4. Daala: Near, close to, next to, beside
  5. Fatata: Different, separated, weaned (for a child)
  6. Ka a lamoyi: To listen, wait
  7. Ka fatandi: To differentiate, distinguished, separate
  8. Ka ñakka: To reach, be in reachable distance
  9. Ka Suukuuwoo laa: To chant religious song, compose religious poetry
  10. Ka taama: To walk, travel
  11. Kaatuŋ, kaatu: Because, so
  12. Karaŋ ñaa or karanñaa: Reading style, reciting, singing style
  13. Kumakaŋo: Word, sound, plural (kumakaŋoolu)
  14. Mintoo: Where, which place
  15. Ñaadii: How
  16. Sako, soko: Let alone, much more
  17. Sila, siloo: Path, road
  18. Suukuulaalaa: A religious poetry chanter, poet plural (suukuulaalaalu)
  19. Suukuwo: Religious chant, religious song, chanting
  20. Suwandita: Distinguished, eminent
  21. Timpoo: Hard worker, plural (timpoolu) 
  22. Tompu: Dot, period
  23. Yuruwandi, yiriwandi: To improve, develop, enhance, expand

Notes

  1. Bahroo: Poetic genre, poetic meter type from Arabic (baḥr). There are sixteen types of poetic meters in classical Arabic, which are all used in the Arabic and Ajami poetry of Mandinka scholars of Senegambia.
  2. Banjuuluu: The Mandinka pronunciation of Banjul, the capital of The Gambia. The Gambia is a multiethnic country. While Mandinka people dominate across the country, the Gambian variety of Wolof, which is strongly influenced by English, is more widely spoken in Banjul followed by Mandinka.
  3. Bayitoo: Mandinka poets also use the word bayitoo, which comes from the Arabic word (bayt), to refer to a poetic verse that consists of two hemistiches of equal length. 
  4. Daayiraa: This is the name for religious organizations commonly found in Muslim communities across Senegambia. Their members meet periodically to listen to religious lectures, recitation and changing of Arabic and Ajami religious poems, and to celebrate religious events, including the Mawlid (the birthday of Prophet Muhammad). They provide many services to communities.
  5. Kamañaŋo: This is a small farm usually close to the main one in Mandinka communities in the Pakaawu area, the heartland and religious center of the Mandinka people of the southern Casamance region of Senegal. In Gambian dialect of Mandinka, the word kañamaŋo is more commonly used.  
  6. Marsee: Market, from French (marché). Because French is the official language of Senegal, which surrounds The Gambia, both the Senegalese and Gambian dialects of Mandinka are influenced by French. However, the French influence is more significant in the Senegalese variety just as the English influence is more significant in the Gambian Mandinka dialect due the fact that English is the official language of The Gambia.
  7. Nasidoo: Someone who specializes in the recitation and chanting of the works of great master poets in Mandinka learning centers in Senegambia.

Exercises:

Comprehension || Writing || Listening / Speaking and Conversation || Cultural Competence

Comprehension: Video

Comprehension: Image

Writing

Name(Required)
Please enter the name that should be associated with your answers.
Please enter the email address to which you'd like your responses sent. Please notify the recipient(s) that you have submitted these exercises, as the submission could go to their spam folder.
[If you'd like your responses sent to another email address as well, please enter it here.]
For exercises 1-6 below, open the Mandinka Ajami keyboard, type text, and copy-paste it into the box.
Disclaimer: By completing these online exercises, I agree to share my name and contact information with the email recipient(s) I have indicated. Boston University takes no responsibility for the use of the submitted information. A copy of all submitted information may be retained on Boston University’s servers upon submission.

Listening / Speaking and Conversation

  • Podkastoo niŋ Widewoo: Podkastoo ke ñiŋ widewoo kaccaa-kuma-kaŋoolu kunna, waraŋ i ye widewoo sutuŋoolu ke minulu be widewoo la kaccaa-kuma-kaŋoolu koyindi la.

Cultural Competence

  • Teyaataroo safee aniŋ Mandinka safeeri-kuloolu la muŋ be aada kummaayaariŋo yitandi la.