The
Book that put The Gambia firmly on the world map.
If
I had my way, every Gambian child in High School will read the whole or part of
this great work of history and genealogy, Roots, first published in 1976 by the
late great Black American writer Alex Haley (1922-1992). This book took 12
years to research and write and it remains one of the most enduring, most
remarkable and heart rending story ever
told by any writer.
Tracing
his ancestry through 200 years since the 1750s to the 1970s, Alex Haley follows
his roots back to Africa, Gambia, West Africa and at Juffureh village, to be
most precise. He was a descendant of a 16 year old stripling Kunta Kinte,
captured into slavery in the 1750s and sold to the US where he remained in
bondage and suffering as a slave. Alex, being a master writer and weaver of
tiny bits and strands of stories was able to assemble the small facts until he
was able to fill up a 700 page tome of fiction and non fiction telling the
story of Kunta from his birth, capture, suffering as a slave and then how his
descendants have endured the harrowing times till to this day. Roots also tells
us more about the brutalities of the slave trade which lasted from 1400 to
1800, and in which a million Gambians were taken away to the New World.
This
book is important for Gambians in many ways. Firstly, it helped to put The
Gambia’s name on the map; before Roots came out in 1976, not many people
outside of Africa not to talk about the USA, knew about our country. Then wham,
came 1976 and hundreds of writers, tourists began to descend onto our climes to
see and experience what they were reading about. The publication of Roots was
therefore the greatest single promoter of Gambian tourism. Second, the story
has a Gambian flavour to it from start to end; the Gambian vernacular words as
on page 3; and of course the typical Gambian names such as Kunta, Omoro, Yaisa
and Saloum,p.75. Third, Roots helped black Americans to connect with the mother
continent, especially The Gambia.
The
year after it was published, a film followed also called Roots, which cemented
the success already registered by the book, and the Gambia was eager to cash on
the fame and quickly sent out a 12 member cultural delegation to USA, led by
Jay Saidy, to sell our destination. Hundreds of American streamed into the
country, and the The Gambia got a lot of good media attention in the USA.
The
story of Roots continues to hold a pervasive impact on black Americans and The
Gambia continues to be proudly associated with Roots, as seen in the Roots
festival which has held since 1996 to help Africans in the Diaspora reconnect
with their heritage. Needless to say, Alex Haley who first visited in 1967 to
research the Roots story was ever proud of his work and links with Gambia.
Gambians like the late historian AE Cham Joof assisted him in his research and
too deserve some credit for the success of the work; so do the griots who Alex
met while on his research, and who gave him the bulk of information he has used
to write the story.
Sadly, while he as a person was unable to do
much for Juffureh, his work helped to put our country firmly in the minds of
the world. This is the power of one
novel, called Roots.
I
strongly recommend it for each and every Gambian to read as it is our story and
our pride,
Available
at Timbooktoo. 4494345
