The Janjanbureh Bicentenary Commemoration under the theme: ‘Celebrating Homecoming and Our Heritage’ will kick start with a trade fair titled Senegambia Lumo, to be followed by a Symposium that would feature eminent Gambian professors and erudite scholars such as Nana Grey Johnson, erudite historian of The Gambian Krio; Professor Assan Sarr of Ohio University; Professor Pape Bassene of University Cheikh Anta Diop of Dakar; and Professor Bala Saho of Oklahoma University. This blockbuster session will be chaired by Ms Binta Jammeh Sidibe, historian and former head of The Gambia Women’s Bureau.
In the evening, the audience will be thrilled with The Might of Men – a wrestling bout.
Day two of this celebration, 6 January 2024 will start with a Welcome Parade which includes the arrival of international guests, visit to the Senegambia Lumo and Freedom Tree with drama titled ‘Breaking The Chain’.
The afternoon of day two will witness a proper opening ceremony with series of speeches and performances in the evening. There will be a Mansa Banquet known as Traditional Lunch. Shortly after that iwill be A Night of Words – poetry, dramas – Interpreting Our Journey. The night will witness ‘The Melting Pot of Cultures’ and it is called Cultural Night.
On the final day (day three), there will be a Church Service, from there onwards is the Historical Tour of the Island, River Cruising, Community Based Tourism, Final Wrestling competition and a Musical Concert follows suit in the night.
Moreover, celebrating the bicentenary of the establishment of Janjanbureh, the history of this serene and beautiful island affirms its significance which signifies freedom from slavery as it plays no part in the Trans-Atlantic Slave Trade.
The settlement is one part of the Kingdom of Niani which was one of the Gambia’s 8th Independence States before the onset of colonial rule and was under the leadership of the Saballys for a long time as they were the leaders of the region.
