INTRODUCTION
When we were young, we grew up seeing people whom we thought were strange and we became acquainted with them just for the sake of the interesting things they did. Most people survived on their sweat and other people’s ignorance. The guy in question was a seasonal worker who was known and adored by all youths of Banjul due the nature of his work and his friendliness. If my memory serves me right, our adorable friend has been on his routine work since I started school. Let’s put a guess at 1954 and until 1970 when I left The Gambia, he was still visiting. Could you believe that this guy could not speak Wolof or Mandinka but could only communicate in Jola or Manjako? He had a sense of humour and cherished his fans whenever we surrounded him on his unchanging works for his daily collection. He had a golden voice and sang throughout his repetitive work. Banjul was blessed with various trees which all the youths scrambled daily to pick up fruits of “saydem”, “gerte tubbab”, “mangoes among others. I will surely come up with the experiences as part of the normal youth activity we had year after year periodically scaling the Government House walls to steal oranges, “gertetubbab” among others using the Club House or Texaco end as a main point of entry. Once a “ndongo” Banjul always a “ndongo.” Those were the days when State House, Government House then, was accessible to all citizens and tourists alike. People could walk freely through the gates of Government House without any let or hindrance. Hei, Ali Baba has taken a lot of good things from us that we cherished so much. Let’s advocate and bring them back.
- TRIBUTE TO UNDO-NDOLLY, the Palm Wine Tapper.
Banjul had many special people who have one way or the other contributed to the social fabrics of our society and I would just list a few who should be remembered. These include Amata, Fankamanm, Jodiampa, Uncle Gibou, (the historian who could tell you the number of electric poles in your street) Dick (kankurang), Famara (drummer), Mbassa, Hahtoe (my special friend), Ndamalie Gossas) and JOBE WAYU. (He was special). I remember teasing him one day and he just answered by saying to me, “kuy togn fari yayam why “. Which means “Who is teasing his mother’s boyfriend “. Lol. That was the last time I teased him as I felt offended by his statement. Lol!!
Today am remembering a great man who was a true professional and who love and valued his work. He was love by all. He was a role model whose casual dress and his gadgets used in tapping palm wine never changed. A postcard of my hero would have sold millions today. My hero is nobody but UNDO-NDOLLY the palm wine tapper.
- DEFINITION:
Palm wine is an alcoholic beverage tapped predominantly from the Palm Kernel tree, with a small percentage tapped from the date palm tree. The palm tree also produces palm fruits which are processed into palm oil for cooking, thus palm wine tapping and palm oil production are complementary livelihoods and together they support local economies.
- THE PROCESS OF PALM WINE TAPPING:
Palm wine tapping is well entrenched in various cultures within the West African Sub-Region, especially in counties along the coast. In all countries where the art is practiced, it is known to be associated with specific ethnic groups. In the Gambia, it is associated with the Jolas and the Manjargoes. In Guinea Bissau, it is associated with the Manjargoes, Papels, Jolas, Balantas, Mankain and Bijagoes. In Sierra Leone, it is connected with the Limbas. In Liberia it is linked with the forester. In Ghana it is associated with the Ashanti and in the Nigeria, it is associated with the Ibos.
In the Gambia, Senegal and Guinea Bissau, the process of wine tapping is virtually the same given the fact that the main ethnic groups who practiced palm wine tapping, namely the Majagoes and the Jolas are found in all these three countries and to large extent are limited or confined to these three countries, where the wine is taped from the stem of the palm tree flower. In these three countries, tappers climb the palm tree with the aid of a belt made from the branches of the palm tree itself. Among the Jolas, it is known as KANDABA and PU TANI among the Manjargoes. It is known that to access the palm wine, these tappers must use certain tools to facilitate the process. These tools would include a funnel, made from the leaves of the palm tree, a sharp knife or blade and a container with capacity of maximum 2 liters. When the tapper reaches the top of the palm tree, he uses the sharp knife or the blade and make and incision at the topmost part of the stem through to the flower. The slit will usually be 20 to 30 mm wide and 5 mm deep. Once this is done, the funnel made from the leaves of the tree will be attached to the incision and the funnel is connected to the containers. The Wine will then gently flow in to the container. The container and the funnel are changed every 12 hours, when the palm wine is collected. Normally, this process is carried out in the morning and the evening. Normally, with a healthy palm tree, each flower will produce an average of 1.5 liters. The number of flowers in a palm tree varies; however, the average tree can have from 3 to 6 flowers.
- CULTURAL SIGNIFICANCE OF PALM WINE:
Palm Wine plays a major highly significant role in West African culture and the Gambia is no exception. Its religious role also stands out in the African Traditional Religion, which is manifestly prevalent within the Manjogoes and Jolas tribes. Here, the role of spiritual palm wine cannot be over emphasized. It is the favorite alcoholic beverage used when pouring libation to their ancestors. It is also used in naming, marriage and burial ceremonies. In the Jola Language it is known as "BUNUKABU" whilst in the Manjargo Language it is known as "PU WAT PU FACHAL."
Palm wine is also tapped in Gambia and Senegal from the Date Palm Tree. These trees are relatively shorter and therefore do not require the use of a belt. However, the process is the same. Tapping from the Date Palm is mainly the domain of the Serere Tribe and the practice is not common. The palm wine from the Date Palm is known as "Chunkun". In counties such as Sierra Leone and Liberia, the Palm wine is tapped from the Palm tree by cutting the entire trunk of the tree and puncturing a hole in it, connect it to a pipe to allow the Palm wine to flow. The quantity of the wine will be tremendously more compared to the method used in Senegal, Gambia and Guinea Bissau. However, this method is manifestly unsustainable as the tree will eventually die after the process. The Palm Tree is usually mature for tapping after 5 years and its life span can be up to 50 years.
- PALM WINE TAPPING IN BATHURST (BANJUL)
Up to the late 60's and early 70's Bathurst, now Banjul was a hub for the selling and distribution of Palm wine. In those days, most of the Palm wine was tapped in the Kombo’s and brought to Banjul. The wine was filled in Calabash containers with an average capacity of 30Litres and transported using rally bicycles. The center selling point was at the junction of Albion Place and Lovell Street. This was the area in Bathurst where Palm wine tappers would congregate on a daily basis from midday to about 5 pm in the evening. The Jola and the Manjargo women would come and buy the wine on wholesale basis and sell on retail basis i.e. per liter. Palm wine retailing was a major source of income for most Jola and Manjargo women residents in Banjul at that material time. The prominent streets in Banjul associated with the selling of Palm wine were Rankin Street, Picton Street, Pignard Street, Hope Street, Dobson Street, Hagan Street, Leman Street, Kent Street, Zebra Street and Long Street. Although, Palm wine trees were not prevalent in Banjul at that material time, but there were few scattered within the city.
I cannot end this story without once more recognizing and honoring our prominent Palm Wine tapper tall, lanky, adorable and a conspicuous man of the city who became a household name in Bathurst. He is none other than UNDO -NDOLLY. May his gentle soul rest in perfect peace. Ameen.
- CONCLUSION
Palm wine tapping is part of our intangible cultural heritage and plays an important cultural, economic and religious role in our way of life. An interesting development that is worth of note in relation to the theme of this article is that the National Centre for Arts and Culture (NCAC ) has , since August 2025 , initiated measures for the nomination of Palm Wine Tapping for recognition under the 2002 UNESCO Convention for the Safeguarding on the Intangible Cultural Heritage and precisely for inscription on the urgent safeguarding List .The preparatory activities are being done with the full involvement of communities and PR actioners , with a view of guaranteeing their free, prior , and informed consent throughout the nomination process. This is a laudable stride for which I heartily congratulate the NCAC and through them the Ministry of Tourism and Culture. I pray for its favorable consideration by UNESCO.
It is important to promote the practice through cultural tourism, advance its integration into the country’s sustainable rural development plans and work hard to ensure that this valuable aspect of Gambian heritage is well-preserved and its intergenerational transmission guaranteed.
Palm Wine Tappers in The Gambia
BY Sheikh Ahmed Tejan Nyang.
Adviser to Head of School.
Institute of Travel and Tourism of the Gambia.
Contact 220-7701330. Email: satnyany@yahoo.com
ITTOGSheikh Tejan@mygambia@followers
