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Janyanfara
Tanzania
1350 Posts |
 Posted - 16 Aug 2007 : 17:55:58
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Hi fellow citizens,
Well as to meaning of surnames,all I know is am a descendant of Sumanguru true blood.I was told when Sundiata defeated him at the Battle of Kirina,Some said He was killed by Sundiata who used the fingernail of a cock, while others said that he disappeared but all these were narrated from mouth to mouth.However one of his sons called Boraba, found the village of Janyanfara and hide his identity.His descendants became known as such.....This is why am Ja-nyan-fara.It means "Dry nest farm".This is a deep language. |
Edited by - Janyanfara on 16 Aug 2007 17:59:14 |
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serenata
Germany
1400 Posts |
Posted - 16 Aug 2007 : 18:10:02
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Santa, I heard that the founders of Farafenni were Dibba, that's why until today the mayor is always the eldest male member of the Dibba family(?). And I heard that one of the Dibba ancestors married into a Jola family, but the Jolas had difficulties pronouncing his name, so it became Gibah. Don't know if it is true.
Janyanfara, nice to see you here! |
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sisay
48 Posts |
Posted - 17 Aug 2007 : 04:43:51
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Silah comes from the word silo which means road, or can also mean path, such as a path one may take in life
Sisay is a very old name - I don't know exactly how old, but I know the Sisay clan established the Wagadu state 1200 years ago.
But what of FIRST NAMES? I don't know much about that, but can offer these two names:
Bolokada - last born to mother
Siaka - "he who opened up his mother" (meaning first-born)
Janyanfara - what you were told was the claw of a cock I was told was actually a feather. The "cock" is an English translation. I think the original word was "duga" which is the vulture - a fitting totem for a sorceror/warrior. Incidentally, Sumanguru's defeat was his own doing. He took Sunjata's sister, Nana Triban, by force. He also took the wife of his general, Fakoli Koroma, who then joined Sunjata to seek revenge. Nana Triban betrayed Sumanguru's totem to Sunjata, allowing him to defeat Sumanguru. |
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Santanfara
3460 Posts |
Posted - 17 Aug 2007 : 07:25:38
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quote:
Originally posted by serenata
Santa, I heard that the founders of Farafenni were Dibba, that's why until today the mayor is always the eldest male member of the Dibba family(?). And I heard that one of the Dibba ancestors married into a Jola family, but the Jolas had difficulties pronouncing his name, so it became Gibah. Don't know if it is true.
Janyanfara, nice to see you here!
sere ,nice one ,i heard the story the same way but since the gambia is a tribal society some gibah jolas may take offense in our naration that is why i left topic at a suspense for some else to continue.good that you completed the story.jan ya fara ,nyan ya fara is more pronounce better than yanyafara sorry if i am wrong .yes nyan is a bird nest .we have great warriors with us here .let alhasan compose some songs for our warriors ,the kanteh's ,manneh's and sanneh's.  |
Surah- Ar-Rum 30-22
"And among His signs is the creation of heavens and the earth, and the difference of your languages and colours. verily, in that are indeed signs for men of sound knowledge." Qu'ran
www.suntoumana.blogspot.com |
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Janko
Gambia
1267 Posts |
Posted - 17 Aug 2007 : 14:39:05
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Manthia Diawara, in his book In Search of Africa recounts a story of the origin of the Cora told to him by Toumani Jobateh the son of Sidiki Jobateh who is said to have moved from Gambia to Mali.
That the Cora was founded in Gambia and according to the story, it was two lovers outside the village at twilight playing hide and seek and chasing each other in the bushes. Then the woman went into a cave and the man followed after but when the man came out he had a Cora and the woman was gone.
If you observe the Cora, it has the shape of a woman.
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Clean your house before pointing a finger ... Never be moved by delirious Well-wishers in their ecstasy |
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serenata
Germany
1400 Posts |
Posted - 17 Aug 2007 : 16:43:18
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| Santanfara, I hope nobody takes offense - I would see no reason for that. Every language has its own pronunciation. E.g. many Germans have difficulties pronouncing the English 'th', the British have difficulties pronouncing the German 'r' and 'ch', Koreans and Japanese mix up 'r' and 'l', the Mandinka say 's' instead of 'sh' etc., etc... |
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Santanfara
3460 Posts |
Posted - 17 Aug 2007 : 17:43:17
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quote:
Originally posted by Janko
Manthia Diawara, in his book In Search of Africa recounts a story of the origin of the Cora told to him by Toumani Jobateh the son of Sidiki Jobateh who is said to have moved from Gambia to Mali.
That the Cora was founded in Gambia and according to the story, it was two lovers outside the village at twilight playing hide and seek and chasing each other in the bushes. Then the woman went into a cave and the man followed after but when the man came out he had a Cora and the woman was gone.
If you observe the Cora, it has the shape of a woman.
janko ,this is what i was trying to say ,that the story surrounding kora is mystical in every narations. i listen to jali bamba suso's naration which also convey some mytical stuff .we cannot today outright deny these stories .different narators have different account of the kora ,one thing i know ,it make men do extra ordinary things like dishing out lots of cash without thinking .
what about the story of demba camara bembeya jazz .i heard that he was not a musicain before he went to prison but came out as a master gitar player ,they said the mamaid (momy water) came to him in a dream ,and teach him how to play gitar ,he became a legend in his time.he sang lots of poetry .sakou toure of genuea took him in high regard .they also said after demba camara died ,sakou toure states that no other jali can praise him better than demba camara ,that is why salifu keita came out with the song '' manju kana kasi ,manju toure orr kana kase alllah kah manju so fen bela ) meaning .manju is a title for the toure's ,i don't know what it means but kana kase is mandinka mori which means don't be sad or ungreatful .salifu keita was telling sekou toure that god have given you every thing ,from children ,money ,title ,command and leadership .yet he told sekou ,you are complaining .this song they said touched sekou toure so much he handed over his expensive watch to salifu .
two things are worth noting here .demba camara and salifu are both not from the jali clan ,so they are not meant to be jalis but both put strong challange to the traditional jali families .and sekou toure embrase both this non-jali because of their music. |
Surah- Ar-Rum 30-22
"And among His signs is the creation of heavens and the earth, and the difference of your languages and colours. verily, in that are indeed signs for men of sound knowledge." Qu'ran
www.suntoumana.blogspot.com |
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Janko
Gambia
1267 Posts |
Posted - 18 Aug 2007 : 00:34:44
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Santanfara,
you have touched a very interesting aspect of Jalo and Jalia.
The Jali is the master of words and words can steer a person to become a suicide-bomb or do anything. Morry Kanteh said in one of his songs “many speak but few understand spoken words”. The Jali has the ability to create Manding or Kabu even if they never did exist.
The human mind itself is a mystery, we are fascinated by the mystical (mystification). Therefore, we are obliged to scrutinise and question the stories told by Jalis, pass and present. Traditionally Jalis are praise singers that sing the praise of their patrons, for their livelihood depends on the patron-gifts and would not anger or hurt the feelings of the hand that feeds them.
Saikou Touray is the reformer of the traditional concept of jalia; the relationship between the Jalo and Batufa (patron) and the notion of who is and or not a Jali (aspect of birth) He transformed Jalia into a marketable profession that could be learnt and mastered by anybody(Salif & Demba). Today, Guinea’s music industry is not just a 100% Guinean product but also generates lots of foreign exchange.
Touray means Elephant in Serrahule
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Clean your house before pointing a finger ... Never be moved by delirious Well-wishers in their ecstasy |
Edited by - Janko on 18 Aug 2007 00:36:26 |
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sisay
48 Posts |
Posted - 18 Aug 2007 : 05:37:09
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Santanfara wrote: quote:
manju kana kasi ,manju toure orr kana kase alllah kah manju so fen bela
This means: Don't cry, Manju Toure - God has provided you wealth.
quote:
after demba camara died ,sakou toure states that no other jali can praise him better than demba camara ,that is why salifu keita came out with the song
Yes, Santa, but please keep in mind that this song is based on a traditional Jali song. Kana Kassi is relatively new (last 50 years maybe, I have been told), but based on an older song called Fama Denke, which means "son of war chief". Fama Denke was composed after the capture of Samory Touray. His heir was heavily grieving Samory's death, so this song was composed to comfort him and remind him that the people now expected him to be a strong leader.
Janko wrote:
quote:
Jalis are praise singers that sing the praise of their patrons, for their livelihood depends on the patron-gifts and would not anger or hurt the feelings of the hand that feeds them.
It is obvious that Jali relied on chiefs and kings for their living in the past. Indeed that is how praise singing came about. But people also fear offending a Jali from fear they will have all the shameful history in their family exposed, and if the Jali is from their village or neighbourhood they may also expose personal matters.
In old times Jali often acted as advisers to kings and leaders (even during the time of Sekou Touray) so they didn't always have to praise. Indeed in some songs you can also hear that the composer challenges an important person, to achieve a result that was desirable to the community or to the Jali himself. |
Edited by - sisay on 18 Aug 2007 05:41:18 |
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Santanfara
3460 Posts |
Posted - 18 Aug 2007 : 13:29:54
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thanks janko and sisay .the sarahuleh use touray very commondly .i was having a chat with some sarahuleh friends a couple of weeks ago and they have a sarahuleh historian from mali now living in saudi whom they consult for matters of sarahuleh history . according to this people that man a touray kunda man have vast knowledge of the sarahuleh community .they even have a vedio tape of his talks .remember samouri touray was also refer to as sama ,now sama in mandinka means elephant or some will call him wulaba ,lalo keba like using the term in a different tone kuba .this are all mystical words attributed to men of great repute.
Touray as a i said ealier is more appropraitely meant a toura .but since touray or toure is found is approstimately many tribes in mali ,gambia ,senegal ,genuea ,ivory coast,liberia,bukina faso,togo and many more ,there is bound to be many meanings to the name.i am trying to chase a history of toure way back . a man call toure is said to be a sahabah of the prophet of islam ,the truthfulness of this story is not yet verify .i want the whole story .so with time i will narate it here God willing .i have part of the story ,but i hate to keep people in suspense.
the kora is a great instrument of music ,and sadly this morning i am attending my best friends child naming ceremone in England where the kora most be played. this man love lalo keba and jaliba ,infact he is in jaliba's uk fan club.i am already dress up ,but i am also hesitating that is why i still seating on my computer .but hee gambians like party ,don't they ? come on ! |
Surah- Ar-Rum 30-22
"And among His signs is the creation of heavens and the earth, and the difference of your languages and colours. verily, in that are indeed signs for men of sound knowledge." Qu'ran
www.suntoumana.blogspot.com |
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njucks
Gambia
1131 Posts |
Posted - 18 Aug 2007 : 17:49:52
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quote:
Originally posted by Santanfara
That the Cora was founded in Gambia and according to the story, it was two lovers outside the village at twilight playing hide and seek and chasing each other in the bushes.
it make men do extra ordinary things like dishing out lots of cash without thinking .
It is also normal for humans to explain some aspects of their history through mythology. The reason is quite simple because it presents an image of those times and what the people believed in then . e.g Caesar was thought to be a decendant of Venus.
The Cora is not that dfferent from other instruments from the gambia/casamnce/bissau region, there are similar instruments played by jolas similar to the akonting but i dont know the name. its look very similar to the kora. The kunters in mali and bambaras in general also play similar instruments.
Toumani's father Sidiki was born in The Gambia but his parents are from Mali, thats why he returned there later on.
The reason Salifu Keita sang for Saikou Touray is actually because Sekou Toure helped him alot to develop his musical career during his exile from Mali. he ran away from the malian dictator Musa Traore. Saikou Toure, like Senghor in Dakar supported the Arts a lot as part of their de-colonisation strategy, they tried to make the people return to their roots atleast culturally.
Infact Lalo Kebba, Bana & Fabala Kanuteh were all at Daniel Sarano (Dakar) sometime during their careers. i think their other brother stayed with the university at IFAN.
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Edited by - njucks on 18 Aug 2007 17:59:08 |
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kiwi
Sweden
661 Posts |
Posted - 18 Aug 2007 : 19:43:11
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| What can you say about the family name Tunkara? Is it a marabout name? |
kiwi |
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Santanfara
3460 Posts |
Posted - 18 Aug 2007 : 19:46:44
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| thanks njucks for supplying another version of salifu's career . so sekou isn't that bad after all .what did you know about him ? a dictator or a panafricanist and traditionalist ? but what about his issue with some pul futas ? |
Surah- Ar-Rum 30-22
"And among His signs is the creation of heavens and the earth, and the difference of your languages and colours. verily, in that are indeed signs for men of sound knowledge." Qu'ran
www.suntoumana.blogspot.com |
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Karamba
United Kingdom
3820 Posts |
Posted - 18 Aug 2007 : 21:12:56
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Santanfara,
Records have it that the famous Christopher Columbus has a Camara connection. It is believed that he was in fact an illegitimate child and along the line one of his parents has a Camara bearing. Try this:
http://pages.cthome.net/rcamara/camara.html#origin |
Karamba |
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kayjatta
2978 Posts |
Posted - 18 Aug 2007 : 21:41:25
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I have seen a few white Americans with a Camara surname. Most of them said their ancestors { parent(s)and grandparent(s)} were from Portugal. So I suspect West Africans probably got Camara name from the Portuguese as the Portuguese have been long time visitors to West Africa (one of the first). Also , a lot of Gomez among latin Americans especially Mexicans. Interestingly , Gomez seems to be found among Portuguese and not the Spanish. Mendy apparently is also found among either the portuguese and or the Spanish.
West Africans as well as the Americas have had a significant interaction with the Portuguese sailors such Columbus ,Amerigo Vespucci ,Fredinand Margellan , Vasco Da Gama , etc. Many of the free slaves that returned from the Americas to West Africa (Liberia , Sierra Leone, Akus in the Gambia , and elsewhere in Africa) came with the surname Camara.
I am not a historian , so Kondorong , Santafara and janyafara and others can probably correct me here. |
Edited by - kayjatta on 18 Aug 2007 21:46:11 |
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