Jufureh | |
|---|---|
 The Albreda-Juffure Archway | |
Jufureh Location in the Gambia | |
| Coordinates: 13°20′19″N 16°22′57″W / 13.33861°N 16.38250°W / 13.33861; -16.38250 | |
| Country | The Gambia |
| Division | North Bank Division |
| District | Upper Niumi |
| Elevation | 82 ft (25 m) |
| Population | |
| • Ethnicities | Mandinka |
| • Religions | Islam |
Jufureh (also spelled Juffureh or Juffure) is a town in the Gambia, 30 kilometres inland on the north bank of the River Gambia in the North Bank Division near Kunta Kinteh Island. The town is home to a museum and Fort Jillifree.
Jufureh is known for its appearance in Alex Haley's 1976 novel Roots: The Saga of an American Family, as the birthplace of Haley's ancestor Kunta Kinte.1 After the publication of Roots, Jufureh became a significant tourist destination. This led to economic benefits for the town, including the construction of an elementary school, a new market aimed at tourists, and improved roads.2
History
Jufureh was founded by Samba Taal, a Muslim Torodbe from Futa Toro, within the Kingdom of Niumi.3 The alkalo of Juffure was among the most powerful nobles of Niumi.4 The Taal (or Tall) family traditionally held the position of falifo in the kingdom, and were responsible for collecting customs revenue from passing traders and adjudicating disputes.5
In 1651 a small plot of land from the village was leased by Jacob Kettler, the Duke of Courland, from the king of Kombo, as part of the Couronian colonization of Africa.6 By the 18th century the town had become an important centre of the Atlantic slave trade.7
The town took part in the Marabout revolt launched in the 1860s against the Niumi king Buntung Jammeh and as a result the town was razed by the royal forces. In 1866 the British bombarded the town from the river.8
Demographically, the predominant religion in the village is Islam. In 1999, a mosque and school, the Alex Haley Mosque and School Complex, was opened in Jufureh, where Haley traced back his ancestry through genealogical research.9
References
References
- Haley, Alex (1976). Roots: The Saga of an American Family (1st ed.). New York: Doubleday. p. 1. ISBN 0385037872.
- Wright, Donald (2010). The World and a Very Small Place in Africa: A History of Globalization in Niumi, The Gambia (3rd ed.). Armonk, New York: M.E. Sharpe. p. 203. ISBN 978-0-7656-2483-3.
- Sarr 2016, p. 101.
- Sarr 2016, p. 77.
- Wright, Donald R (1987). "The Epic of Kalefa Saane as a guide to the Nature of Precolonial Senegambian Society-and Vice Versa" (PDF). History in Africa. 14: 287–309 [298]. doi:10.2307/3171842. JSTOR 3171842. S2CID 162851641.
- Hughes, Arnold; Perfect, David (2008). Historical Dictionary of The Gambia. Plymouth, United Kingdom: Scarecrow Press. pp. 43–44. ISBN 978-0-8108-5825-1.
- Quinn, Charlotte A. (October 1968). "Niumi: A Nineteenth-Century Mandingo Kingdom". Africa: Journal of the International African Institute. 38 (4): 443–455.
- Sarr 2016, p. 124.
- "Alex Haley Mosque opens". The Final Call. July 13, 1999.
Sources
- Sarr, Assan (2016). Islam, Power, and Dependency in the Gambia River Basin: The Politics of Land Control, 1790-1940. Rochester NY: University of Rochester Press.