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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.[citation needed] 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

  1. ^ Haley, Alex (1976). Roots: The Saga of an American Family (1st ed.). New York: Doubleday. p. 1. ISBN 0385037872.
  2. ^ 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.
  3. ^ Sarr 2016, p. 101.
  4. ^ Sarr 2016, p. 77.
  5. ^ 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.
  6. ^ Hughes, Arnold; Perfect, David (2008). Historical Dictionary of The Gambia. Plymouth, United Kingdom: Scarecrow Press. pp. 43–44. ISBN 978-0-8108-5825-1.
  7. ^ Quinn, Charlotte A. (October 1968). “Niumi: A Nineteenth-Century Mandingo Kingdom”. Africa: Journal of the International African Institute. 38 (4): 443–455.
  8. ^ Sarr 2016, p. 124.
  9. ^ “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.

13°20′19″N 16°22′57″W / 13.33861°N 16.38250°W / 13.33861; -16.38250