Portal:Senegal

The Senegal Portal

Senegal, officially the Republic of Senegal, is the westernmost country in West Africa, situated along the Atlantic Ocean coast. It borders Mauritania to the north, Mali to the east, Guinea to the southeast and Guinea-Bissau to the southwest. Senegal nearly surrounds The Gambia, a country occupying a narrow strip of land along the banks of the Gambia River, which separates Senegal's southern region of Casamance from the rest of the country. It also shares a maritime border with Cape Verde. The capital and largest city of Senegal is Dakar.

Senegal is the westernmost country in the mainland of the Old World, or Afro-Eurasia. It owes its name to the Senegal River, which borders it to the north and east. The climate is typically Sahelian, with a rainy season. Senegal covers a land area of almost 197,000 square kilometres (76,000 sq mi) and has a population of around 18 million.0 The state is a presidential republic; since the country's foundation in 1960, it has been recognized as one of the most stable countries on the African continent. On the 2024 V-Dem Democracy Indices, Senegal is ranked 68th in electoral democracy worldwide and 10th in electoral democracy in Africa.

The state was formed as part of the independence of French West Africa from French colonial rule. Because of this history, French is the official language, but it is understood by only a small minority of the population. Over 30 languages are spoken in Senegal. Wolof is the most widely spoken, with 80% of the population speaking it as a first or second language, acting as Senegal's lingua franca alongside French. Arabic and Pulaar also remain popular among certain communities. Like other African nations, the country includes a wide mix of ethnic and linguistic communities, with the largest being the Wolof, Fula, and Serer people. Senegalese people are predominantly Muslim.

As a developing nation, Senegal is classified as a heavily indebted poor country, with a relatively low ranking on the Human Development Index (169th out of 193). Most of the population lives on the coast and works in agriculture or other food industries; other major industries include mining, tourism, and services. The historic lack of natural resources in Senegal has redirected efforts towards increasing literacy and educational attainment. Senegal is a member state of the African Union, the United Nations, the Economic Community of West African States (ECOWAS), Organisation internationale de la Francophonie, the Organisation of Islamic Cooperation, and the Community of Sahel–Saharan States. (Full article...)

Location of Senegal
Senegalese life, the well regarded baobab tree, and a lion
The flag of Senegal
The coat of arms of Senegal

Selected article -

The Mudra Afrique (or, Centre Africain de Perfectionnement et de Recherche des Interprètes du Spectacle Mudra Afrique) was a school founded in Dakar, Senegal in 1977 by Léopold Sédar Senghor, Maurice Béjart and the UNESCO based on multiculturalism and a Pan-African philosophy of uniting the African through the commonalities in the different ways of artistic self-expression throughout the continent and the world, thus creating a universal artistic culture. The school closed in 1983 but a significant number of its students went on to successful international careers., such as the Burkinabe choreographer, dancer, actor and artist Irene Tassembedo, Carole Alexis choreographer and Director of Carole Alexis Ballet Theatre / Ballet des Amériques company and conservatory located in New York and Djoniba Mouflet Founder and Director of the Djoniba Dance and Drum center in New York . Mudra Afrique played a crucial role in preparing the basis for contemporary, modern and neo-classical African dance by training the first generation of “modern and classical” African dancers according to international artistic standards. (Full article...)

Selected images

Selected quotation -

Recognized content -

Entries here consist of Good and Featured articles, which meet a core set of high editorial standards.

Serer maternal clans or Serer matriclans (Serer : Tim or Tiim; Ndut : Ciiɗim) are the maternal clans of the Serer people of Senegal, the Gambia and Mauritania. The Serer are both patrilineal (simanGol or Simangol) and matrilineal. Inheritance depends on the nature of the asset being inherited – i.e. whether it is a maternal asset which requires maternal inheritance (ƭeen yaay or den yaay) or paternal asset requiring paternal inheritance (kucarla). The Serer woman play a vital role in and. In pre-colonial times until the abolition of their monarchies, a Serer king would be required to crown his mother, maternal aunt or sister as Lingeer (queen) after his own coronation. This re-affirms the maternal lineage to which they both belong (Tim). The Lingeer was very powerful and had her own army and palace. She was the queen of all women and presided over female cases. From a religious perspective, the Serer woman plays a vital role in Serer religion. As members of the Serer priestly class (the Saltigues), they are among the guardians of Serer religion, sciences, ethics and. There are several Serer matriclans; not all of them are listed here. Alliance between matriclans in order to achieve a common goal was, and still is very common. The same clan can be called a different name depending on which part of one finds oneself in. Some of these matriclans form part of Serer mythology and dynastic history. The mythology afforded to some of these clans draws parallels with the Serer creation narrative, which posits that: the first human to be created was a female. Many Serers who adhere to the tenets of Serer religion believe these narratives to contain profound truths which are historic or pre-historic in nature. (Full article...)

Selected biography -

The totem and symbol of the Joof family is the antelope and gazelle, symbolizing grace, royalty, wisdom, hard work and protection in Serer mythology.

The Joof family is one of the old Senegambian royal families of Serer ethnicity.

The surname Joof, also spelt Juuf or Juf (in Serer and Cangin), Joof (English spelling in the Gambia) or Diouf (French spelling in Senegal and Mauritania), is a surname that is typically Serer. Though there are multiple spellings for this surname, they all refer to the same people. The differences in spelling came about because Senegal and Mauritania were colonized by France, while the Gambia was colonized by the United Kingdom. Although spelt differently, they are pronounced the same way. (Full article...)

General images

The following are images from various Senegal-related articles on Wikipedia.

Did you know -

  • ... that according to a traditional account, the Ndut and the Palor people of Senegal split as the result of a disagreement between two brothers?

Topics

Categories

Select [►] to view subcategories
Senegal
Senegal-related lists
Buildings and structures in Senegal
Economy of Senegal
Environment of Senegal
Geography of Senegal
Health in Senegal
History of Senegal
Senegalese people
Politics of Senegal
Society of Senegal
Senegal stubs

WikiProjects

You are invited to participate in WikiProject Senegal, a WikiProject dedicated to developing and improving articles about Senegal.
WikiProject Africa

Religions in Senegal

West Africa

Associated Wikimedia

The following Wikimedia Foundation sister projects provide more on this subject:

Things you can do

  • Watch and respond to the alert page of articles relating to Senegal.
  • Explore, edit, and improve articles in Category:Senegal.
  • Join WikiProject Senegal, WikiProject Gambia and WikiProject Africa.
Discover Wikipedia using portals
This article is issued from Wikipedia. The text is available under Creative Commons Attribution-Share Alike 4.0 unless otherwise noted. Additional terms may apply for the media files.