Seems the current narrative is set to endure for a
while; “tribalism this, tribalism that, that’s tribalist, you’re a tribalist,
blah blah blah... We won’t delve into what tribalism really means for it
matters little to those who choose to stick to it to further their agenda. But
it seems also that we are averse to learning from history or pondering on the
deeper meaning of issues. There is an old Mandinka adage from the elders of the
days of yore that goes thus; “Regardless of how long a monkey’s tail is, if you
pinch it, it hurts the monkey.”
But like most things, we sing the lines repeatedly
and fail to ponder on the deeper meanings of this wise saying. Either that or
we deliberately confine them to times before ours and thereby failing to see
their relevance or application to any current situation, a foolish error!
Why is that relevant to this write-up, because
whatever is happening around that issue today has only one culprit to blame;
Yaya Jammeh. But despite his machinations for political survival, what Yaya has
succeeded in doing, albeit unwittingly, is to awaken within the Mandinka a
sense of pride and patriotism, even those who have hitherto been blind to
ethnic differences or nonchalant about it. Now before you go on to
sensationalize “Mandinka patriotism” and how it negates patriotism to country,
take a look in the mirror and do some deep reflecting. Assuming that being one
negates the other is shallow thinking and biased. The two aren’t mutually
exclusive, here’s why.
As suggested, take a cue from yourself by relating the
situation to something we all share in common; for the most part – Islam. With the
constant negative publicity and portrayal of Islam and Muslims as evil on the
24 hour Western news media, how does that make you feel? What questions do you
ask yourself of your faith? What research did you do to gain more insight and
prove that the terrorists are in fact psychotic sociopaths who, through their
actions can lay no claim to what you profess to believe in? Now forget the fact
that you are only a passive/seasonal Muslim, probably non-practicing even, that
is irrelevant. Truth is you became concerned, frightened, and curious even. Chances
are, these feelings awoke in you a sense of responsibility, so much so that you
tried to be that moderate Muslim who is trying to say to his close circle of
friends and neighbors that you are the face of Islam; caring, loving, moderate
and not a sociopath like the terrorists. You didn’t denounce Islam because of
it, but you embraced it a little more in spite of it by researching those lines
and examples of good Muslims to use to defend your faith.
In this case, you are the proverbial monkey (non-practicing,
passive, unconcerned Muslim; completely or mostly detached from the faith you
profess, at least seemingly). The detachment from your faith denotes the tail
of the proverbial monkey; despite the detachment, you felt a pinch when it
seemed under attack and willfully misrepresented. So with that said, don’t fall
into the same trap as the racist Islamophobes who claim you are either Muslim
loyal to Islam or American/British/French loyal to the country but can’t be
both as the two are incompatible. You know that is false.
The irony in this analogy is that Islam is a choice.
You chose to be Muslim for whatever reason and can denounce it anytime. But your
ethnic identity is an accident of nature, like it or not it is who you are. So consider
how much more an attack on that aspect of your identity will hurt.
Vitriol and hateful words spewing from the mouth of
tribal bigots like Yaya Jammeh engenders a sense of curiosity albeit motivated
by anger. So those who feel targeted because of some connection or claim
kinship to the Mandinka dig their heels in and refused to be misrepresented in
that fashion. They look back to history to see if such ignorant claims have any
basis in history, and… bingo! The digging reveals much to be proud of. Most of
that history has been suppressed to a large extent or confined to certain
quarters. Because of the sensitivities
of some aspects of history in certain quarters, those aspects have been
suppressed, partly that and partly because the elders teach you to be humble. “Kaa-wa mang nying!- Pride and boastfulness
are not the domain of a mere servant of The Creator. That may not be an
exclusive Mandinka view but they sure hammer it to permanence into your psyche
resulting in lifelong humility even when one is entitled to brag.
As an example to highlight these historical sensitivities;
Sir Dawda and his government banned Berkeley Rice’s ‘Enter Gambia…’ partly in
recognition of these sensitivities and their potential for sowing discord and
hampering national unity, so much for a tribalist. (Don’t believe me; read P.S.
Njie’s interview with the author).
Even in the religious domain, highly spiritual and
versed scholars who’d be venerated and sanctified in certain communities are
just ordinary men in their communities respected as elders and scholars. Encounter
them outside of their communities and you’d have no regard for them or accord
them any status. Just to cite two examples, the late Jasong Touray and Bun Jeng
encountered such scenarios in their lifetime. Their humility could be
attributed to their faith but we know of people in similar stations (or less
spiritual/knowledgeable) who grace life differently.
Point here is, this by no means is an attempt to
tout the Mandinka as the high and mighty people that everyone should bow to,
that would be silly; quite the contrary. It is an attempt to explain why the
sudden awakening among Gambian Mandinkas of a sense of pride and patriotism.
Yaya Jammeh made sure of that. With his
vitriol, open display of hate and condescension towards that segment of the
population and even outright threats of extermination and exile was greeted with
concern at the very least. So you can see why his defeat and banishment was
celebrated more within those communities and revived that sense of pride, it
spelt SURVIVAL and RESPECT and a sense of RESILIENCE considering the power and
reach of the self-proclaimed enemy, above all it was RELIEF.
What we are witnessing is a pat-on-the-back of
sorts; “we stood up to the arrogant tyrant and lived to tell.” That’s all it is
and nothing more; a moment of reflection on what could've been, of achievement and celebration displayed in the form
of embracing that culture that was under threat of eradication (and no I’m not
being melodramatic, Yaya meant every word he said and he is bigoted enough with
the wherewithal to carry out his threat). So like anyone in a similar
situation, the Mandinka are simply proclaiming WE BELONG and WE ARE HERE TO
STAY AND BE PRESENT.
An example in our shared identity yet again - Islam;
the early Muslims prayed in silence and secrecy, concealed their faith to avoid
persecution, but with the more converts and the eventual conquest of Makkah,
the prayer was called to from atop the Ka’aba; triumph!
Do not be fooled by those calling for a denunciation
of ‘tribal identities’ in favor of adopting and embracing a “Gambian Identity”.
A Gambian identity is all individual identities combined, take one out and you’re
short. That approach always leads to the dominance of one culture over the rest;
we are an amalgamation of ethnic groupings all of whom deserve recognition and
celebration on the national platform. Embrace and celebrate your Bainunka culture, your Balanta, Manjago, Serer, Bambara, Aku,
Serahule cultures, and all the other cultures. Fail to do so and you’re
depriving us all and taking away from that Gambian identity. Don’t let your individual culture drown in the sea of the larger (in numbers) cultures but don't be threatened by their embrace of their culture either nor should any of us be disrespectful to one another.
Being proud of and celebrating aspects of your
identity is not synonymous to hatred for or bigotry towards others. It is in
fact highlighting aspects for which others can look at and respect you, and
every ‘tribe’ has those aspects and should celebrate as such rather than taking
the ill-informed and shallow stance that always cries tribalism at every and
any opportunity simply because the other person displayed his pride in his
culture.
Let us not advocate for a melting of the contents of
the Gambian pot, it’s a blend of ingredients all complementing each other and
the result can only be a tastier and more succulent Gambia, culturally speaking.
