Mandigo

Mandingo is an ethnic group that migrated from the Niger River into the heartland of West Africa. They were in search of better agricultural lands and more opportunities where they became descendants of the Empire of Mali, which was known for once being controlled by powerful kings. They are considered the largest ethnic group of people in the country making up 42% of the population in a city such as Gambia. They can also be found throughout other parts of West Africa, particularly in Mali, Senegal, and Guinea, just to name a few. The estimated population is 11 million. The city is very wealthy, and with that being said Mali by far is the most prosperous empire of all times.

Not much is to be said about Madingo's edcuation history. Education's impact is minimal; the literacy rate is quite low. More than half the adult population can read the local Arabic writings. Primary education in The Gambia is free but not required by rule. In the 2000 school year 156,800 children were enrolled in primary school (85 percent of this age group), while 56,200 were enrolled in a secondary school (34 percent of secondary school-aged children). The country's institutions of higher education include The Gambia College, in Bríkama, and several technical and training schools in surrounding areas. Unlike most cities in the states, Education in Mandinka's culture isn't relevant to Village Independence. (Mandinka Tribe).

Most Mandinkas live in family-related compounds in traditional rural villages which are made up of small mud houses with tin roofs. The group is not controlled by outsiders making them more autonomous and/or self ruled. Mandinka children are given their name on the seventh day after their birth, and their children are almost always named after a very important person in their family. The Mandinkas ethic group are led by groups of elders which teaches them through songs, stories, and proverbs. By reading about the teaching and closeness of family, this ethnic group has strong family morals and values that are passed down through generations of mandinkas. (Mandinka Tribe).

Both male and female elders have great jurally authority. Someone status as an elder is and informal concept that grows with age relative to their surviving elders. One of the most visible privileges of the status among men in the right to sit with the elder's council. This is the group of elders who occupy the central place at all meetings. An authorization among elder women is the right to say prayers outside the palisade enclosure around the mosque. (Mandinka Tribe).

The authority of elders operates because of the deep respect held for them by younger people. Respect is inculcated from an early age and is one of the most emphatic themes of the circumcision songs sung by male novices during seclusion. An example of respect is that if an elder tell you something, you must never answer with question. Women of the group state a major objective of the girl's circumcision is similarly to teach the novice to respect and to obey her elder. Powers can be traced to Islam, to his senior position in the mosque, and to his prayers believed capable of life and death. One way the young men acknowledge this power is by giving alms to the senior men in return for a dua. (Mandinka Tribe).

Traditionally women are subordinate to men. Polygyny is prevalent and even in groups without traditional patrilineal descent, Islam has strengthened male control of women. In the modern sector, women have equal rights in employment as they have in government. However, relatively few of Gambia's women operate in the modern sector. Most are engaged in subsistence farming. Inheritance in the traditional system also favors women. (Mandinka Tribe).

Mandinka draw a sharp distinction between the sexes at the level of thought. Men consider women