Tombong Saidy warns Bainounka culture faces extinction

Bainounka heritage teeters on the brink as government inaction risks wiping out one of Gambia's oldest threads.

Tombong Saidy

• Tombong Saidy demanded swift government protection for the Bainounkas.
• Saidy reminded everyone that they rank among the first settlers.
• He flagged the slow fade of their unique tongue.
• Younger speakers now lean toward Mandinka and Wolof daily.

Bainounka Community

• Their customs, like ceremonies and storytelling, keep slipping away.
• Saidy warned the shift could erase centuries of shared memory.
• He pushed for official steps to record old stories.
• Cultural sites and events need active revival, too.

National Centre for Arts and Culture

• Saidy called on the NCCA to launch a broad rescue plan.
• The effort should target language lessons and heritage spots.
• He tied preservation directly to national tolerance values.
• Saidy refused to let his generation watch them vanish quietly.