Towards the end of our respective services, my friend Chris Coox and I went on a bike trip exploring a part of the region of Kédougou known as the "Bedik Foothills." Named for the Bedik ethnic group, this is a low mountain range northwest of Kédougou city. Despite being relatively small, the tallest peak is about 470 meters (~1500 ft)-- the Bedik foothills have an epic feel to them. Dramatic, exposed rock spires adorn almost every major feature of the range, and the entire area is empty of any significant human impact, leaving the natural majesty totally unobstructed.
The Bedik, for whom the mountains are named, are a minuscule ethnic group. The wikipedia page estimated their total population to be 3,375 as of 2002, and contrary to humanity as a whole, the Bediks are declining in number as time goes on. The Bedik remain animist-Christians.
Bedik oral history resembles same kind of legend common to many west African groups (Such as the Jahkanké): A couple of charismatic leaders lead their people from one part of West Africa that had been rendered inhospitable-- due to war, the unfavorable economic conditions associated with the decline of an empire, or failing crops, for example-- to a new homeland, where they establish themselves, go forward and multiply (ideally). The Bediks themselves claim to have broken off from an early Mandé group. The primary evidence for this are the two principle surnames of the Bedik people: Keita and Camara, which are indeed Mandé surnames. However, what we know about linguistics would seem to dispel any notion that the Bediks broke off from a Mandé group, however early. The origin stories of almost any African ethnic group is bound to be mired in legend and speculation.
What we do know more concretely, and what I find interesting, is the more recent history of the Bedik. We know that they have been living in the region of Kédougou, and around their mountain range for quite a long time. They are known to have been living the region of Kédougou, and what is now the Guinea-Senegal border, when the Malian empire first reached the area around 1250 CE. There does not seem to have been much change for the Bedik under the Malian empire.
Significant change for the Bedik arrived with the Pular Jihads, which began around the end of the 17th century. The Pular originally migrated to the Futa Jallon region (a bit south of the Bedik Foothills) beginning in the 13th century. Some of these early Pular migrants may have been Muslim, but most don't seem to have cared much about spreading their religion. This changed rapidly in the 17th century, when influence from the Pular kingdom of Masina (in present day Mali) inspired an insurrectionary holy war, which led to the establishment of a Jihad state in the Futa Jallon: The Imamate of the Futa Jallon.
Most populations in the area resisted the spread of Islam by Jihad, most unsuccessfully. The Yalunka, for example, were Muslim prior to the advent of the Pular Jihads. However, with the arrival of the Pular Jihads and the Pular dominated state theocracy of the Imamate, the Yalunka renounced Islam. This renunciation, in turn, provoked the full attention of the Pular holy war, and with a hundred years or so, the Yalunka were "defeated, subdued, and returned back to Islam"
The Bedik for their part, avoided conversion to Islam, not through military resistance, but by building villages in inaccessible mountain locations throughout the Bedik Foothills-- like those that Chris and I visited on this trip-- where Pular horsemen could not easily attack. Living atop mountains required certain adaptations, particularly during the dry season, when the earth is parched, and even lowland wells run dry. One such adaptation for which the Bediks are known, is hollowing out the trunks of massive baobab trees to create a massive living barrel, which will then fill with rainwater during the wet season, and serve as a water tower for the dry season. Many of the mountain top village locations have been abandoned since the Pular Jihads were stymied by the French at the end of the 19th century, but many remain.
Today, the Bedik are a tiny holdout of pre-Islamic Kédougou. They inhabit some of the most beautiful countryside in all of Senegal. A few missionaries, some American, have been working with the Bedik for decades. One of the highlights of this trip was dropping in on a group of missionaries who threw a party to release a project they had been working on since 1979-- the new testament fully translated into Bedik. This seemed to me like a huge amount of work for a language spoken by only ~3000 people, but it was fantastic to witness the culmination of so many years of dedicated work. It was a joyous occasion, and good food was enjoyed by all. Unfortunately I did not get any pictures of the missionary event, but I did make off with one of the Bibles.
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| We'd been enjoying a fairly intense rainy season, and the path to Chris's village, Ñianguey, where we began the journey, would have served a canoe better in many sections. |
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| Chris Coox himself. |
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| Despite being a health volunteer, Chris dedicated a big part of his service to a community garden project. Here he stands among the flourishing fruits of his labor. |
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| Taro has huge leaves, indicative that it does well in shady locations like under this mango tree. |
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| Or among corn under a tamarind tree. |
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| Setting off from Ñianguey, Chris leading the way. |
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| A tributary of the Siling -- the same creek I have to cross to get to Dar Salaam, and over which the stick bridge is built. |
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The Silling flows into the Gambia at Dar Salaam.
Our first afternoon of the trip we spent with missionaries at the Bedik New Testiment release party. The next morning we sighted this spire from the trail below.
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| Obviously we would have to get up there. |
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| Yes, Chris is hiking in sandals, also known as Senegalese hiking boots. |
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| Massive baobab |
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| This was honestly an extremely challenging hike, lots of bouldering on rocks half submerged in vegetation. |
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| And it was hard to find a route to the top once we reached the base of these vertical spires. |
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| The climb was well worth it, as we enjoyed sweeping views northwards, towards the Gambia's basin. |
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| Back on the valley floor, Chris negotiates a creek. |
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| This is what you eat when you are camping in Kédougou, the only non-perishable food that doesn't require much preparation. "Luncheon meat" from Brazil, and tapalapa, the delicious baguettes cooked in clay ovens around the region. |
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| A farming settlement. People from a nearby village live here during the rainy season to farm corn, rice, peanuts, and other crops. |
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| Postcard quality huts. |
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| Intercropping okra and rice, with cotton in the background. |
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| This is a peanut field. They prefer gravelly, well drained soils. |
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| After the climbing expedition, we rode north, and hit the Gambia river near a village named Korokonto. |
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| Towards the end of the trip we ran into this young Pular herder, who knew Chris, and shared some delicious and fresh yogurt with us. |
We ended up coming across very few Bediks during our trip into the Bedik foothills, besides the missionary party. They are being subsumed, it seems, by predominant Pular language and culture of the area. But any time I go to Bandafassi I can find a Bedik to share a bottle of palm wine with, that is for sure.
