Local language - useful words and phrases

Whilst the various tribal languages are used by many Gambians to converse between themselves, the official language and language taught in most schools is English, as The Gambia is a former British colony.

There are many tribes in The Gambia but the main ones are Mandinka, Wolof, Fula and Jola, each having its own language and traditions.

My husband speaks 4 of the local languages to varying degrees of fluency, but the main language spoken in our locality was Mandinka. I am useless when it comes to learning languages - it's just not one of my strong points - so I only managed to learn how to say 'hi' and 'how are you' and was then totally lost at the responses I received...

I have included a few useful words and phrases from the Mandinka language which I hope will prove useful to anyone visiting the gorgeous Gambia! I'm really not sure if the spellings are 100% accurate, but they should be pretty close!

Greetings & pleasantries:

I saama - good morning
Tiloo ye diyaa - good day to you
I nimbaara - you are well?
Salaam aleekum - peace be with you
A baraka - thank you
Tambi nan - come in

People related words:

dimbaayaa - family
baamaa - mother
faamaa - father
dindino - child
teerimaa - friend

These may find the following words useful in a hotel, for example if you need an extra pillow!

alimooroo - cupboard
daraboo - bed sheet
kamoo - toilet
kullaarano - pillow
laabuno - bedroom
mbajoo - blanket

The Gambia is a country where haggling is a must! You should never be afraid to haggle and never accept the first price offered. We went shopping for batik and tie-dyed fabric and discovered that the less touristy areas and individual street sellers offered much better deals than the more touristy batik factories. So a couple of useful words to remember when going shopping include:

daa feemaa - cheap
kodoo - money

Remember that most Gambians speak good English but it is always nice to try to communicate in the local language - it is fun, culturally satisfying and genuinely appreciated by the locals! I really need to learn to speak Mandinka as my in-laws do not speak English and although this might be a blessing in some respects (we've all heard the jokes about in-laws haven't we?!) I would really like to get to know them and especially find out about my mother-in-law who has had a vastly different life to my own.

I hope to add to this in the future as I learn more, but in the meantime, if anyone out there has any comments, additions or suggestions they would like to make, please feel free to contribute! I currently have no idea how to string a sentence together but hopefully that will change after my next visit!

Katchikali Crocodile Pool

One extremely hot sunny day we decided to visit the tourist town of Bakau, where my husband drove us to the Katchikali Crocodile pool. The site was apparently discovered hundreds of years ago and is home to more than 100 crocodiles (gulp!).

We walked up to the entrance and I thought I could see a big fat croc laying in the shade of some trees about 50 metres away, but decided it must have been a carving and certainly not a real croc as there were boundary fences between me and it. As you have no doubt guessed, it was very much real and very much free to wander wherever it pleased! Anyway, moving on...

We walked through an informative and well presented museum area where pictures, items of historical relevance and information were displayed for its visitors. Unfortunately I was tearing around after a rather hyper 2 year old to take much note of the historical bits, but my family were impressed!


After the museum area we entered a shady wood with a little winding path running amongst the trees. The trees formed intriguing shapes – 1 looked like a human ribcage – pretty amazing! There were many shuffling noises in the undergrowth which could, under ‘normal’ circumstances, have been quite eerie, had it not been for my little boy (who has no sense of fear whatsoever) legging it merrily through the plant life, causing a kafuffle. I actually felt sorry for the little lizards that had the misfortune of being in his path – they were probably relaxing in the shade, hiding from the midday sun, and were rudely awoken by stomping size 6s… Thankfully my husband was able to grab and detain him for the remainder of the walk, which was a good thing too since we rounded a corner to find 5 BIG crocs basking in the sun (no fence – just crocs).



There were a number of supervisors hovering around to ensure no one got eaten (reassuring!). One of the men approached us and asked if we wanted to touch George – the oldest and friendliest croc at Katchikali. Since becoming a mother I have lost all my backbone, and was not overly enthralled with the idea, however, with a little cajoling from my family and the reassurance of the guide, I sheepishly approached the tail end of the slumbering giant, with my son firmly restrained. I was staying as far away from the sharp end as possible to avoid any unfortunate accidents, however, my son had other ideas. Whether he decided the croc was a bit boring lying there, all peaceful and relaxed, or just decided he didn’t really like it, I’m not sure, but, all in a split second, he announced “scary dragon!” and kicked it in the side… I almost died. My son thought it was hilarious. The croc didn’t flinch. Thank the Lord! I stayed there long enough to have a picture taken then hastily got myself safely behind the camera to take pictures of the rest of the family.



The crocodile pool is considered a magical place. Bathing in the water is believed to cure infertility and confer good fortune. In my opinion, anyone who bathes in the pool is 2 pence short of a pound and I’d prefer to be infertile than eaten by big scary reptiles! The pool was quite large and the water a thick green texture… I say texture as opposed to colour because it seemed so, so solid! Crocodiles of all different sizes basked in the sunlight on the banks, and lurked under the green slime of the pool. The only indication they were there was an occasional air bubble or the blink of some slightly protruding eyes… A little unnerving…

We took tonnes of pictures of these spectacular beasties and I have to say they did put on a bit of a show for us too! A couple of BIG crocs had a bit of a lover’s tiff which resulted in a “who can open their mouth wider and hiss loudest” contest. It was great! My mum almost provided further entertainment by unwittingly getting a bit too close to a croc which was apparently pregnant and rather grumpy (I can relate – poor thing). In mum’s defence it did blend into the path rather well but it was over 5 ft long so I still wonder how she managed to miss it! Thumbs up to the staff for keeping us out of trouble though!



Occasionally sacred rituals are held at Katchikali Crocodile Pool with drumming and dancing. We did not get the opportunity to experience this, but I imagine it would be a very atmospheric and special experience indeed.

Bird Watching in The Gambia

The Gambia is teaming with wildlife, and for those with a passion for ornithology, the bird population is truly wonderful.

The pictures below are just a few of my personal favourites.

Osprey
(Pandion Haliaetus)

Grey Kestrel

Pied Kingfisher

(Lesser Pied Kingfisher)

Blue Breasted Kingfisher

Common Wattle Eye

(Brown-throated wattle-eye)

African Darter

(Anhingidae)

White Crested Helmet Shrike

(Prionops Plumatus)

Little Bee Eater

(Merops Pusillus)

Giant Kingfisher

(Megaceryle Maxima)

Malachite Kingfisher

(Alcedo Cristata)

African Harrier Hawk

(Polyboroides Typus)

Short Toed Eagle

(Circaetus Gallicus)

Yellow Billed Stork
(Mycteria Ibis)

Abyssinian Roller

(Coracias Abyssinicus)