Bainuk, Fulup and Baiote/Bayot

Banyuk, Banun, Banyun, Bañun, Bainouk, Baïnouk, Bainunk, Banyum, Bagnoun, Banhum, Banyung, Ñuñ, Elomay, Elunay

The Bainuk people of Senegal and parts of Gambia and Guinea-Bissau are believed to have been the first inhabitants of the lower Casamance. They are renowned for their skill as weavers and dyers, but they also formed the core ethnic group of the Kasa kingdom from the fifteenth to the eighteenth centuries. In modern times, they retain their traditional religion, but are rapidly being absorbed by the surrounding Mande or Jola cultures.

Bainuk are the ethnic group that today lives primarily in Senegal as well as parts of Gambia and Guinea-Bissau they are believed to have been the first inhabitants of the lower cassamance. Our DNA sequence numbers and haplogroup L2b migration patterns confirmed this. This is why we are not technically Djola (Joola) Fulup they come from the north. the name Djola is attributed to the Portuguese who derived the word from Mandinka and applied it as a collective name for a number of groups living at strategic sites along waterway ports and trade routes passed between the Gambia and Chacheu rivers. There were at least five Bainuk states including Bichangor, Jase, Foni, and Buguando. The Bainuk were also a major component of the population of Kasa. The kingdom of Kasa also known as Kasanga was the dominant Kingdom in lower Casamance now Senegal during the late 15th century (1400’s) most of the inhabitants of the realm where Bainuk or Kassanke. In the late 16th and early 17th century(late1500’s/early1600’s) the area fell under the domination of Kaabu.

Kombo is located SW of Gambia the ecology of this place brought many migrants there. The Mali Empire lost several of their territories in the battle of 1325AD and they were in search of new territories. Bainuk were said to be the earliest inhabitants of Kombo, Gambia, Cassamance and Guinea Bissau which were not politically sectioned off before colonial occupation. The Djola people gained their name during these times because they had to fight so many people who wanted to capture convert and rule them.

The Djola Fulup (Foni) Jarrol was one time under the rule of the Jarrol Bainuk lead by Sori Sambou and Kabba Sambou. The Djola too claimed that their ancestor came from the Cassamance region but this is uncertain. Other sources claim that Djola came from the East and others say Zimbabwe. However bare in mind that these may all be true because we are talking about four diferent peoples who have carried the name Djola or still do.

I gave you these names so that you can compare it with me along with the maps and DNA evidence. There is no simple answer to who we really are. There were several of us who were apart of the Kombo empire who branched off from Mali that Mali Called Djola “those who get back”. On the maps I have posted, you will see there is a Djola groups who is mostly always in the same place and their neighbors are always the Felup, the Bainuk, Kasanga/Cassangas, Bayote/Baiote/Bayot. The Bayot are a kin to Bainuk some how through Djola sublanguages, Bainuk speak the Gubeeher dialect and Bayot speaks the Arame dialect. Although it is a dying language today, it still lives within our people in Guinea Bissau along with our living and breathing cultural traditions.

The DJOLA tribe of Gambia.

Actually they are minority and still among the first settlers in Gambia, in the beginning the Djolas were living in Senegal Casamance, which is between Guinea Bissau and Gambia.

Some of them migrated to Foni areas of the Gambia and some to Guinea Bissau. One can say the Djolas origin is from Senegambia hence there history is not well known due to the lack of having their own griots or kings. The Djolas who migrated to Foni called themselves AJAMATU, Felup and the Mandinkas who welcome them called them JOLA, meaning one who pays back.

According to history the Djolas been among the longest resident in the Senegambian region. The Jolas for centuries continued to hold their ancestral African beliefs about the sacredness of the earth and the divine energy found in certain rocks and trees. They express their religion and beliefs in song and dance as well as in shrines, which is called "Bakin".

It is sad to note that many people do not still know how long the Jola culture existed in the Senegambian region. Though the origin of the DJolas is still unknown, it is now confirmed by both oral and written history that they are the people who have been longest resident in the Senegambia and among the indigenous people of the Senegambian region. The Djolas have developed a culture of acceptance of other cultures but not acceptance to change their own culture; they are one of few ethnic groups that have managed to keep its culture intact.