SENEGAL RIVER

The Niger and Sngal river basins and the Lake Chad basin and their drainage river of West Africa, with a length of 1,020 miles (1,641 kilometres). Its drainage basin encompasses some 174,000 square miles (450,000 square kilometres). Two of the river's three headstreams rise in the Fouta Djallon highlands in Guinea, after which it flows to the northwest and then to the west to drain into the Atlantic Ocean. For some 515 miles of its course it forms the boundary between Mauritania to the north and Senegal to the south. river of western Africa rising in the Fouta Djallon plateau of Guinea. It flows northwestward across Mali and then westward to the Atlantic Ocean, forming the border between Mauritania to the north and Senegal to the south. The Sngal River is 1,020 miles (1,641 km) long and drains an area of 174,000 square miles (450,000 square km). Its two major headstreams, the Bafing and Bakoye, meet at Bafoulab in Mali to form the Sngal proper. Downriver the Sngal is joined by its chief tributary, the Falm, which enters near Bakel at the Mali-Senegal-Mauritania tripoint. From Bakel to Dagana the river flows through an alluvial valley as much as 12 miles (20 km) wide. Floods come in early September at Bakel, reaching Dagana by mid-October. The water level rises 12 feet (about 3.5 m), the flow is 300 times greater than in the dry season, and the river occupies the entire valley. Below Dagana, where the Sngal enters its delta, the river floods more widely. The river's mouth has been deflected southward by the offshore Canary Current and by trade winds from the north; the result has been the formation of a long sandspit, the Barbary Tongue. The Bafing and Falm sources receive 80 inches (2,000 mm) of annual rainfall; the Sngal River valley receives 10 to 30 inches (250 to 760 mm). Typical trees of the Sngal valley are the acacia, including A. senegal, which provides the gum arabic of commerce. Such birds as spoonbills, herons, and egrets are widespread. Hedgehogs, monitor lizards, and warthogs are common along the riverbanks. The principal inhabitants of the Sngal River valley are the Wolof, the Tukulor, and the Soninke peoples. Throughout the region, additional small groups of usually nomadic Fulani and Mauri are found. Rice is cultivated on lands from which floods have retreated. Near Dagana, fields are irrigated by means of a dam across the Taou, a tributary stream up which Sngal floods penetrate to Lake Guiers. The dam admits the fresh water, which is retained by closing the sluices at the end of the flood. The Diama Dam, near the Sngal's mouth, also permits the flow of floodwaters and prevents the encroachment of saltwater during the dry season. Most traffic plies between the river ports of Rosso, Bogu, and Kadi in Mauritania. Additional reading Pierre Michel, Les Bassins des fleuves Sngal et Gambie: tude gomorphologique, 3 vol. (1973), is a fundamental work, providing a detailed description of topography, geology, hydrology, and soils in the Sngal River basin. Louis Papy, La Vale du Sngal: agriculture traditionnelle et riziculture mcanise, Les Cahiers d'outre-mer, 4(16):277324 (October/December 1951), covers hydrology, human exploitation, landscape, cultural traditions, and navigation, with excellent illustrations. tudes sngalaises, no. 9, Connaissance du Sngal, fascicle 2, Hydrographie, by Flix Brigaud (1961), also studies the river's hydrology. Colette Le Blanc, Un Village de la valle du Sngal: Amadi-Ounar, Les Cahiers d'outre-mer, 17(66):117148 (April/June 1964), describes in detail the environment and daily life of a village on the Sngal River. Camille Camara Study and exploration In medieval times reports of the Sngal River's existence as the River of Gold reached European navigators. From the 16th to the 20th century the river formed a route of advance for French colonial influence. French ships entered the estuary at least as early as 1558. From a French fort established in 1638, reconnaissance parties went 160 miles upriver to Podor. In 1659 a larger fort was erected on N'Dar Island in the estuary and named Saint-Louis-du-Sngal for the French king Louis IX (St. Louis). This became a base for French exploration of the river and for trade in slaves, gum, gold, skins, ivory, beeswax, and ostrich feathers. Andr Bre built a post, Saint-Joseph-de-Galam, 400 miles upstream in 1698, and parties sent by him reached the Flou Falls above Kayes soon after. Some went up the Falm, where another fort was built. Pierre David penetrated far up that river in 1744. In the 20th century much of the focus of activity has been on the development of the Sngal's resources. Since the 1970s this has been undertaken cooperatively by Mali, Mauritania, and Senegal under the auspices of the Organization for the Development of the Sngal River. Ronald James Harrison-Church Camille Camara The people and economy The Sngal valley below Dagana is populated by the Wolof; upstream from Dagana to beyond Matam is peopled mainly by the Tukulor (Tokolor), after which Soninke (Serahuli) dominate. Villages average about 300 people except in the delta, which is sparsely settled. Throughout the Sngal River region small groups of usually nomadic Fulani (Fulbe or Peul) and Mauri (Maure or Moors) are found. Agriculture and irrigation The best agricultural land along the Sngal River is in the alluvial valley between Bakel and Dagana, and this area is the most densely populated part of the valley. As the floods retreat each year, a variety of crops (including millet, rice, and vegetables) are sown, and they grow and mature quickly. Millet is also grown on rain-fed lands. Both areas provide pasture for the livestock of nomads. Rice cultivation on lands from which floods have retreated has been locally improved by embankments, with sluices constructed mainly on the Senegalese riverbank; diesel pumps have also been used on the Mauritanian bank. At Richard-Toll a large area is irrigated by means of a dam across the Taou (Taouey), a tributary stream up which Sngal floods penetrate to Lake Guiers. Rice and, more recently, sugarcane have been grown there by the use of mechanized equipment and paid labour, although rice yields have been lower than expected because of saline soils and the depredations of the quelea bird. In the delta an embankment 50 miles long controls the entry of floodwater to some 120 square miles, part of which has been prepared for cultivation. The Diama Dam, located about 25 miles upstream from Saint-Louis, permits floodwaters to pass through its sluice gates while preventing the encroachment of salt water; it has improved considerably the supply of fresh water in the delta region and at the same time has facilitated navigation. The hydroelectric potential of the Sngal has also been tapped, with hydroelectric stations at Diama and upstream at Manantali in Mali; these projects have been undertaken jointly by Mali, Mauritania, and Senegal. The economy Economic life is characterized by two factors. The first is the division of the country into two regionsthe western region, which is wealthy and dynamic, and the remainder, and larger part, of the country, which remains poor and economically stagnant, depending upon a subsistence economy. The second factor is the existence of a single crop economy, which leads to partial unemployment, an insufficient income, and a dependence on an unpredictable climate and the international market. Before independence, the economy was virtually entirely in the hands of the private sector. Since the economy depended primarily on the peanut trade, the large French companies that marketed the peanuts also controlled the importation of European manufactured goods. After independence, however, the Senegalese government created a state agency responsible for virtually all aspects of the peanut trade; in consequence, while the private sector remained important in the economy as a whole, it received its principal impulse from the state. An investment code is composed of various guarantees and long-term tax concessions, as a result of which capital investment has been attracted from many quarters. The public sector is of primary importance in a country in which, for historic reasons, a middle class in the Western sense has never existed. The intervention of the state, moreover, is not a recent phenomenon; already in existence during the colonial era, it has been given a new form since independence by the creation of the National Organization of the Rural Sector. Apart from buying and selling peanuts, rice, and millet, the organization also sells fertilizer, seed, tools, and equipment and is thus the primary instrument used by the state in giving form to its policy of African socialism. In the 1980s the government began to move away from continued state participation in much of the Senegalese economy and to encourage the reintroduction of private initiatives. As part of this general trend the peanut industry has increasingly involved private organizations made up of the producers themselves. The state intervenes less and less. As already mentioned, the government of Senegal encourages investment by granting tax benefits. Most governmental revenue is obtained from indirect taxes, which take the form of local taxes on alcoholic beverages, gasoline, tobacco, firearms, automobiles, and commerce. Direct taxation consists of land taxes, professional licenses, and personal taxes, such as taxes on profits and income taxes. Since the late 1970s the demographic explosion, uncontrolled movements to the city, and the declining prices for primary materials have created a downturn in economic activity. Only substantial foreign aid has prevented a decline in the standard of living. At this stage the future of Senegal is unclear. The diversification of cultures participating in the reorganization of opportunities in West Africa will certainly give a better economic prospect for the Senegalese, however. Resources The economy is essentially agricultural and is primarily based upon the peanut crop. The known mineral resources are only of minor importance and consist primarily of phosphates of lime, located at Taba near Tivaouane, about 60 miles northeast of Dakar, and aluminum phosphates at Palo Dial, near This. Significant mineral reserves include petroleum deposits discovered off the Casamance coast and high-grade iron-ore reserves located in the upper Falm Valley. The saltworks of Kaolack have a considerable potential production. Production of gum arabic, which is obtained from acacia trees, is only of secondary significance; and other forest products also have limited commercial value. The herbaceous vegetation nevertheless permits a relatively important amount of stock raising. By improving the grazing land available, Senegal has the potential to increase the numbers of its cattle herds to a considerable extent. The waters off Senegal, particularly those at some distance from the shore, are rich in economically significant schools of fish, although the coastal waters are also known for their large variety of fishes; in this respect Senegal is better endowed than most other tropical countries on the Atlantic seaboard. The land Relief Senegal is a flat country, lying in the depression known as the Senegal-Mauritanian Basin. Altitudes of more than about 330 feet (100 metres) are found only on the Cape Verde Peninsula and in the southeast of the country. The country as a whole falls into three structural divisions. These are: first, the Cape Verde headland, which forms the western extremity and consists of a grouping of small plateaus made of hard rock of volcanic origin; second, the southeastern and the eastern parts of the country that consist of the fringes of ancient massifs (mountain masses) contiguous with those buttressing the massif of Fouta Djallon on the Guinea frontier, with the highest point reaching an altitude of 1,640 feet; third, an immense but shallow basin lying between Cape Verde to the west and the edges of the massif to the east. Washed by the Canary Current, the Atlantic coast of Senegal is sandy and surf-beaten. Like the rest of the country, it is low except for the Cape Verde Peninsula, which represents the westernmost point of the African continent and which shelters Dakar, one of the finest ports in Africa. To the south of the peninsula, the surf on the coast is less heavy. To the south of the Saloum River mouth, the coast consists of rias (drowned valleys) and is increasingly fringed with mangroves. Drainage The country is drained by the Sngal, Saloum, Gambia (Gambie), and Casamance rivers, all of which are subjected to a climatic regime characterized by a dry season and a rainy season. Of these rivers, the Sngal, which rises in the Fouta Djallon highlands of Guinea and was long the main route providing access to the interior, is the most important. After traversing the old massifs the river rapidly drops downward before reaching Senegalese territory. At Dagana it forms the so-called False Delta, which supplies Guiers Lake on the left bank. At the head of the delta is the town of Richard-Toll (the Garden of Richard), named for a 19th-century French nursery gardener. The slope of the land is so gentle on this stretch of the river that at low water salty seawater flows about 125 miles upstream. The island on which the town of Saint-Louis stands, at the mouth of the river, is situated about 300 yards from the sea in the False Delta, whose true mouth lies 10 miles to the south. The people Linguistic composition The scientific study of languages in Senegal has not progressed far enough for even a rough type of classification to be attempted. Specialists nevertheless recognize certain imprecise groupings. These are: (a) the Atlantic (West Atlantic) group, including Wolof, Lebu, Serer, Tenda, and Diola; (b) Fulfulde, the Fulani (Peul) language, which also shares some of the characteristics of the Atlantic group; Fulfulde possesses numerous linguistic particularities, and has a complex grammar; and (c) the Mande group, including Bambara, Dyula, Malinke, and Soninke (Sarakole). Ethnic composition There are seven major ethnic and religious groups, and a number of other less significant groups. The major groups are located in the Sahel and savanna regions which formerly supported the ancient empires of the western Sudan, such as Ghana, Mali, and Songhai. Until recently the societies composing this grouping were strictly hierarchical in organization, consisting of the princely caste, the nobility, the freemen, the lower castes, and finally the slaves. The Wolof represent about one-third of the total population. Their language is the most widely used in the republic. The Wolof predominate in the sandy western region. In the Cayor district they are initiates of the Tijani Muslim brotherhood; the other brotherhood, that of the Muridiyah, is very influential, and its expansion toward the southern part of the country is concurrent with that of peanut cultivation. Members of the Muridiyah brotherhood, strong adherents of Islam, are primarily agriculturists. The Serer are densely settled in the western part of the southern Ferlo region. They are experienced farmers, practicing both cultivation and cattle raising. Originally animist by religion, they are now becoming increasingly either Muslim or Roman Catholic. Also known as the Peuls, Foulah, Fulbe, and Fellata, the Fulani are distributed throughout Senegal; they are particularly found in the Ferlo, the Upper Casamance, and Oualo regions, where their settlements are substantial. Characteristically nomadic pastoralists, many of them have become settled agriculturists, above all in the Fouta-Toro region and on the SenegalGuinea border. They are Muslim. The Tukulor (or Toucouleur) are often hard to distinguish from either the Wolof or the Fulani, with both of whom they have often intermarried. The name Tukulor is a distortion of the name of the ancient realm of Tekrur. The Tukulor live primarily in the middle course of the Sngal River Valley. They are also found in dispersed groups living on the Gambia and Saloum rivers. The Tukulor were the first Senegalese people to become Muslim, having accepted Islam probably in the 11th century; many are literate in Arabic. Primarily farmers, they are increasingly migrating to the towns, particularly to Dakar and Saint-Louis. The Diola occupy the lower Casamance Valley and the southwest of the Gambia Valley. They are skilled farmers, specializing in rice growing, but turning to the cultivation of peanuts and millet as the distance from the sea increases. In the Fogni district they are Muslim, but the majority remain animist. A few have accepted Christianity. The Malinke came originally from the Niger River Valley and have spread out into various regions of Senegal, especially into the Gambia, Upper Casamance, and Saloum river valleys. Farmers and energetic traders, they are Muslim. The Soninke are a minority group of Berber descent. They represent an extension into Senegal of the Malinke families of Mali. They are in the process of abandoning an unfruitful agricultural terrain in order to migrate toward the towns, where they often become small traders. The Soninke are Muslim. The numerically less significant Senegalese comprise such peoples as the Mauri, who live especially in the north of the country where they are stock raisers or traders; the Lebu of Cape Verde, who are fishermen and often wealthy landowners; and the Basari, an ancient people who are found in the rocky highlands of Fouta Djallon.