Bolong

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Near Mar Lodj in the Sine-Saloum region , a bolong with mangroves on the shore

A Bolong (other spelling Bolon / Bôlon ) is a saltwater watercourse that is characteristic of the coasts of Senegal or Gambia and occurs near estuaries .

These inlets, comparable to small tributaries, are particularly numerous in the regions of Sine-Saloum and Casamance . The sea water mixes there with the water of the ( Saloum and Casamance rivers ).

terminology

The word Bolong itself comes from the Mandinka language and means "moving water" or "tributary". The spelling Bôlon (also just Bolon ) can occasionally be found on maps in French-speaking Senegal .

This hydrological term is rarely used outside of Senegambia . It is included in the “Dictionnaire universel francophone” (Afrique), but not in most other relevant reference works.

Even so, President and poet Léopold Sédar Senghor has done a lot to spread the word about Bolongs outside his country. In his publication Poèmes , he uses the word to illustrate the power of language.

“Puisqu'il faut m'expliquer sur mes poèmes, je confesserai […] que presque tous les êtres et choses qu'ils évoquent sont de mon canton: quelques villages sérères perdus parmi les tanns, les bois, les bolongs et les champs. Il me suffit de les nommer pour revivre le Royaume d'enfance. "

"" As I have to explain myself to my poems, I confess [...] that almost all beings and things that are mentioned in them were part of my home: some Serer villages have disappeared under the Tanns, the forests, the Bolongs and the fields. It is enough for me to name them to immerse myself again in the realm of childhood. ""

- Léopold Sédar Senghor, Poèmes , Seuil, 1964, p. 160

Ecosystem

The bolongs are mostly lined with mangrove forests that are partially covered at high tide, which explains the presence of tanns - a Wolof term that denotes areas of saline land, bare or barely overgrown - and the discontinuity of the labyrinthine land of islets and more or less stagnant watercourses.

Usually the bolongs are populated by a wide variety of bird species. Mosquitoes occur more frequently depending on the season . Some small mammals , such as monkeys and hyenas , also live there.

In Casamance , numerous villages are built on the bank of a bolong. The local population lives from fishing.

As part of numerous national parks in Senegal , the Bolongs also play an important role in the development of tourism . Tourists can easily move around the waters using pirogues or kayaks . Camps have been set up on the banks for relaxation and bird watching .

Individual evidence

  1. ↑ Regards sur les emprunts en français du Sénégal (article by Geneviève N'Diaye-Corréard, University of Dakar)

See also

literature

  • Michel Guillou, Marc Moingeon (ed.): Dictionnaire universel francophone. AUPELF-UREF / Hachette-EDICEF, Paris 1997, ISBN 2-84-129345-9

Web links

Commons : Bolongs  - collection of images, videos and audio files