ABSTRACT
The Jola ("Diola" in French) peoples of the Casamance, Senegal, and The Gambia are among the most resistant to the forces of Westernization (and thereby Christianization) and Arabization (and thereby Islamization) in the Senegambian region. In both Senegal and The Gambia, the Jola are a marginalized people, with very little voice in the central government. This chapter explores the verbal arts of the Jola, collections of which are scant, and whether there is a Jola literature and/or orature and how that links with the Jola culture of marginality. It addresses several questions such as: Who are the Jola people of West Africa? How has the political status of the Jola in The Gambia and Senegal reflected a position of marginality, which in turn is reflected in their narratives? For that, the chapter looks at the poems of the Jola woman prophet, Aline Sitoe Jatta of Kabrousse, Casamance, and her verses of resistance against French colonialism.
