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860 WOLOF
and so on—place themselves before the public eye and so dress, move and talk
in an appropriate way.
In spite of the traditional nature of the culture and its hierarchical social
structure, the Wolof, perhaps more than any other Senegalese people, have been
influenced by French and British cultures. Wolof have always formed the predominant
element in the major cities of Senegal (Dakar, St. Louis, Kaolack)
and The Gambia (Banjul). Through the centuries they played a leading role in
the import-export business, both as middlemen and as producers of the primary
cash crop. They engaged in coastal trade and owned truck and passenger vehicles.
They were also dominant in the civil service and played a major role in the
development of modern political institutions. In urban centers Wolof women
played an important role in the markets, dealing in produce and fish and building
up businesses which dealt with fabrics, cloth dyeing and so forth. Wolof women
with their flair for display became the fashion setters in matters of hair styles,
jewelry and clothing.
Change in Wolof society has been rapid with the increase in educational
facilities, the improvement in communications and the influence of cinema, radio,
newspapers and magazines. Wolof writers, musicians, actors, filmmakers, poets,
politicians, historians and philosophers are known not merely locally but internationally
for their achievements. In the cities an increasing number of girls
attend school, speak French or English as a second language and expect to have
a career which will enable them to live a more independent life. Wolof women
work as teachers, nurses and librarians, in department stores, airline offices, post
offices and the civil service and in commerce as independent traders in the market
and as transport owners. Family planning clinics, infant welfare centers and
modern hospital facilities, even though still inadequate to meet the needs of all,
provide new amenities for the young Wolof mother. The present generation has
greater freedom of choice in marriage. At the same time urban life has brought
problems of poor housing and overcrowding, high rents, a high unemployment
rate, particularly for teenagers, high food costs, an unsympathetic bureaucracy
and exploitation of the illiterate by the literate, with consequent social unrest.
BIBLIOGRAPHY
Books
Behrman, L. Muslim Brotherhoods and Politics in Senegal. Cambridge: Harvard University
Press, 1970.
Diop, Abdoullaye-Bara. La societe wolof. Paris: Editions Karthala, 1981.
Gamble, David P. The Wolof of Senegambia. London: International African Institute,
1967.
Klein, M. Islam and Imperialism in Senegal, Sine-Saloum 1847-1914. Edinburgh: Edinburgh
University Press, 1968.