The Kumpo, the ''Samay'', and the ''Niasse'' are three traditional figures in the

mythology Myth is a folklore genre consisting of narratives that play a fundamental role in a society, such as foundational tales or origin myths. Since "myth" is widely used to imply that a story is not objectively true, the identification of a narrat ...

of the

Diola The Jola or Diola (endonym: Ajamat) are an ethnic group found in Senegal, the Gambia, and Guinea-Bissau. Most Jola live in small villages scattered throughout Senegal, especially in the Lower Casamance region. The main dialect of the Jola langu ...

people in the

Casamance , settlement_type = Geographical region , image_skyline = Senegal Casamance.png , image_caption = Casamance in Senegal , image_flag = Flag of Casamance.svg , image_shield = , motto ...

(

Senegal Senegal,; Wolof: ''Senegaal''; Pulaar: 𞤅𞤫𞤲𞤫𞤺𞤢𞥄𞤤𞤭 (Senegaali); Arabic: السنغال ''As-Sinighal'') officially the Republic of Senegal,; Wolof: ''Réewum Senegaal''; Pulaar : 𞤈𞤫𞤲𞤣𞤢𞥄𞤲𞤣𞤭 � ...

) and in

Gambia The Gambia,, ff, Gammbi, ar, غامبيا officially the Republic of The Gambia, is a country in West Africa. It is the smallest country within mainland AfricaHoare, Ben. (2002) ''The Kingfisher A-Z Encyclopedia'', Kingfisher Publicatio ...

. Multiple times in the course of the year, i.e. during the ''Journées culturelles'', a

folk festival A folk festival celebrates traditional folk crafts and folk music. This list includes folk festivals worldwide, except those with only a partial focus on folk music or arts. Folk festivals may also feature folk dance or ethnic foods. Handicra ...

in the village is organized. The Samay invites the people of the village to participate with the festivity. The ''Kumpo'' is dressed with

palm leaves The Arecaceae is a family of perennial flowering plants in the monocot order Arecales. Their growth form can be climbers, shrubs, tree-like and stemless plants, all commonly known as palms. Those having a tree-like form are called palm trees. ...

and wears a stick on the head. At the start of the dance, a young lady binds a colored flag on the stick. She dances for hours with the stick and the flag on the head. He speaks a private secret language and communicates through an interpreter with the spectators.

Social background

He encourages the community to act as good villagers. He promotes everybody to participate in community life and wishes that all people are enjoying the feast. The festival is a stimulus for the social community life. Not participating to the feast is seen as anti-social behavior. Nobody has the right to be lonely. The whole community enjoys to perform rhythmical music and to dance. According to the

tradition A tradition is a belief or behavior (folk custom) passed down within a group or society with symbolic meaning or special significance with origins in the past. A component of cultural expressions and folklore, common examples include holidays or ...

, the Kumpo is ''not'' a person but a

ghost A ghost is the soul or spirit of a dead person or animal that is believed to be able to appear to the living. In ghostlore, descriptions of ghosts vary widely from an invisible presence to translucent or barely visible wispy shapes, to rea ...

. There is a strong relationship with the bois sacré. It is not done to ask about the real identity of the Kumpo. He may not be touched and it is considered as a

sacrilege Sacrilege is the violation or injurious treatment of a sacred object, site or person. This can take the form of irreverence to sacred persons, places, and things. When the sacrilegious offence is verbal, it is called blasphemy, and when physical ...

to look into the palm leaves. Therefore, he defends himself against intruders with his stick by smashing and pointing. At the end of the feast, he says goodbye to the community and revokes into the ''bois sacré''.

Related Mythological Figures

* Samay *

Niasse The Niasse, along with the Kumpo and the Samay, are three traditional masked figures in the religion of the Jola people, living in the Casamance (Senegal) and in Gambia. They play a central role in the social life of the traditional village. Mu ...

File:Verwelkoming van Samay en Kumpo in Bagaya.webm, Welcoming Kumpo File:Dans van de Kumpo in Bagaya.webm, Dance of the Kumpo File:Verhaal van de Kumpo in Bagaya.webm, Story of the Kumpo File:Afscheid van de Kumpo in Bagaya.webm, Good-bye {{portal, Traditional African religion, Gambia, Senegal

References

Casamance Jola religion