Marie Samuel Njie was a musician and singer, from, and popular in,
The 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 ...
.
Life and family
Marie Samuel Njie was an important
griot
A griot (; ; Manding: jali or jeli (in N'Ko: , ''djeli'' or ''djéli'' in French spelling); Serer: kevel or kewel / okawul; Wolof: gewel) is a West African historian, storyteller, praise singer, poet, and/or musician.
The griot is a repos ...
singer and cultural icon in her home country,
The 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 ...
.Falola, Toyin (PhD); Jean-Jacques, Daniel; ''Africa: An Encyclopedia of Culture and Society volumes An Encyclopedia of Culture and Society''. ABC-CLIO (2015), p. 514, (retrieved 15 August 2020 /ref>The Standard , ''The Gambia at 50: Fifty prominent Gambians who helped to shape the nation'' (23 February 2015 /ref> She came from a family that produced several major griot singers.
The Daily Observer
''The Daily Observer'' is a newspaper published in Bakau in Banjul, the Gambia.
The paper, Gambia's first daily newspaper,Gabriel I. H. Williams, ''Liberia: the heart of darkness'', Trafford Publishing, 2002, p.333 was founded by Mae Gene and Ke ...
AllAfrica
AllAfrica is a website that aggregates news produced primarily on the African continent about all areas of African life, politics, issues and culture. It is available in both English and French and produced by AllAfrica Global Media, which has of ...
: ''Gambia: Gems of the Gambia'' (13 July 2016 (retrieved 15 August 2020)
Her songs were accompanied by a
xalam
Xalam (in Serer, or khalam in Wolof) is a traditional stringed musical instrument from West Africa with 1-5 strings.
The xalam is commonly played in Mali, Gambia, Senegal, Niger, Northern Nigeria, Northern Ghana, Burkina Faso, Mauritania, and ...
,
calabash
Calabash (; ''Lagenaria siceraria''), also known as bottle gourd, white-flowered gourd, long melon, birdhouse gourd, New Guinea bean, Tasmania bean, and opo squash, is a vine grown for its fruit. It can be either harvested young to be consumed ...
, and
sabar
The sabar is a traditional drum from Senegal that is also played in the Gambia. It is associated with Wolof and Serer people. and were mainly about social and political issues as well as everyday life.The Daily Observer nAllAfrica, ''Gambia: Tribute to the King Paps Touray's – Birthday Sixth December''. by Oko Drammeh (7 December 2012 (retrieved 15 August 2020)
She regularly entertained the high society of ''Bathurst'' (now
Banjul
Banjul (,"Banjul" (US) and ), officially the City of Ba ...
). She was also active in the 1950s in the Gambia Democratic Party,Senghor, Jeggan C., ''The Very Reverend J. C. Faye:His Life and Times: A Biography'' (2014), pp. 94, 167. an (retrieved 15 August 2020) and later performed at party meetings of the United Party (Gambia), United Party of
Pierre Sarr N'Jie
Pierre Sarr N'Jie (17 July 1909 – 11 December 1993) was a Gambian lawyer and politician who served as the Chief Minister of the Gambia from 1961 to 1962. He was the country's first head of government following the declaration of self-rule in ...
.
Her son Pap Touray or Paps Touray (c. 1944 – 19 May 2007) was also a successful musician from the 1960s and a former mentor of the Senegalese singer
Youssou N'Dour
Youssou N'Dour (, wo, Yuusu Nduur; also known as Youssou Madjiguène Ndour; born 1 October 1959) is a Senegalese singer, songwriter, musician, composer, occasional actor, businessman, and politician. In 2004, ''Rolling Stone'' magazine describe ...
. He was a co-founder and lead singer of the
Super Eagles
The Nigeria national football team represents Nigeria in men's international football. Governed by the Nigeria Football Federation (NFF), they are three-time Africa Cup of Nations winners, with their most recent title in 2013. In April 1994, t ...
and Ifang Bondi ( de ) bands, as well as a composer and songwriter.
The Point (the Gambia)
''The Point'' is a daily newspaper published in Bakau, the Gambia.
History
On 16 December 1991, ''The Point'' was founded by Pap Saine, Deyda Hydara, and Babucarr Gaye; Hydara and Saine had been friends since childhood. Gaye resigned four mo ...
, ''Tribute to Paps Touray 2009'' (19 May 2009 archive link (retrieved 15 August 2020) Her other son, Abdoulie Mbye, commonly known as Abdoulie "Efri" Mbye or Efri Mbye, nicknamed ''Everybody Mbye'', ? — 11 June 2019) was a historian, narrator and singer. Marie Samuel Njie had a major influence in both her children's singing careers. She was married to Goreh Mbye. Through her father Modou Njie, she was second cousin to the renowned Gambian historian and Pan-Africanist
Alieu Ebrima Cham Joof
Alieu Ebrima Cham Joof (22 October 1924 – 2 April 2011) commonly known as Cham Joof or Alhaji Cham Joof, (pen name: Alh. A.E. Cham Joof) was a Gambian historian, politician, author, trade unionist, broadcaster, radio programme director, s ...
via her paternal grandmother
Lingeer
Lingeer (also: ''Linger'' or Linguère) was the title given to the mother or sister of a king in the Serer kingdoms of Sine, Saloum, and previously the Kingdom of Baol; and the Wolof kingdoms of Cayor, Jolof, Baol and Waalo in pre-colonial Sene ...
Ndombuur Joof (Alieu Ebrima Cham Joof's great aunt), and a member of the Joof royal family of
Sine
In mathematics, sine and cosine are trigonometric functions of an angle. The sine and cosine of an acute angle are defined in the context of a right triangle: for the specified angle, its sine is the ratio of the length of the side that is oppo ...
,
Saloum
The Kingdom of Saloum (Serer language: ''Saluum'' or ''Saalum'') was a Serer people, Serer/Wolof people, Wolof monarchy, kingdom in present-day Senegal. Its kings may have been of Mandinka people, Mandinka/Kaabu origin. The capital of Saloum wa ...
and
Baol
The Kingdom of Baol or Bawol in central Senegal was one of the kingdoms that arose from the split-up of the Empire of Jolof (Diolof) in 1555. The ruler ( Teigne or Teen) reigned from a capital in Diourbel.
The Kingdom encompassed a strip of l ...
, as well as a member of the Njie royal family of Jolof. Her mother Rohey Njie was the daughter of Chaby Nyang, sister of the 19th century Gambian elder and renowned
exorcist
In some religions, an exorcist (from the Greek „ἐξορκιστής“) is a person who is believed to be able to cast out the devil or performs the ridding of demons or other supernatural beings who are alleged to have possessed a person, ...
and
seer
In the United States, the efficiency of air conditioners is often rated by the seasonal energy efficiency ratio (SEER) which is defined by the Air Conditioning, Heating, and Refrigeration Institute, a trade association, in its 2008 standard AHRI ...
Biram Camonge Nyang, himself a relative of Cham Joof. Although known as a griot, ancestrally, just like Youssou N'Dour, she was of
royal blood
A royal descent is a genealogy, genealogical Kinship and descent, line of descent from a past or present monarch.
Both geneticists and genealogists have attempted to estimate the percentage of living people with royal descent. From a genetic ...
. Some of the legendary traditional female singers of her generation included the late Sosseh Jange; Yaham Nyang (commonly known as Ya Mundow Nyang or Yamoundow Nyang); and Ya Mundow Jobe (or Yamoundow Jobe), wife of renowned Gambian oral historian and xalam player Doudou Nying (commonly known as Dodou Nying Kol Yandeh or Dodou Nying Koliyandeh)—a regular on
Radio Gambia
Radio Gambia is the national radio broadcaster of the West African state of the Gambia. Established in 1962, it became the first radio station in the Gambia.
History
Radio Gambia was the first media broadcaster of the Gambia following its esta ...
and Radio Senegal's joint weekly history programme '' Chossani Senegambia'' from the 1970s.The Daily Observer nAllAfrica, ''Gambia: The Legend of the 'Sabarr Kat'', by Oko Drammeh (28 August 2015 (retrieved 15 August 2020)