A HISTORY OF MY VILLAGE-GUNJUR by Sidia Touray MAT NO. 2110902

 The name of my village is Gunjur. With the exception of the Atlantic Ocean, Gunjur has no known physical features today. It is located on a flat plain with Kartong on its south, Sanyang on its north and Sifoe on its east .It is about a kilometer east of the Atlantic Coast in Kombo South District, West Coast Region of The Gambia. Gunjur actually started as a small Mandinka village, with its initial site about 200m from the Atlantic Ocean, near the Sibindinto shrine. The settlement, believed to be founded by a man called Mayaiba Talaji Darboe, fondly called Darboba, was then called Fayunku. Mayaiba had migrated from Tendinto in the Kabu Empire with his family and followers. However, it is said that the Darboes later found out that they were not alone in the area but with some other people. These were the Biyarros, a probable adulterated form of the surename Biyai, a Bainunko tribe.

During the period, a well known saint named Amatora Touray started visiting this part of The Gambia from Mali for religious seclusion on annual basis. It is said that after one of those visits, he had a vision that he should settle down along the Atlantic Coast. Amatora was inspired in the vision that he was to settle down, near a knoll (an anthill) close to a big tree that would have a dead deer under it and vultures perched on its top. He left Mali with his family and students in search for that location. Among his students was a highly spiritually gifted blind student called Arafang Tassali. On reaching the Gambia he went to the king of Brikama, to seek permission. He was permitted to search for a place of his choice. During the search for a place along the coast with Arafang Tassali, the blind student, Arafang moaned of pain. When asked, he replied that it was as if his forehead had struck the roof of a house. Upon thorough scrutiny, Amatora saw all the signs he had seen in his dream: an anthill; near it a big tree under which was a dead deer and on its top were vultures.

 He then went back to get the rest of his students to get the place cleared and named it Tunjur which later became mispronounced as Gunjur. Amatora came in contact with Darboba through the latter’s children. It is said that at night, when Amatora’s students sat around the fire to read the Qur’an, Darboba’s children would come around to listen to their recitation of the Holy Qur’an. Even though the children received severe punishment from their parents for having close contact with the strangers they persisted in visiting the place. The news of their beating reached Amatora which prompted him to convince Darboba to shun animism for Islam. This marked the amalgamation of the two families into a small Muslim village. When the issue of leadership came up, Darboba was naturally made the Alkalo (village chief) and Amatora, the Imam(religious head in Islam). They stayed together at the initial site for nine years. Then they relocated about 800m east of the sea, to what is known today as Tumbungto (ruins) in Mandinka. The Alkalo of village then was Afamara Banna Darboe and the Imam was Foday Ansumana Touray.

Gunjur just had its 6^th alikalo in the person of Alhaji Panding Sulu Sulayman Touray whilest Imam Kawsu Touray is still the 13^th imam. It was at Tumbungto that Gunjur as a Muslim village attracted the attention of the crown in Brikama which was till then an animist kingdom. Gunjur being a muslim village did not patronize the animistic religion of the Kombo Kingdom. So, Gunjur being the only Muslim village defied orders from Brikama which led to clashes between them. The clashes continued into the 19^th Century when Ebrima Foday Kombo Sillah Touray (commonly known as Foday Sillah) led Gunjur against Brikama. He later turned this resistance into a jihad “holy war” converting the conquered people into Islam. The jihad posed a threat to the French and the British especially by disrupting the cultivation of groundnut which they were particularly interested in. So they attacked Gunjur from the sea razing it to the ground with their bombs. Some of the survivors took refuge in a village called Baifairre near Nyaffrang in Cassamance. They later came back and once again relocated to the present site. When Gunjur was conquered and Kombo partitioned by the British, it becomes part of Kombo South. So, the issue of where the chief should come from was never a serious problem since Gunjur had already imposed its supremacy over all the villages within the newly created District. Thus, Chieftaincy naturally fell to the Tourays of Gunjur. Madi Kulay Touray became the first chief of Kombo South. Sherif Ajay Janneh   who was hired and fired twice is the 13^th chief of Kombo South.