Palor people
Total population | |
---|---|
10,700 (2007)[1] | |
Regions with significant populations | |
Languages | |
Palor, French | |
Religion | |
Serer religion, Christianity, Islam | |
Related ethnic groups | |
Serer people |
The Palors also known as Serer-Palor, (or Waro in their own language) among other names, are an ethnic group found in
Other names
Other names for the Palor people include Waro (the name for themselves), Palors-Sile, Waro-Waro, Falor, Sili, Sili-Sili (the name they use for their language).[2][4] The word Sili is a Palor word for Serer.[1]
History
According to Atlas National du Sénégal (
The Palors are a member of the Cangin people (those who speak the
The Palors, like many of the Cangin speakers residing on the Cayor and its borders, have a long reputation for waging wars against the Damel[7] of Cayor, the Portuguese as well as the French.[4][8] The name of their king was the Fara Ndout (variation : "Fara Ndut"). He was elected by the Damel from the royal family, and a candidate to the throne of Cayor. He had authority over the Nduts, the Palors and the region of Diander.[4] In some cases, he was hardly listened to.
They are among the oldest inhabitants of Senegal, especially around Pout area (var : Put).[9]
Culture
The Palor language is classified as one of the Cangin languages which is closely related to the Ndut language and distantly related to Serer proper.[2]
Many Palors are farmers who grow
Religion
Like many of the Cangin language speakers such as the Safene, etc., they adhere to the tenets of Serer religion. They make offerings of the harvest firstfruits to the ancestral spirits (Pangool - in Serer religion) and retain the "chef coutumier" ("one who performs prayers to the spirits"[2] - the Serer Lamanes in the old religious sense, can also be the Saltigues, see Timeline of Serer history). Their traditional and religious songs are also preserved, usually sung in the Ndut language[2] and forms the basis of Serer hymns.
Some Palors are Christians or Muslims. Like most Serer Muslims, their conversion to Islam is very recent.[10][self-published source] Though there are some Palor Muslim and Christian communities, syncretism with the Serer religion is prevalent.[2]
See also
References
- ^ a b c Paul, Lewis M., ed. (2009). "Paloor". Ethnologue: Languages of the World (16th ed.). Dallas, Texas: SIL International.
- ^ a b c d e f g h i j k l Williams, Gordon (1994). "Intelligibility and language boundaries among the Cangin peoples of Senegal" (PDF). Journal of West African Languages. 24 (1): 47–67.
- OCLC 938692476.
- ^ a b c d Ndiaye, Ousmane Sémou (1991). "Diversité et unicité sérères: l'exemple de la région de Thiès" [Serer diversity and uniqueness: Example of the Thiès region]. Éthiopiques (in French). 7 (54). Archived from the original on 2020-06-30. Retrieved 2012-05-09.
- OCLC 798942405.
- OCLC 724424437.
- ^ Title for the king of Cayor in pre-colonial times
- OCLC 36786021.
- OCLC 11055317.
- ISBN 978-1-4269-7118-1.