Age is no obstacle to singing or dancing!

In the Casamance village of Niamone, Senegal, meet this group of women who lack anything but energy, as they sing along in chorus to Baynunk songs whose lyrics we might not entirely remember, but whose melodies and rythmes will draw a smile on the saddest faces.

The highlight is the performance of one of the singers who, despite her old days, throws out quite an impressive footwork…

Reminder: Baynunk is a language spoken in southern Senegal, as well as in neighbouring Gambia and Guinea-Bissau. It belongs to the Niger-Congo family (North-Atlantic branch, Tenda-Nyun group) and includes several dialectal variations. In 2006, Ethnologue.com estimated the number of Baynunk speakers around 6,200, figures leading to consider Baynunk an « endangered language » according to UNESCO standards. Widely understudied, Baynunk was finally codified in 2005 and now comprises an official spelling system.

Watch all videos in Baynunk

Linguist: Sokhna Bao-Diop

Image & sound: Muriel Lutz, assisted by Cheikh Tidiane Sall

Editing: Caroline Laurent

Video created within the ANR Sénélangues project