We are in Niamone, Casamance, Senegal, where Baynunk storyteller Issouf Coly wonders us around the land of animals.

This is the story of how the hyena finds herself challenging someone stronger than her…

Should any of you be able to provide keys to understanding the symbolic if this animal, definitely omnipresent, we’d be happy to receive your comments (contact@sorosoro.org) and possibly have them published.

But for now, the fire is warm and the audience is waiting. The story may begin… Taalintaal!

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 Tale 1

Watch Tale 2

Watch Tale 4 – Part 1

Watch Tale 4 – Part 2

Watch all our 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