The Gambian women turning grief into song

What the report says

In a feature published by Al Jazeera, women in Bakau, a coastal town near Banjul in The Gambia, are shown preserving and performing the Kanyeleng tradition, a women’s cultural practice built around music, laughter and mutual support. The article says the group brings together women who have experienced infertility, miscarriages or child loss, turning private grief into a shared community ritual that is visible at weddings, naming ceremonies and regular gatherings.

The story focuses on Mentending Trawally, 84, who says she was born into Kanyeleng and returned to it after five pregnancies ended in miscarriage. She describes the tradition as a place where her pain did not need to be explained. A younger member, 28-year-old Suntukung, also shares her experience of repeated pregnancy loss and says joining the group helped her feel less alone. Al Jazeera reports that the women meet weekly at Trawally’s compound, where they sing, clap, dance and collect small contributions for a mutual-aid fund.

The piece adds wider context by noting that Kanyeleng is found across The Gambia and in neighboring countries, and is rooted in Mandinka culture rather than any single religion. It also links the women’s experiences to broader maternal and newborn health challenges in The Gambia, citing World Health Organization and survey figures on maternal and neonatal mortality. The article’s central point is that what outsiders may see as performance is, for the women involved, a long-standing form of solidarity and survival.