The Konyagi are one of the minority ethnic groups of The Gambia. 

Although figures from census on their number are not readily available, we dare hazard the guess that they number at least 20,000 in The Gambia.  The ethnic group is found in small clusters in several parts of CRR, Western Region and the URD. Smaller groups are found in the Greater Banjul Area.

In West Africa, the Konyagi are found in Guinea Conakry, Guinea Bissau and Eastern Senegal. My research from secondary sources shows that the Konyagi, like the Manjago and karoninka, arrived in this country in large numbers during the Guinea Bissau liberation war of 1962 to 1974, as refugees fleeing the ruthless Portuguese army. Writers like Martha Fredericks (History of Christianity in The Gambia, 2003) supports this fact.

Konyagi originally came from Yukunku, which they say is in Guinea Conakry, from where they had spread to other parts of the sub-region, including The Gambia. This region in Guinea Conakry is well watered, heavily forested, and ridden with games of all kinds.

Thus it is clear that the occupations of the Konyagi are largely associated with cultivation, hunting and fishing.

Another important occupation of the Konyagi is weaving palm fibre products and farming of coos and findi. Hunting is also an important activity of the Konyagi. They use exquisitely carved bows and arrows. The tips of the arrows are dipped in poison to do a quick kill of animals. Konyagi hunters have different arrow sizes for different games, the bigger the game the bigger the arrow. Fishing with spears is also an important Konyagi pastime.

In December 2003, this author spent a day profiling a Konyagi homestead in Bani, CRR. Banni has nine Koyagi homesteads, who live amicably with their Mandinka and Fula neighbours. As many Koyagi are Christian, Banni has a Chapel where the Konyagi worship.
In Banni the Konyagi intermarry with other peoples and also enroll their girls in school.
The Konyagi language is vibrant and very expressive. All the homesteads in Banni still use it as first language, although it is under increasing pressure from bigger languages like Mandinka and Wollof which the Konyagi in Banni also speak. Konyagi language is close to Basari and is almost intelligible.

Their main musical instrument is the bamboo flute called taakaaral which is played at social ceremonies such as initiations and weddings.
Bakary Nyokeh, 77, in Banni recounts that in past times, konyagi males married late at 35 or 40 because they had to excel in hunting, wrestling and chivalry before they became worthy of a wife. Moreover, they didn't want to become impotent early. Girls married later also at 20 - 25 as they were allowed to do their girlhood. Nowadays, both sexes marry much earlier. (Interview with author 13/12/03)
A marriage dowry for a girl is palm wine, hand woven cloth with strips of black thread, and five sets of clothes.

Konyagi girls can get married before circumcision, but after circumcision, they must wait for another lunar year before going back to their husbands.
Among the Konyagi, a newborn child is christened after 7 days. A Konyagi christening ceremony is notable for its lack of fanfare. Sugared Coos flour balls are served at the ceremony.

A Konyagi burial is full of rites. The corpse is treated with traditional medicine before burial. Men and women who have not been initiated or circumscised are not allowed to see a corpse. Only sons, cousins and near relatives hold the coffin. Konyagi do not bury their dead with material belongings.

When a male is buried, the elder sister sprinkles coos grains on the grave to be his seeds in the after life. For a woman, findi, okra and other food items are put on the grave.
Today the Konyagi play significant roles in the development of The Gambia and are among the dynamic minorities within our midst. These notes are not exhaustive; they may provide more premises for research about the Konyagi. The new museum at Kerr Batch in the CRR, under the stable of The Gambia National Museum, has many exhibits highlighting the rich culture of the Konyagi.