Hello and a warn welcome to another edition of ?know your towns and villages?.

Hello reader, as this is likely to be our final edition before the beautiful feast of Christmas .we wish to seize this  opportunity to wish all our esteem readers a merry and blessed Christmas.  In today?s edition, we bring to the lime light one of the biggest community?s within the kombos; dividing the electoral district  of Kombo North and Serrekunda East, this community has a find landscape and beautiful panorama with a find blend of inter cultural identity. Hi reader, this community is no other than the settlement of Wellingara. Read on to uncover for your self the finest history of the founders and the recent state of the community.

The foundation
The little historical facts gathered by this column has it that the name of Wellingara is a Fula word that invites people with cattle to come and settle on the land because the land is good for cattle grazing. Hence the word ?Wili? refers to something sweet and ?Gara? means come. In our encounter with the current custodian of the land of Wellingara, alkalo

Buba Ndure, we confirm that the land of Wellingara during the old good days , belongs to the people of Sabiji. According to our sources, the founding and development of Wellingara into human habitation is owed to one Ebrima Ndure. According to our sources, this Ebrima Ndure was recident at number 72 Pasevarence street in Banjul; he was a man that has in his custody over four hundred cattle  which  often wondered around within the ancient settlement of Banjul to graze. In the early 1900 when the colonialists invaded the local people and established for themselves a base in Banjul, Ebrima Ndure?s culture of cattle rearing was altered.

The trend of colonial expansion and development in Banjul constrained him in the process of accommodation and feeding of his cattle. In respect of these, our sources advanced that, Ebrima then decided to abandon the city and go to settle in the rural areas so that he can continue his trade of cattle rearing. In those days, majority of the land in the kombo belong to the people of Sabiji.

The founder of president day Wellingara then migrated to Sabiji where he was welcomed by the indigenes and was later allocated a land to rear and graze his cattle, a land that will later become the community of Welingara. Our sources also noted that when the cattle owners  settled in their new home, they were soon join by thier fellow cattle owners as a result of the  virgin land and  abundant  grassland  in the treasures of their new home; hence came the name Wellingara.

Aborigines and expansion
As we earlier revealed, the community of Wellingara owes its foundation to those who were engaged in cattle rearing as the founder Ebrima Ndure was  said  to have migrated from Banjul to establish the new home through Sabiji for the grazing of their  cattle. The community was however non limited to the cattle bearers. As time passes by, more and more people ranging from those with cattle and those without migrated to join the settlement in the enjoyment of the treasures of the new home. Until today, it is no exaggeration to state that the community is still expanding. More and more families in one way or the other are still moving to the area  for   settlement.

The Alkaloship
Just like any other traditional African communal setting, the community of wellingara is still dependent on the traditional lineage line of authority with power been hierarchically transferred from the older to younger generation. As tradition demands, the alkaloship of the village rests with the family of the founders.  This was how current alkalo Buba Ndure sums up the alkaloship of the community for our understanding; ?The Alkaloship of the village is in the hands of the founder?s family, because since our grand father, Ebrima died, Omar Joof succeeded him, then Buba Joof came on board, when he also died, my father took over but when he died in 1985, I took over the Alkaloship to date?he said.

African tradition
The community of Wellingara according to our sources, during the old good days floated in a wealth of African traditional practices.  Our sources unveiled that  the village once had a very big tree which was located where the present market of the community is now, the tree served as a center of traditional  rituals in the village. During those days  ,baren women in the village who  who desire to have a child  of their own were paraded under the tree on  a day like thursday, traditional rituals was then performed.

This was then followed by the placing of    cola nuts, candles and breads around the tree by the olderwomen ; they also go round and round the tree accompanied by light traditional songs. The resultant effect of this ritual often succeed in making history the bareness of the women in concern. The tree was also used as a place where circumcisions for the adult male members of society where made.

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