Once upon a time — say, the 13th century — the land we now call The Gambia was home to Wolof, Fulani, and Malinke tribes. Fast-forward a couple of centuries: Portuguese explorers stumbled upon the Gambia River in 1455 (as explorers tend to do), and by the 1600s, British traders had settled in. Today, Gambia is a cultural patchwork quilt, stitched together with tribes and tongues. Mandinka is the largest (38% — they helped build the Mali Empire), followed by Fula (21%), Wolof (18%), Jola (4.5%) — even the (now ex-) president hailed from this tribe. Read more