Wolof

The Wolof are a West African ethnic group concentrated in Senegal, where they form the largest single ethnic group, with smaller populations in the Gambia and Mauritania, historically organized into the precolonial Jolof Empire and its successor kingdoms of Cayor, Baol and Waalo. The Wolof language, though spoken natively by a large share of Senegal's population, functions as a widely used lingua franca across a much larger share of the country regardless of ethnic origin. Traditional Wolof society was historically stratified into royal, noble, artisan and formerly enslaved lineages, a structure that has weakened but left lasting cultural traces, and Wolof identity today is closely tied to Senegalese national culture, including Mouride Sufi Islam and the sabar drumming tradition.