call themselves Soninké, which is said to have originally meant "white," but which in the Gambia basin has become synonymous with impious and drunkard. By some they are regarded as totally distinct from their Bambara andl Mandingan neighbours, while others affiliate them to the Sonrhais of the middle Niger, with a slight dash of Berber blood, which would account for their relatively fair complexion. But most ethnologists agree with Barth in grouping them with the great Mandingan family. Where interminglings have taken place, their language is more or less affected by Fulah, Bambara, and Mandingan elements, and Tautain
finds that both in its roots and syntax it is fundamentally connected with Mandingan. According to their traditions, they formerly held extensive sway on the banks of the Niger; but in any case they have certainly occupied the Senegal basin long before the arrival of the other Mandingoes and Bambaras.
Scattered in small isolated groups throughout Senegambia, the Sarakolés are found in most: compact masses along both banks of the Senegal between Bafulabé and Bakel. Considerably smaller than the Serers and Wolofs, they are still taller than the Fulahs, but of less graceful carriage. The complexion is a dark chestnut,
