Gambia National Anthem/For The Gambia, Our Homeland

Lyricist: Virginia Julia Howe
Composer: traditional, adapted by Jeremy Frederic Howe
Adopted: February 18. 1965

In the lead-up to the Gambia's independence from the United Kingdom on 18 February 1965, a National Anthem Selection Committee was set up to accept submissions for a national anthem for the country. The Committee would ultimately receive three submissions. One submission, by Reverend John Colley Faye, although acknowledged as "superb" in content, was rejected for being too long, with the Committee preferring something more to the point and easy to memorise.
Mandinka musician Jali Nyama Suso was approached by the government to compose an entry. He responded that he would base his proposal on a traditional Mandinka tune dedicated Foday Kabba Dumbuya (or Fodee Kaba Dumbuya), a Muslim reformer and warrior remembered for his conquests for Islam, and a patron of Jali Nyama's grandfather. Jali Nyama stated that basing national anthems on odes to local historical figures had been done in nearby Guinea and Mali. Jali Nyama wrote his own Mandinka lyrics to the tune.
Jali Nyama's proposal was recorded and sent to be heard in the Prime Minister's office in the Cabinet, where it was liked by Prime Minister Dawda Jawara. After it was also well received by Governor-General John Paul, it was sent to be translated into English by Jeremy Frederick Howe, Chairman of the Selection Committee. Howe was a member of the Gambia Colonial Service from 1954 to 1965, an Administrative Officer in the Ministry of Local Government. Howe would ultimately be credited for the composition of the anthem, while his wife, Virginia Julia Howe, a university-trained composer, would be credited for the English translation.


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