The Erosion of Matriarchal Authority and the Rise of Patriarchal Rule in the Gambia Valley Region of Precolonial Senegambia through Orality

Purpose: This study examines the decline of matriarchal governance in precolonial kingdoms of the Gambia Valley region within Greater Senegambia. However, 21st-century scholars have isolated the matriarchal kingdoms of Niumi and Kombo in the historiography of Senegambia due to a lack of written, archaeological, and sufficient oral memory. The study compellingly demonstrates the existence of a dual geopolitical sphere and a hereditary constitutional electoral system in precolonial Senegambia, characterized by both matriarchal and patriarchal, as well as matrilineal and patrilineal systems and states. Methodology: Employing a qualitative historical case‑study design, it integrates oral interviews with genealogical custodians, documentary review, and archival data to reconstruct matriarchal institutions. Findings: It reaffirms that by the 13th century, patriarchal structures began to emerge following the influence of Mali. Internal resistance, highlighted by events such as the Jaara Incident, along with external pressures from the expansion of the Mali Empire and the spread of Islam, significantly contributed to this decline. Unique Contribution to Theory, Practice and Policy: Furthermore, the findings revealed that intermarriages between matriarchal queens and Malian princes deepened the dominance of patriarchal structures, leading to the exclusion of women from political participation.