The Serer-Ndut or Ndut also spelt (Ndoute or N'doute) are an ethnic group in Senegal numbering 38600. They are part of the Serer people who collectively make up the third largest ethnic group in Senegal. The Serer-Ndut live mostly in western Senegal in the district of Mont-Roland, northwest of the city of Thiès.

Culture

Their language Ndut, is one of the Cangin languages, closely related to Palor. Like the other Cangin languages, the speakers are ethnically Serers but they do not speak the Serer-Sine language. Their language is not a dialect of Serer-Sine (or Serer proper). The people are agriculturalists and lake fishermen.

Religion

Serer-Ndut people traditionally and still practice the Serer religion which involves honouring the ancestors covering all dimensions of life, death, cosmology etc. Their name for the Supreme Deity (Roog - in Serer religion) is Kopé Tiatie Cac - (God the grandfather in the Ndut language). The Ndut initiation rite, a rite of passage in Serer religion takes its name from the Ndut language. Some Serer-Ndut are Catholic. The main Catholic mission is at the town of Tiin.

History

The Serer people to which they are a sub-group of are the oldest inhabitants of Senegambia along with the Jola people. Their ancestors were dispersed throughout the Senegambia Region and it is suggested that they built the Senegambian stone circles although other sources suggest it was probably the Jola. The Ndut were also the original founders of Biffeche as well as the Mt Rolland. During the colonial period of Senegal, both the French administration and the Muslim communities of Senegal tried to annihilate the Serer-Ndut people. They failed to achieve their objectives.