The word history is the study of the past, especially human affairs. History on the other hand could mean  accumulation of past events, especially those relating to human affairs  or developments connected with a particular nation, person or thing.

History played and continue to play very important role in our daily lives. It helps us to understand what we went through, where  we came from, and where we are heading to.

The Gambia is blessed with a very rich traditional cultural historic sites such as the famous Kachikally sacred Crocodile pool, located in Bakau; James Island; Juffureh slave moseum in the North Bank Region (NBR); the Stones circucles in Wassu; the underground slave house; slave market; Freedom tree monument; among others. It would be interesting to note that most of these historic sites have already been listed on the historic map of UNESCO.

According to the historical analysis handed down to the Bojang Family, custodians of the sacred kachikally Crocodile pool, the pool was founded about centuries ago.  Up to date, there have been two successful publications on the pool. The first publication entitled “Biodiversity,Guide to kachikally sacred crocodile pool,” was jointly authored by the management of the pool in collaborations with the Environment agencies in the Gambia.

The latest publication, captioned: “find out about Kachikally Crocodile pool”, is authored by Anita Whittle, wife of professor  Withur of the Medical Research Council (MRC) and supported by Mr Hassum Ceesay, renowned Gambian historian, who is also an erudite history author of our time.

The 13 page book gave a brief  historical insight and an analystical life of  crocodiles at the Kachikally sacred crocodile pool. The book explains how  the crocodiles came to the pool, the number of them in the pool, what kind of crocodiles live in the pool, how big they grow, compared to others outside, especially those living in the Nile, what they eat, their life span, and a host of other unanswered questions.

The hand book in essence is a wonderful tour quide to the sites and heritages of the crocodile pool. It is meant for both adult and children, especially history stuidents.

Mr Doudou Bojang, custodian of the pool, speaking in a recent chat with the Arts and Culture Desk, described the publication as another pace setter in the promotion, development and preservation of the spirit of arts and culture in the country, especially the Kachikally pool, which he described as a national heritage.

The crocodile pool custodian revealed that works on the dranage system at the pool has been completed, and that it is now left with the main road connecting to the pool. He Added that the Gambia Tourism Authority (GTA) and the Department of State for Tourism had promised to work on the dranage system but that they were yet to come forward.

Mr Bojang, noted that the first publication was on Biodiversity, Guide to Kachikally Sacred crocodile pool. The next publication in the pipeline would be on the history of Bakau from 1600 centuries to date. The research is completed  and compilation of the piece done by Mr Hassium Ceesay. This publication is due in early January 2009.

The work is very important as it contained a lot of historical elements and facts, all of which is fit for consumption by both students and adults. Mr Doudou Bojang spoke at length on the importance of history in the development of a given society. We did a thorough and painstaking research on the topics covered, we got both  archive and oral collections from soldiers who fought in both world war; 1 and 2.Some topics were on tape record and filed, the crocodile pool custodian told the arts and culture deskman.

Renovation work at the Kachikally Crocodile Pool in Bakau came to an end. The face-lift renovation of this sacred pool, which is one of the most attractive sites to the tourists to The Gambia was carried out with the aims of promoting and developing the site to attract more visitors to the pool.

Speaking to Arts and Culture, Dodou Bojang, a traditional custodian of the crocodile pool, expressed profound and sincere gratitude to the youths of Bakau for participating actively in the renovation process. The renovation which was carried-out in the pool involved the complete covering of the most unwanted and stinky water running through the gutters that leads to the women vegetable garden, fencing of the pool vicinity among other works. He described the gesture of the youths, as the manifestation of their commitment to serve humanity. 

According to him, the crocodile pool attracts lot of visitors ranging from tourists, students from all over the country, researchers among others. Mr Bojang revealed that, the crocodile pool is known for its spiritual mystical traditional power.

Still commenting on the renovation work at the pool, Mr Bojang said that the work was long over due.  “We have been wondering and thinking of which measures we should take in order to deal with the bad smell coming from the gutters prior the renovation.  We had received numerous complain from visitors both tourists and others.  The former situation posed a real threat to the development of tourism, considering the nature and role of the crocodile pool to the tourist industry,” he said.

The custodian of the crocodile pool thanked The Gambia Tourism Authority and the National Environment Agency for the technical support accorded to the management of the Kachikally Crocodile Pool. “We hope the new anti-littering Bill will have positive impact on our environment,” he added. The renovation budget amounted to the tune of D200,000.