Sephardi Jews from Spain, Portugal, and Morocco settled along the coast of Senegal and on the islands of Cape Verde.
[1] During the early 17th century, a group of Portuguese Jewish traders formed communities in the town of Joal-Fadiouth and elsewhere along the Petite Côte in the region of Senegambia, trading with West Africa, Portugal, and the Netherlands.
[2] Despite the opposition of Catholic Portuguese government, the Jews of Joal-Fadiouth were protected by the local chief and were allowed to openly practice their religion.
[3] Two Jewish refugees who had escaped Europe were captured in Dakar and temporarily taken to the Sébikhotane internment camp and then transferred to the Office du Niger, a large cotton farm in Mali where the French colonial authorities used slave labor.
Members of the tribe trace their lineage to two clans, Sylla and Drame, which they claim to be descended from Egyptian Jews.