[6] He was the son of Fara Penda,[3][7] who was a Waalo noble,[3] as well as a direct descendant of Laman Jaw, who was the king of the Jolof in 1285.
[8] Among the people interviewed and works reviewed by Eunice A. Charles, Dyao's account of the Jolof Empire, published in Legendes et Coutumes Senegalaises, cahiers de Yoro Dyao,[4] known in English as Senegalese legends and customs: notebooks of Yoro Dyâo,[10] was regarded as the most detailed.
[11] Dyao's notebooks detail indigenous Senegalese philosophy, life, and tradition,[7] as well as the basic elements of Wolof society and institutions, such as the family structure, the caste system, and degrees of nobility.
[11] For instance, his work described griots, who, within the social hierarchy of artisans (nyeenyo), there were musicians (sab-lekk), drummers (tamakat), and xalmbaan, who used violin-like instruments to play their music.
[5] The works of Dyao also detailed the Ndyadyane Ndyaye legend, the Jolof Empire's founding, and the inauguration of kings in Senegal.