Senegal River relates the legend that both the Senegal and the Egyptian Nile were branches of the Biblical Gihon River that stems from the Garden of Eden and flows through Ethiopia. He also notes that the Senegal was called "the Niger" by the ancients - probably a reference to Ptolemy's legendary 'Nigir' (Νιγειρ) (below the Gir), which would be later identified by Leo Africanus with the modern Niger River. Much the same story is repeated by Marmol in 1573, with the additional note that both the Senegal River and Gambia River were tributaries of the Niger River. However, the contemporary African atlas
Senegal population; the Christian community, at 7% of the population, are mostly Roman Catholics but there are still diverse Protestant denominations. One percent have animist beliefs, particularly in the southeastern region of the country. Some Serer people follow the Serer religion. A majority of the Muslims in Senegal are Sunni with Sufi influences. Islamic communities in Senegal are generally organized around one of several Islamic Sufi orders or brotherhoods, headed by a "khalif" ("xaliifa" in Wolof, from Arabic "khalīfa"), who is usually a direct descendant of the group's founder. The two largest and most prominent Sufi orders in Senegal are the