Saloum

Kingdom of Saloum
Saluum
1494–1969
Capital Kahone
Language(s) Serer
Religion Serer religion
Government Monarchy
Rulers of Saloum
 - 1494 - c1520 Mbegan Ndour (Guelowar period)
 - 1935-1969 Fode Ngui Joof
Historical era Medieval
 - (Paternal Serer and maternal Guelowar dynastic period. Previously paternal Serer and maternal Wagadou dynastic period). 1494
 - 1335 (The Battle of Turubang) Guelowar refuges granted asylum by the Serer nobles - "The Great Council of Lamans". By 1494 The Serer King Mbegan Ndour drove out the Muslim Marabouts.
 - (Death of Maat Saloum Fode Ngui Joof). 1969

The Kingdom of Saloum in Senegal is a traditional kingdom which was renamed Saloum in the late 15th century by the son of a Serer and a Guelowar from the kingdom of Kaabu to the south. The ancient and present capital of the Kingdom of Saloum is the city of Kahone. Previous to that, it was known as Mbey. The Kingdom of Saloum is a sister kingdom of the Kingdom of Sine both ruled and inhabitted by the Serer people. Their history, geography and culture went hand-in-hand, hence the name Sine-Saloum.

Contents

Overview

Saloum includes flat, swampy tideland areas inland from the Saloum River delta.  In recent years large areas of mangrove growth have been destroyed.  There was a flourishing industry of salt-manufacture at the salt flats along the delta.  Originally, Saloum extended south to the north banks of the Gambia River.

The population is overrun by the Serer people. During the Serer paternal and Guelowar maternal dynasties from the 15th century to 1969, over 100 kings have been enthroned.[1][2] Saloum had control, for a time, of the Kingdom of Baol. Although the Kingdom won some major battles against the French, the French also won battles against the Kingdom. The kings continued to hold their traditional court in Kahone, but the city was eclipsed commercially by neighboring Kaolack.

Its economic base was groundnut trade, exporting large quantities of nuts to Europe.[3]

Saloum, just like its sister Serer kingdom Sine, is known for its many ancient burial mounds or "tumuli" containing the graves of kings and others. The kingdom has numerous mysterious stone circles whose functions and history were unknown until recently.[4]

Ethnically, the Saloum kingdom has always been inhabited by Serer people, but gradually the Wolof immigrants have settled in.[5][6] Both Serer and Wolof languages are both widely spoken in Saloum.

Portuguese explorers in the 15th century referred to Saloum as the kingdom of Borçalo, after 'Bor-ba-Saloum' (Wolof corruption for "King of Saloum").[7]

See also

Religion

The People

Serer Kingdoms

Royalty

History

Notes

  1. ^ Abdou Boury Bâ's. Essai sur l'histoire du Saloum et du Rip, Avant-propos par Charles Becker et Vctor Martin. Publié dans Le Bulletin De L'institut Fondamental D'afrique Noire. Tome 38 , Série B, n° 4, Octobre 1976, P. Volume 38
  2. ^ Alioune Sarr,Histoire du Sine-Saloum. Introduction, bibliographie et Notes par Charles Becker, BIFAN, Tome 46, Serie B, n° 3-4, 1986–1987)
  3. ^ Clark, Andrew F. and Lucie Colvin Phillip. Historical Dictionary of Senegal: Second Edition (Metuchen, New Jersey: The Scarecrow Press, 1994) p. 232
  4. ^ Becker, Charles. "Vestiges historiques, trémoins matériels du passé clans les pays sereer". Dakar. 1993. CNRS - ORS TO M
  5. ^ Martin A. Klein. Islam and Imperialism in Senegal Sine-Saloum, 1847–1914, p. 7. Published by Edingburg University Press (1968). ISBN 85224 029 5
  6. ^ Diange, Pathé. "Les Royaumes Sérères", . Présence Africaine. No.54 (1965) p-p 142-72
  7. ^ Teixeira da Mota (1946: Pt. 1, p.58). For detailed 16th C. Portuguese description of the Kingdom of Saloum, see Almada (1594: Ch.2)

References

Alioune Sarr,

Henry Gravrand,

Martin A. Klein,