The Imamate of Futa Toro () (1776-1861) was a
West Africa
West Africa or Western Africa is the westernmost region of Africa. The United Nations defines Western Africa as the 16 countries of Benin, Burkina Faso, Cape Verde, The Gambia, Ghana, Guinea, Guinea-Bissau, Ivory Coast, Liberia, Mali, M ...
n theocratic monarchy of the
Fula-speaking people (''
Fulɓe
The Fula, Fulani, or Fulɓe people ( ff, Fulɓe, ; french: Peul, links=no; ha, Fulani or Hilani; pt, Fula, links=no; wo, Pël; bm, Fulaw) are one of the largest ethnic groups in the Sahel and West Africa, widely dispersed across the region ...
'' and
Toucouleurs) in the middle valley of the
Senegal River. The region is known as
Futa Toro
Futa Toro ( Wolof and ff, Fuuta Tooro ''𞤆𞤵𞥄𞤼𞤢 𞤚𞤮𞥄𞤪𞤮''; ar, فوتا تورو), often simply the Futa, is a semidesert region around the middle run of the Senegal River. This region is along the border of Senegal and ...
.
Origins
Futa Toro is a strip of agricultural land along both sides of the
Senegal River. The people of the region speak
Pulaar
Pulaar (in Adlam: , in Ajami: ) is a Fula language spoken primarily as a first language by the Fula and Toucouleur peoples in the Senegal River valley area traditionally known as Futa Tooro and further south and east. Pulaar speakers, known ...
, a dialect of the greater
Fula languages spanning West Africa from
Senegal
Senegal,; Wolof: ''Senegaal''; Pulaar: 𞤅𞤫𞤲𞤫𞤺𞤢𞥄𞤤𞤭 (Senegaali); Arabic: السنغال ''As-Sinighal'') officially the Republic of Senegal,; Wolof: ''Réewum Senegaal''; Pulaar : 𞤈𞤫𞤲𞤣𞤢𞥄𞤲𞤣𞤭 ...
to
Cameroon
Cameroon (; french: Cameroun, ff, Kamerun), officially the Republic of Cameroon (french: République du Cameroun, links=no), is a country in west-central Africa. It is bordered by Nigeria to the west and north; Chad to the northeast; the C ...
. They identify themselves by the language, which gives rise to the name ''Haalpulaar'en'' (those who speak Pulaar).
The ''Haalpulaar'en'' are also known as
Toucouleur people
__NOTOC__
The Tukulor people ( ar, توكولور), also called Toucouleur or Haalpulaar, are a West African ethnic group native to Futa Tooro region of Senegal. There are smaller communities in Mali and Mauritania. The Toucouleur were Islamized ...
, a name derived from the ancient state of
Takrur
Takrur, Tekrur or Tekrour ( 800 – c. 1285) was an ancient state of West Africa, which flourished roughly parallel to the Ghana Empire.
Origin
Takrur was the capital of the state which flourished on the lower Senegal River. Takruri was a ...
.
From 1495 to 1776, the country was part of the
Denanke Kingdom.
The
Denianke leaders were a clan of non-
Muslim Fulbe who ruled over most of Senegal.
A class of Muslim scholars called the ''
Torodbe
The Torodbe; singular Torodo (also called Turudiyya, Banu Toro, Takrur, Toronkawa) were Muslim clerics and theocratic monarchs who reigned in Futa Toro, a region located in the north of present-day Senegal, from the seventeenth to the early twenti ...
'' seem to have originated in
Futa Toro
Futa Toro ( Wolof and ff, Fuuta Tooro ''𞤆𞤵𞥄𞤼𞤢 𞤚𞤮𞥄𞤪𞤮''; ar, فوتا تورو), often simply the Futa, is a semidesert region around the middle run of the Senegal River. This region is along the border of Senegal and ...
, later spreading throughout the Fulbe territories. Two of the Torodbe clans in Futa Toro claimed to be descended from a seventh-century relative of one of the
companions of the prophet
Muhammad
Muhammad ( ar, مُحَمَّد; 570 – 8 June 632 CE) was an Arab religious, social, and political leader and the founder of Islam. According to Islamic doctrine, he was a prophet divinely inspired to preach and confirm the mo ...
who was among a group of invaders of Futa Toro. The Torodbe may well have already been a distinct group when the Denianke conquered Futa Toro.
In the last quarter of the seventeenth century the Mauritanian
Zawāyā
The Zawaya are tribes in the southern Sahara who have traditionally followed a deeply religious way of life. They accepted a subordinate position to the warrior tribes, whether Arab or Berber, who had little interest in Islam. The Zawaya introduce ...
reformer
Nasir al-Din
Nasir al-Din ( ar, نصیر الدین or or , 'defender of the faith'), was originally a honorific title and is an Arabic masculine given name and surname. There are many variant spellings in English due to transliteration. Notable people with ...
launched a
jihad to restore purity of religious observance in the Futa Toro.
He gained support from the Torodbe clerical clan against the warriors, but by 1677 the movement had been defeated.
After this defeat, some of the Torodbe migrated south to
Bundu
Bundu may refer to:
* Bundu (state), a former state in what is now Senegal
* Also known as the place where Aditya Kumar (BE/10023/12) was born and brought up
* Bundu, India, a town in Jharkhand, India
** Bundu block, the larger administrative u ...
and some continued on to the
Futa Jallon
Fouta Djallon ( ff, 𞤊𞤵𞥅𞤼𞤢 𞤔𞤢𞤤𞤮𞥅, Fuuta Jaloo; ar, فوتا جالون) is a highland region in the center of Guinea, roughly corresponding with Middle Guinea, in West Africa.
Etymology
The Fulani people call th ...
.
The farmers of Futa Toro continued to suffer from attacks by nomads from Mauritania.
By the eighteenth century there was growing resentment among the largely Muslim lower class at lack of protection against these attacks.
Jihad
In 1726 or 1727
Karamokho Alfa
Karamokho Alfa (born Ibrahima Musa Sambeghu and sometimes called Alfa Ibrahim; died c. 1751) was a Fula religious leader who led a jihad that created the Imamate of Futa Jallon in what is now Guinea. This was one of the first of the Fulbe jih ...
led a ''
jihad'' in
Futa Jallon
Fouta Djallon ( ff, 𞤊𞤵𞥅𞤼𞤢 𞤔𞤢𞤤𞤮𞥅, Fuuta Jaloo; ar, فوتا جالون) is a highland region in the center of Guinea, roughly corresponding with Middle Guinea, in West Africa.
Etymology
The Fulani people call th ...
to the south, leading to formation of the
Imamate of Futa Jallon
The Imamate of Futa Jallon or Jalon ( ar, إمامة فوتة جالون; fuf, Fuuta Jaloo or ' ) was a West African theocratic state based in the Fouta Djallon highlands of modern Guinea. The state was founded around 1727 by a Fulani jihad ...
. This was followed by a ''jihad'' in Futa Toro between 1769 and 1776 led by
Sulaymān Baal.
In 1776 the Torodbe threw out the ruling Denianke Dynasty.
Sulayman died in 1776 and was succeeded by
Abdul Kader ('Abd al-Qadir), a learned teacher and judge who had studied in
Cayor
Cayor ( wo, Kajoor; ar, كاجور) was the largest and most powerful kingdom (1549–1879) that split off from the Jolof Empire in what is now Senegal. Cayor was located in northern and central Senegal, southeast of Walo, west of the kingdom ...
.
Abdul Kader became the first ''
Almamy'' of the theocratic Imamate of Futa Toro.
He encouraged construction of mosques, and pursued an aggressive policy towards his neighbors.
The Torodbe prohibited the trade in slaves on the river. In 1785 they obtained an agreement from the French to stop trading in Muslim slaves and to pay customs duties to the state. Abdul Kader defeated the emirates of
Trarza
Trarza ( ar, ولاية الترارزة) is a region in southwest Mauritania. Its capital is Rosso. Other major cities and towns include Mederdra and Boutilimit. Trarza borders the regions of Inchiri and Adrar to the north, Brakna to the east, a ...
and
Brakna
Brakna ( ar, ولاية البراكنة) is a region in south-west Mauritania. Its capital is Aleg. Other major cities/towns include Boghé. The region borders the Mauritanian regions of Tagant to the north-east, Assaba and Gorgol to the sou ...
to the north, but was defeated and captured when he attacked the
Wolof states of
Cayor
Cayor ( wo, Kajoor; ar, كاجور) was the largest and most powerful kingdom (1549–1879) that split off from the Jolof Empire in what is now Senegal. Cayor was located in northern and central Senegal, southeast of Walo, west of the kingdom ...
and
Waalo
Walo ( wo, Waalo) was a kingdom on the lower Senegal River in West Africa, in what are now Senegal and Mauritania. It included parts of the valley proper and areas north and south, extending to the Atlantic Ocean. To the north were Moorish emirat ...
around 1797. After his release the ''jihad'' impetus had been lost. By the time of Abdul Kader's death in 1806 the state was dominated by a few elite Torodbe families.
Government
The Imamate was ruled by an Almamy elected, from a group of eligible
lineages, by an electoral council, which contained a fixed core and a fluctuating periphery of members. Two families were eligible for the throne, the Wane family of Mbumba and the Ly family of Jaaba.
Almamys continued to be enthronized in Futa Toro throughout the twentieth century, but by then the role had become ceremonial.
The Imamate survived through the twentieth century, albeit in a much weaker state. The kingdom was ruled officially by the Almamy, but effective control lay with regional chiefs of the central provinces who possessed considerable land, followers and slaves. The struggle of various coalitions of electors and eligibles further hastened the decline of the Imamate.
In the middle of the nineteenth century, the Futa Toro was threatened by the French under the leadership of Governor
Louis Faidherbe.
The Imamate at this time was divided into three parts. The Central region contained the seat of the elected Almamy, subject to a council of 18 electors. The west, called the Toro region, was administered by the ''Lam-Toro''. The east, called the Futa Damga was theoretically administered by a chief called ''El-Feki'', but in practice he had only nominal authority.
Collapse
El Hadj Umar Tall
Hadji Oumarûl Foutiyou Tall (Umar ibn Sa'id al-Futi Tal, ar, حاج عمر بن سعيد طعل), ( – 1864 CE), born in Futa Tooro, present day Senegal, was a West African political leader, Islamic scholar, Tijani Sufi and Toucoule ...
, a native of Toro, launched a ''Jihad'' in 1852. His forces succeeded in establishing several states in the
Sudan to the east of Futa Toro, but the French under Major
Louis Faidherbe prevented him from including Futa Toro into his empire. To achieve his goals, Umar recruited heavily in Senegambia, especially in his native land. The recruitment process reached its culmination in a massive drive in 1858 and 1859. It had the effect of undermining the power of the Almamy even more. The authority of the regional chiefs, and particularly that of the electors, was compromised much less than that of the Almamy. Some of these leaders became fully independent and fought off the French and Umar Tall on their own. As a result, the Almamy and the chiefs began to rely increasingly on French support. 'Umar was defeated by the French at
Medine in 1857, losing access to Futa Toro.
Futa Toro was annexed by France in 1859, although in practice it had long been within the French sphere of influence. In 1860 Umar concluded a treaty with the French in which he recognized their supremacy in Futa Toro, while he was recognized in
Kaarta
Kaarta, or Ka'arta, was a short-lived Bambara kingdom in what is today the western half of Mali.
As Bitòn Coulibaly tightened his control over Ségou, capital of his newly founded Bambara Empire, a faction of Ségou Bambara dissatisfied with ...
and
Ségou
Ségou (; bm, ߛߋߓߎ, italic=no, ) is a town and an urban commune in south-central Mali that lies northeast of Bamako on the right bank of the River Niger. The town is the capital of the Ségou Cercle and the Ségou Region. With 130,690 ...
. In the 1860s the Almamy of Futa Toro was Abdul Boubakar, but his power was nominal. In June 1864 the Moors and the Booseya group of Fula collaborated in plundering trade barges that had become stranded near
Saldé in the east, drawing savage French reprisals against both groups.
The French generally encouraged strongmen such as
Abdul Bokar Kan of Bossea, Ibra Wane of Law and Samba Umahani in Toro when they attacked caravans in the region, since they hoped that would discourage migration away from the region to Umar's new state. Fear of continuing Muslim migration, however, led the military authorities to attack France's remaining clients in 1890. Abdul Bokar Kan fled but was murdered in August 1891 by the Berbers of Mauritania.
[Fage, J, D. & al]
''The Cambridge History of Africa'', vol. 6, p. 261.
Cambridge University Press (Cambridge
Cambridge ( ) is a College town, university city and the county town in Cambridgeshire, England. It is located on the River Cam approximately north of London. As of the 2021 United Kingdom census, the population of Cambridge was 145,700. Cam ...
), 1995 reprinted 2004. Accessed 18 Apr 2014. The French consolidated their complete control of the region.
See also
*
Denanke Kingdom
*
Toucouleur Empire
The Tidjaniya Caliphate ( ar, الخلافة التجانية; also known as the Tijaniyya Jihad state or the Segu Tukulor or the Toucouleur Empire) (1861–1890) was founded in the mid-nineteenth century by Elhadj Oumar Foutiyou Tall of the T ...
*
List of Rulers of Futa Toro
References
Notes
Citations
Sources
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{{DEFAULTSORT:Futa Toro, Kingdom of
Countries in precolonial Africa
French West Africa
Kingdoms of Senegal
Former monarchies of Africa
Fula history
1861 disestablishments in Africa
States and territories established in 1776
States and territories disestablished in 1861
18th century in Africa
19th century in Africa
1776 establishments in Africa
Former theocracies