The Kingdom of Saloum (

Serer language Serer, often broken into differing regional dialects such as Serer-Sine and Serer saloum, is a language of the kingdoms of Sine and Saloum branch of Niger–Congo spoken by 1.2 million people in Senegal and 30,000 in the Gambia as of 2009. It i ...

: ''Saluum'' or ''Saalum'') was a Serer/

Wolof Wolof or Wollof may refer to: * Wolof people, an ethnic group found in Senegal, Gambia, and Mauritania * Wolof language, a language spoken in Senegal, Gambia, and Mauritania * The Wolof or Jolof Empire, a medieval West African successor of the Mal ...

kingdom Kingdom commonly refers to: * A monarchy ruled by a king or queen * Kingdom (biology), a category in biological taxonomy Kingdom may also refer to: Arts and media Television * ''Kingdom'' (British TV series), a 2007 British television drama s ...

in present-day

Senegal Senegal,; Wolof: ''Senegaal''; Pulaar: 𞤅𞤫𞤲𞤫𞤺𞤢𞥄𞤤𞤭 (Senegaali); Arabic: السنغال ''As-Sinighal'') officially the Republic of Senegal,; Wolof: ''Réewum Senegaal''; Pulaar : 𞤈𞤫𞤲𞤣𞤢𞥄𞤲𞤣𞤭 ...

. Its kings may have been of Mandinka/ Kaabu origin. The capital of Saloum was the city of

Kahone Kahone or Kawon is a town and commune near Kaolack, Senegal. It is primarily agricultural, but it is participating in industrial development plans. Also, the town is pursuing increased tourism based on its ancient Serer culture. Kahone is the ...

. It was a sister

kingdom of Sine The Kingdom of Sine (also: ''Sin, Siine'' or Siin in the Serer-Sine language) was a post-classical Serer kingdom along the north bank of the Saloum River delta in modern Senegal. The inhabitants are called ''Siin-Siin'' or ''Sine-Sine'' (a Se ...

. Their history, geography and culture were intricately linked and it was common to refer to them as the

Sine-Saloum Sine-Saloum is a region in Senegal located north of the Gambia and south of the Petite Côte. It encompasses an area of 24,000 square kilometers, about 12% of Senegal, with a population in the 1990s of 1,060,000. The western portion contains the ...

History

Saloum, just like its sister kingdom (the

Kingdom of Sine The Kingdom of Sine (also: ''Sin, Siine'' or Siin in the Serer-Sine language) was a post-classical Serer kingdom along the north bank of the Saloum River delta in modern Senegal. The inhabitants are called ''Siin-Siin'' or ''Sine-Sine'' (a Se ...

), is known for its many ancient burial mounds or "

tumuli A tumulus (plural tumuli) is a mound of earth and stones raised over a grave or graves. Tumuli are also known as barrows, burial mounds or ''kurgans'', and may be found throughout much of the world. A cairn, which is a mound of stones built ...

" containing the graves of kings and others. The kingdom has numerous mysterious stone circles whose functions and history were unknown until recently. Historian Donald R. Wright states that "In the last decade of the fifteenth century, a group of nyancho lineages from Kaabu moved north of the Gambia River and took over an area on the southern edge of the weakening Jolof Empire. From a settlement near the mouth of the Saloum River, these lineages soon mixed with the existing Wolof and Serer population and established the state of Saloum." According to Abdou Bouri Ba the Kingdom of Saloum was previously known as ''Mbey'' (in Serer) and was renamed Saloum by the Maad Saloum Mbegan Ndour in the later part of the 15th century (c. 1494). For several centuries prior to its renaming, its capital was called ''Ngap''. According to Serer oral tradition, it was named after Saalum Suwareh, a

marabout A marabout ( ar, مُرابِط, murābiṭ, lit=one who is attached/garrisoned) is a Muslim religious leader and teacher who historically had the function of a chaplain serving as a part of an Islamic army, notably in North Africa and the Sah ...

of Maad Saloum Mbegan Ndour (variation: Mbegani Ndour). The tradition went on to say that, Saalum Suwareh agreed to give a '' juju'' fetish to Maad Saloum Mbegan Ndour (originally from the

) in order to defeat the Toucouleur conqueror and his Muslim marabouts provided he promised to rename the country after him once he is victorious. Mbegan Ndour agreed. After this oral contract, Mbegan Ndour defeated Ali Elibana and drove his Muslim marabout forces out of Saloum and reign over the country. Like the Kingdom of Sine, the population is overrun and ruled by the Serer people. The two are generally referred to as the Serer Kingdoms. Many parts of present-day Gambia were former colonies of the Kingdom of Saloum. Originally, Saloum extended south to the north banks of the

Gambia River The Gambia River (formerly known as the River Gambra) is a major river in West Africa, running from the Fouta Djallon plateau in north Guinea westward through Senegal and The Gambia to the Atlantic Ocean at the city of Banjul. It is navigabl ...

. Present-day Gambia was referred to as Lower Saloum. Upper Saloum was where modern day Saloum is in Senegal. Saloum also had control for a time the

Kingdom of Baol The Kingdom of Baol or Bawol in central Senegal was one of the kingdoms that arose from the split-up of the Empire of Jolof (Diolof) in 1555. The ruler ( Teigne or Teen) reigned from a capital in Diourbel. The Kingdom encompassed a strip of l ...

. The States of Sabakh and Sandial were ruled by the ''Fara Sabakh'' and ''Fara Sandial'' (respective titles of the chiefs),Ba, Abdou Bouri, "Essai sur l’histoire du Saloum et du Rip. Avant-propos par Charles Becker et Victor Martin", p 18 and were both tributary to the king at

(the

Maad Saloum Maad Saloum (variations :Maad a Saloum, Mad Saloum, Maat Saloum, Bour Saloum, Bur Saloum, etc.) means king of Saloum, in the Serer language. The ancient Kingdom of Saloum now part of present-day Senegal was a pre-colonial Serer kingdom. Their ki ...

). Around 1862, Sambou Oumanneh Touray, a disciple of

Maba Diakhou Bâ Maba Diakhou Bâ (1809 – July 1867), also known as Ma Ba Diakhu, Ma Ba Diakho Ba, Ma Ba Jaaxu, Mabba Jaxu Ba, was a Muslim leader in West Africa during the 19th century. Born in Rip, Maba was a disciple of the Tijaniyya Sufi brotherhood and bec ...

launched a jihad in Sabakh and Sandial. Having defeated the Fara Sabakh and Fara Sandial, he joined the two countries together (hence : ''Sabakh-Sandial'') and ruled it. The final Fara Sabakh and Fara Sandial died in that jihad. During the Serer paternal and Guelowar maternal dynasties from the 15th century to 1969, nearly 50 kings have been enthroned. The kings continued to hold their court in

, but the city was eclipsed commercially by neighboring

Kaolack Kaolack ( ar, كاولاك; wo, Kawlax) is a town of 172,305 people (2002 census) on the north bank of the Saloum River and the N1 road in Senegal. It is the capital of the Kaolack Region, which borders The Gambia to the south. Kaolack is an i ...

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

). Although the Kingdom won some major battles against the French, it was later defeated. However, like the Kingdom of Sine, the royal dynasty survived up to 1969, when the last king of Saloum, Fode N'Gouye Joof had died. His year of death corresponded with the death of

Maad a Sinig Mahecor Joof Maad a Sinig Mahecor Joof (English spelling in the Gambia; variations: Maad a Sinig Mahécor Diouf - French in Senegal; ''Maad Siin'' or Mad a Sinig Mahekor Juuf, also ''Maye Koor Juuf'' - in Serer-Sine language) was the last king to rule the ...

, who was king of Sine. These two kings were the last Serer kings and the last kings of the Senegambia. After their deaths, both Kingdoms were incorporated into the new Republic of independent Senegal which gained its independence in 1960. Thus the Kingdom of Sine and the Kingdom of Saloum were the last pre-colonial kingdoms of Senegambia to have survived up to the 20th century.

People and language

Ethnically, Saloum was Serer, but gradually the

immigrants have settled in along with the Fulas,

Mandinkas The Mandinka or Malinke are a West African ethnic group primarily found in southern Mali, the Gambia and eastern Guinea. Numbering about 11 million, they are the largest subgroup of the Mandé peoples and one of the List of ethnic groups of Afric ...

, etc. Unlike the Kingdom of Sine which is ethnically Serer and deeply rooted in "Serer-

conservatism Conservatism is a cultural, social, and political philosophy that seeks to promote and to preserve traditional institutions, practices, and values. The central tenets of conservatism may vary in relation to the culture and civilizati ...

", such as the preservation of

Serer religion The Serer religion, or ''a ƭat Roog'' ("the way of the Divine"), is the original religious beliefs, practices, and teachings of the Serer people of Senegal in West Africa. The Serer religion believes in a universal supreme deity called Roog ...

, culture, traditions, etc., Saloum is more

cosmopolitan Cosmopolitan may refer to: Food and drink * Cosmopolitan (cocktail), also known as a "Cosmo" History * Rootless cosmopolitan, a Soviet derogatory epithet during Joseph Stalin's anti-Semitic campaign of 1949–1953 Hotels and resorts * Cosmopoli ...

and multi-religious. This explains why some Serer traditionalists who adhere to the tenets of Serer religion are reluctant to afford it the same religious status afforded to Sine as one of the sacred Serer holy sites, in spite of housing many of the Serer sites (see

Serer ancient history The prehistoric and ancient history of the Serer people of modern-day Senegambia has been extensively studied and documented over the years. Much of it comes from archaeological discoveries and Serer tradition rooted in the Serer religio ...

).Becker, Charles: "Vestiges historiques, trémoins matériels du passé clans les pays sereer". Dakar. 1993. CNRS - ORS TO M Although very cosmopolitan, it is also ethnically Serer, the other ethnic groups are migrants.Klein, Martin A., ''Islam and Imperialism in Senegal Sine-Saloum, 1847–1914,'' p. 7. Published by Edingburg University Press (1968). The

and

are both widely spoken in Saloum. The

Cangin languages The Cangin languages are spoken by 200,000 people (as of 2007) in a small area east of Dakar, Senegal. They are the languages spoken by the Serer people who do not speak the Serer language (''Serer-Sine''). Because the people are ethnically Ser ...

are also spoken.

Commerce and geography

Saloum includes flat, swampy tideland areas inland from the

Saloum River The Saloum River rises about 105 kilometers east of Kaolack, Senegal, and flows into the Atlantic Ocean. The significant Saloum Delta is located at its mouth, which is protected as Saloum Delta National Park. The river basin lies within the Serer ...

delta Delta commonly refers to: * Delta (letter) (Δ or δ), a letter of the Greek alphabet * River delta, at a river mouth * D ( NATO phonetic alphabet: "Delta") * Delta Air Lines, US * Delta variant of SARS-CoV-2 that causes COVID-19 Delta may also ...

. In recent years large areas of

mangrove A mangrove is a shrub or tree that grows in coastal saline or brackish water. The term is also used for tropical coastal vegetation consisting of such species. Mangroves are taxonomically diverse, as a result of convergent evolution in severa ...

growth have been destroyed. There was a flourishing industry of

salt Salt is a mineral composed primarily of sodium chloride (NaCl), a chemical compound belonging to the larger class of salts; salt in the form of a natural crystalline mineral is known as rock salt or halite. Salt is present in vast quant ...

-manufacture at the salt flats along the delta. Its economic base was

groundnut Groundnut may refer to: * Seeds that ripen underground, of the following plants, all in the Faboideae subfamily of the legumes: ** '' Best Basketball Player'', Obinna Udunni ** '' Arachis villosulicarpa'', a perennial peanut species ** ''Vigna sub ...

trade, exporting large quantities of nuts to Europe.

Notes

References

*Almada, André Alvares (1594) ''Tratado breve dos Rios de Guiné do Cabo-Verde: desde o Rio do Sanagá até aos baixos de Sant' Anna'' 1841 edition, Porto: Typographia Commercial Portuense
online
* Ba, Abdou Bouri. ''"Essai sur l’histoire du Saloum et du Rip"''(avant-propos par Charles Becker and Victor Martin), ''Bulletin de l'IFAN'', vol. 38, série B, number 4, October 1976. * Becker, Charles. ''Vestiges historiques, trémoins matériels du passé clans les pays sereer''. Dakar. 1993. CNRS - ORS TO M. *Clark, Andrew F. and Lucie Colvin Phillips, ''Historical Dictionary of Senegal'', Second Edition Published as No. 65 of African Historical Dictionaries, (Metuchen, New Jersey: The Scarecrow Press, 1994) p. 246-247 * Diange, Pathé. "''Les Royaumes Sérères"''. ''Présence Africaines''. No. 54 (1965). pp. 142–172. *Diouf, Niokhobaye, "Chronique du royaume du Sine", Suivie de notes sur les traditions orales et les sources écrites concernant le royaume du Sine par Charles Becker et Victor Martin. (1972). Bulletin de l'Ifan, Tome 34, Série B, n° 4, (1972), p 707 (p 5) * Klein, Martin A. ''Islam and Imperialism in Senegal Sine-Saloum, 1847–1914''. Edinburgh University Press (1968). *Teixera da Mota, Avelino (1946) "A descoberta da Guiné", ''Boletim cultural da Guiné Portuguesa'', P. 1 in Vol. 1, No. 1 (Jan), p. 11-68. * Sarr, Alioune. ''"Histoire du Sine-Saloum"'', Introduction, bibliographie et Notes par Charles Becker. ''BIFAN''. vol. 46, Serie B, number 3–4, 1986–1987. * Gravrand, Henry. ''"La civilisation sereer, I. Coosan"''. Dakar, Nouvelles Editions Africaines (1983). {{Serer topics, state=collapsed Countries in medieval Africa History of Senegal Kingdoms of Senegal Countries in precolonial Africa Serer history Serer country Serer precolonial kingdoms Sahelian kingdoms States and territories established in 1494 States and territories disestablished in 1969 Precolonial kingdoms of the Gambia