Fandène ( Serer : Fanđan, or Fandane or Mbel Fandane) is a small village in

Senegal Senegal, officially the Republic of Senegal, is the westernmost country in West Africa, situated on the Atlantic Ocean coastline. It borders Mauritania to Mauritania–Senegal border, the north, Mali to Mali–Senegal border, the east, Guinea t ...

about 7 km from

Thiès Thiès (; ; Noon language, Noon: ''Chess'') is the third largest city in Senegal with a population of 391,253 in 2023. It lies east of Dakar on the N2 road (Senegal), N2 road and at the junction of railway lines to Dakar, Bamako and Saint-Louis, ...

. It is inhabited by the

Serer people The Serer people (''Serer language, Serer proper'': Seereer or Sereer) are a West African ethnoreligious groupGastellu, Jean-Marc, ''Petit traité de matrilinarité. L'accumulation dans deux sociétés rurales d'Afrique de l'Ouest'', Cahiers ORST ...

History

Fandène or Fandane was one of the villages of the precolonial Serer

Kingdom of Sine The Kingdom of Sine (or Siin in Serer, variations: ''Sin'' or ''Siine'') was a post-classical Serer kingdom along the north bank of the Saloum River delta in modern Senegal. Toponymy and Demonym During the Guelowar Era the region was named a ...

. On 18 July 1867 at

the Battle of Fandane-Thiouthioune The Battle of Fandane-Thiouthioune (or Thiouthiogne), also known as the Battle of Somb or the Battle of Somb-Tioutioune, occurred on 18 July 1867.Sarr, Alioune. ''Histoire du Sine-Saloum.'' Introduction, bibliographie et Notes par Charles Becker ...

(commonly known as the Battle of Somb), a war took place there at the stream of Fandane between the Serer people (followers of

Serer religion The Serer religion or Serer spirituality (''Serer language, Serer:'' A ƭat Roog, meaning "the way of the Divine", "path of God", or "religious life"Kalis, Simone, ''Médecine traditionnelle, religion et divination chez les Seereer Siin du Sén� ...

) led by their King

Maad a Sinig Kumba Ndoffene Famak Joof Maad a Signig Kumba Ndoffene Famak Joof ('' Serer:'' Maad a Sinig Kumba Ndoofeen fa Maak Juuf, born circa. 1810 – 23 August 1871) was the King of Sine in modern-day Senegal. The Serer title '' Maad a Sinig'' means king of Sine, that is, ...

and his army and the

Muslim Muslims () are people who adhere to Islam, a Monotheism, monotheistic religion belonging to the Abrahamic religions, Abrahamic tradition. They consider the Quran, the foundational religious text of Islam, to be the verbatim word of the God ...

Marabouts In the Muslim world, the marabout () is a descendant of Muhammad (Arabic: سـيّد, romanized: ''sayyid'' and ''sidi'' in the Maghreb) and a Muslim religious leader and teacher who historically had the function of a chaplain serving as a par ...

Senegambia The Senegambia (other names: Senegambia region or Senegambian zone,Barry, Boubacar, ''Senegambia and the Atlantic Slave Trade'', (Editors: David Anderson, Carolyn Brown; trans. Ayi Kwei Armah; contributors: David Anderson, American Council of Le ...

led by

Maba Diakhou Bâ Mamadu Diakhou Bâ (1809 – July 1867) was a Muslim leader in Senegambia (West Africa) during the 19th century. He was a disciple of the Tijaniyya Sufi brotherhood and became the Almami of Saloum. Maba Diakhou Bâ combined political and rel ...

and his army. The Serer forces defeated the Muslim Marabouts when they tried to launch a

jihad ''Jihad'' (; ) is an Arabic word that means "exerting", "striving", or "struggling", particularly with a praiseworthy aim. In an Islamic context, it encompasses almost any effort to make personal and social life conform with God in Islam, God ...

and conquer Sine. Maba Diakhou Bâ was killed in that battle.

Population

About 5000 inhabitants

Geography

The closest localities are

Thies Thies may refer to * Thiès, a city in Senegal **Université de Thiès in Senegal **Olympique Thiès, a Senegalese football club **Roman Catholic Diocese of Thiès **Thiès Department *Thiès Region in western Senegal *Thies (name) See also

*T ...

, Lalane,

Somb Somb (in Serer, also ''Som'' or ''Sombe'') is a town in Senegal situated in the west of the country. History Somb figured prominently in Serer religious affairs for a long part of its history. It takes its name from the ''Somb'' tree (Latin ...

, Mont-rolland, Peykouk, Keur Dembaand Keur Diour,

Thiouthioune Thiouthioune (in Serer) is a village in Senegal (rural community of Diakhao, Fatick Region) located in the pre-colonial Serer Kingdom of Sine. The current population is estimated at 763. The Battle of Fandane-Thiouthioune (18 July 1867) commonly ...

Activities

A traditional market is held there every Wednesday. In January 2011, The Festival of

Farmer A farmer is a person engaged in agriculture, raising living organisms for food or raw materials. The term usually applies to people who do some combination of raising field crops, orchards, vineyards, poultry, or other livestock. A farmer ...

's Seeds was also held there.Enda Pronat

Notes

Bibliography

* M. B. Gueye, ''Conflits et alliances entre agriculteurs et éleveurs : le cas du Goll de Fandène'', IIED Dryland Network Programme Issue Paper n° 49, 1994 * Abbé Ruffray, « Fandène en liesse, fête le jubilé de ses premiers chrétiens », ''Horizons africains'', n° 136, février 1962, p. 10-12 * Sarr, Alioune, ''Histoire du Sine-Saloum'', Introduction, bibliographie et Notes par Charles Becker, BIFAN, Tome 46, Serie B, n° 3–4, 1986–1987. pp 37–39 * Gravrand, Henry, ''La civilisation sereer,'' vol. II : ''

Pangool Pangool (in Serer and Cangin) singular: Fangool (var : ''Pangol'' and ''Fangol''), are the ancient saints and ancestral spirits of the Serer people of Senegal, the Gambia and Mauritania. The Pangool play a crucial role in Serer religion and hist ...

'', Nouvelles éditions africaines, Dakar, 1990, p 474,

External links

Maps, weather and airports for Fandane
Serer country Villages in Senegal {{Senegal-geo-stub