Maba Diakhou Bâ
Encyclopedia
Maba Diakhou Bâ (born 1809 at Tavacaltou - July 1867) was a marabout
from Rip, and a disciple of the Tijaniyya sufi brotherhood. He became leader (Almamy
) of Saloum
.
A descendant of the Fulani dynasty of Dényankobé, from the branch of the Bâ family in the region of Badibou, Maba Diakhou Bâ combined political and religious goals in an attempt to reform or overthrow previous animist monarchies, and resist French encroachment. He is in a tradition of Fulani jihad leaders who revolutionized the states of West Africa at the time of colonialism.
Maba Diakhou Bâ founded the city of Nioro
in Rip, and the village of Keur Maba Diakhou near Kaolack
is named for him.
French forces had carried out a scorched earth policy against resistance to their expansion in the Senegambia, with villages razed and populations removed after each victory. Throughout the founding of an Islamic state, Maba Diakhou Bâ tried to unify the area north of the Gambia, while leading a war of conversion against the traditional states.
After meeting Oumar Tall around 1850, Maba Diakhou Bâ launched his jihad into Serer
territory from his small state of Rip in 1861. While he eventually succeeded in overtaking the dynasty of Saloum
, his movement never succeeded in Sine
, and much of Serer territory remained animist or Christian into the 20th century. That said, there is much to suggest that Sine
resistance was as much nationalist as religious, with Muslims and animists fighting on both sides of these struggles.
forces, Maba Diakhou Bâ began the conquest of the states of Sine
, Baol
and Djolof.
, Maba and Lat Dior were checked by a combined force of French under Pinet-Laprade
of 2000 cavalry and 4000 colonial infantry, allied with 1000 infantry and 500 cavalry from the states of Waalo
, Ndiambour and Ndiander.
, Maba Diakhou Bâ's forces sought to abolish the traditional caste system of the Wolof and Serer
aristocratic states. In unifying with other Muslim forces, West African Jihad states aimed to end the reign of small regional kingships who kept the area in a constant state of war, and the farming and artisanal classes in slave conditions. The Toucouleur Empire
of El Hadj Umar Tall in Mali, which rose at about the same time had much the same goals, and Umar Tall himself was in contact with and recruited among Maba Diakhou Bâ's forces.
.
In 1867, Lat Dior and Maba Diakhou Bâ reconquered Cayor from the king placed there by the French. Governor Pinet-Laprade had little choice but to accede to Lat Dior, confirming him as the French chef de canton.
state of Maat Sine Kumba Ndoffene Famak Joof
. By 1871, the Serer had re-instated their traditional monarchy, which was soon to be supplanted by the French.
Maba Diakhou Bâ is an important link in the tradition of Senegalese marabouts who trace their lineage to Oumar Tal. This tradition has continued to the present, with such notables as El Hadj Saidou Nourou Tall (the former grand marabout of French West Africa
) the Tivaouane
-based Sy family of El Hadj Malik Sy
(1855-1922), and the Niass family of Abdoulaye Niass (1840–1922) and his son Ibrahim Niass
in Kaolack. Tivaouane in the north among the Wolof and Kaolack among the Serer have become the two centers of Tijaniyyah
sufi teaching in Senegal, and both were founded as a direct result of Maba Diakhou Bâ's short-lived state.
He was interred in the village of Fandène
(or Mbel Fandane), and his tomb, which has become a place of pilgrimage, is in the arrondissement of Diakhao, département of Fatick
, region of Fatick in Sine-Saloum
, Sénégal.
Marabout
A marabout is a Muslim religious leader and teacher in West Africa, and in the Maghreb. The marabout is often a scholar of the Qur'an, or religious teacher. Others may be wandering holy men who survive on alms, Sufi Murshids , or leaders of religious communities...
from Rip, and a disciple of the Tijaniyya sufi brotherhood. He became leader (Almamy
Almami
Almami is a title of West African Muslim rulers, used especially in the conquest states of the 19th century. It is a contraction of Amir al-Mu'minin , usually translated "Commander of the Faithful" or "Prince of the Faithful"...
) of Saloum
Saloum
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...
.
A descendant of the Fulani dynasty of Dényankobé, from the branch of the Bâ family in the region of Badibou, Maba Diakhou Bâ combined political and religious goals in an attempt to reform or overthrow previous animist monarchies, and resist French encroachment. He is in a tradition of Fulani jihad leaders who revolutionized the states of West Africa at the time of colonialism.
Maba Diakhou Bâ founded the city of Nioro
Nioro du Rip
Nioro du Rip is a city in the south-west of Sénégal, situated about to the south-west of Kaolack and is from the border with The Gambia.-History:...
in Rip, and the village of Keur Maba Diakhou near Kaolack
Kaolack
Kaolack is a town of 172,305 people 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 important regional market town and is Senegal's main peanut trading and processing center...
is named for him.
Resistance and conquest
Maba Diakhou Bâ mounted a fierce resistance to the French colonial invasions of Senegal. Under governor FaidherbeLouis Faidherbe
Louis Léon César Faidherbe was a French general and colonial administrator. He created the Senegalese Tirailleurs when he was governor of Senegal.- Background :...
French forces had carried out a scorched earth policy against resistance to their expansion in the Senegambia, with villages razed and populations removed after each victory. Throughout the founding of an Islamic state, Maba Diakhou Bâ tried to unify the area north of the Gambia, while leading a war of conversion against the traditional states.
After meeting Oumar Tall around 1850, Maba Diakhou Bâ launched his jihad into Serer
Serer people
The Serer people along with the Jola people are acknowledged to be the oldest inhabitants of The Senegambia....
territory from his small state of Rip in 1861. While he eventually succeeded in overtaking the dynasty of Saloum
Saloum
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...
, his movement never succeeded in Sine
Sine
In mathematics, the sine function is a function of an angle. In a right triangle, sine gives the ratio of the length of the side opposite to an angle to the length of the hypotenuse.Sine is usually listed first amongst the trigonometric functions....
, and much of Serer territory remained animist or Christian into the 20th century. That said, there is much to suggest that Sine
Sine
In mathematics, the sine function is a function of an angle. In a right triangle, sine gives the ratio of the length of the side opposite to an angle to the length of the hypotenuse.Sine is usually listed first amongst the trigonometric functions....
resistance was as much nationalist as religious, with Muslims and animists fighting on both sides of these struggles.
Battle of Rip (1865)
On 30 November 1865, with the help of Lat Dior and his CayorCayor
The Kingdom of Cayor was the largest and most powerful kingdom that split off from the Empire of Jolof , in what is now Senegal. Cayor was located in north and central Senegal, southeast of Waalo, west of the kingdom of Jolof and north of Baol and the Kingdom of Sine.In 1549, the king, or...
forces, Maba Diakhou Bâ began the conquest of the states of Sine
Sine
In mathematics, the sine function is a function of an angle. In a right triangle, sine gives the ratio of the length of the side opposite to an angle to the length of the hypotenuse.Sine is usually listed first amongst the trigonometric functions....
, Baol
Baol
The Kingdom of Baol or Bawol in central Senegal was one of the ancient kingdoms of the Serer people pre-the Jolof Empire, an Empire it would later join voluntarily just like the other States. However it gained prominence after the split-up of the Empire in 1555...
and Djolof.
Siege of Kaolack (1865)
Later at KaolackKaolack
Kaolack is a town of 172,305 people 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 important regional market town and is Senegal's main peanut trading and processing center...
, Maba and Lat Dior were checked by a combined force of French under Pinet-Laprade
Émile Pinet-Laprade
-Biography:Succeeding Bernard Jauréguiberry, Pinet-Laprade was governor of Senegal from May 13, 1863 until July 14, 1863. Louis Faidherbe then took over until May 1, 1865, when Pinet-Laprade assumed the position again until July 14, 1863. Ferdinand Charles Alexandre Tredos then succeeded him...
of 2000 cavalry and 4000 colonial infantry, allied with 1000 infantry and 500 cavalry from the states of Waalo
Waalo
The Kingdom of 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...
, Ndiambour and Ndiander.
Islamisation and reform
As well as converting traditional states to IslamIslam
Islam . The most common are and . : Arabic pronunciation varies regionally. The first vowel ranges from ~~. The second vowel ranges from ~~~...
, Maba Diakhou Bâ's forces sought to abolish the traditional caste system of the Wolof and Serer
Serer people
The Serer people along with the Jola people are acknowledged to be the oldest inhabitants of The Senegambia....
aristocratic states. In unifying with other Muslim forces, West African Jihad states aimed to end the reign of small regional kingships who kept the area in a constant state of war, and the farming and artisanal classes in slave conditions. The Toucouleur Empire
Toucouleur Empire
The Toucouleur Empire was founded in the nineteenth century by El Hadj Umar Tall of the Toucouleur people, in part of present-day Mali....
of El Hadj Umar Tall in Mali, which rose at about the same time had much the same goals, and Umar Tall himself was in contact with and recruited among Maba Diakhou Bâ's forces.
Lat Dior
After Lat Dior, the young king of Wolof Cayor was defeated by the French at the Battle of Loro (1864), Maba Diakhou Bâ offered him asylum, and converted Dior and his soldiers from the traditional Tièddo animism to Islam. While his conversion may have been for reasons more political than spiritual, Lat Dior became a powerful ally even in exile, leading his forces alongside those of SineSine
In mathematics, the sine function is a function of an angle. In a right triangle, sine gives the ratio of the length of the side opposite to an angle to the length of the hypotenuse.Sine is usually listed first amongst the trigonometric functions....
.
In 1867, Lat Dior and Maba Diakhou Bâ reconquered Cayor from the king placed there by the French. Governor Pinet-Laprade had little choice but to accede to Lat Dior, confirming him as the French chef de canton.
Death and legacy
In 1876, Maba Diakhou Bâ was killed leading forces against the animist SererSerer people
The Serer people along with the Jola people are acknowledged to be the oldest inhabitants of The Senegambia....
state of Maat Sine Kumba Ndoffene Famak Joof
Maat Sine Kumba Ndoffene Famak Joof
Maat Sine Kumba Ndoffene Famak Joof Maat Sine Kumba Ndoffene Famak Joof Maat Sine Kumba Ndoffene Famak Joof (many variations as well as spellings: "Maad" or "Maat Siin Kumba Ndoffene Famak Joof"; "Mad a Sinig" ; "Maat Sine Coumba Ndoffène Fa mak Diouf" ; "Maat Sin Coumba Ndoffène Fa mak Diouf";...
. By 1871, the Serer had re-instated their traditional monarchy, which was soon to be supplanted by the French.
Maba Diakhou Bâ is an important link in the tradition of Senegalese marabouts who trace their lineage to Oumar Tal. This tradition has continued to the present, with such notables as El Hadj Saidou Nourou Tall (the former grand marabout of French West Africa
French West Africa
French West Africa was a federation of eight French colonial territories in Africa: Mauritania, Senegal, French Sudan , French Guinea , Côte d'Ivoire , Upper Volta , Dahomey and Niger...
) the Tivaouane
Tivaouane
-History:Tivaouane was part of the Wolof kingdom of Cayor, and was at one time its capital. It was first described to Europeans in the 15th century by Venitian explorer Luigi Cada-Mosto....
-based Sy family of El Hadj Malik Sy
Malick Sy
El-Hadji Malick Sy was a Senegalese religious leader and teacher in the Tijaniyya Sufi brotherhood.-Life:Born in Gaya to a Fulani family, El-Hadji Malick Sy traveled to Mauritania, then to Saint-Louis, Senegal in 1884 as a religious student...
(1855-1922), and the Niass family of Abdoulaye Niass (1840–1922) and his son Ibrahim Niass
Ibrahim Niass
Ibrāhīm Niass —also written Ibrahima Niasse in French, Ibrayima Ñas in Wolof, Shaykh al-'Islām al-Ḥājj Ibrāhīm ibn al-Ḥājj ʿAbd Allāh at-Tijānī al-Kawlakhī in Arabic, شيخ الإسلام الحاج إبراهيم إبن الحاج عبد الله التجاني الكولخي in Arabic alphabet — was a major leader of the Tijānī Sufi order of...
in Kaolack. Tivaouane in the north among the Wolof and Kaolack among the Serer have become the two centers of Tijaniyyah
Tijaniyyah
The Tijāniyyah is a sufi tariqa originating in North Africa but now more widespread in West Africa, particularly in Senegal, The Gambia, Mauritania, Mali, Guinea, and Northern Nigeria and Sudan...
sufi teaching in Senegal, and both were founded as a direct result of Maba Diakhou Bâ's short-lived state.
He was interred in the village of Fandène
Fandène
Fandène is a small village in Sénégal about 7 km from Thiès. It is inhabited by the Serer people.- History :It was one of the villages of the old Serer Kingdom of Sine...
(or Mbel Fandane), and his tomb, which has become a place of pilgrimage, is in the arrondissement of Diakhao, département of Fatick
Fatick
Fatick is a city in Senegal, located between M'bour and Kaolack. Its 2005 population was estimated at 24,243. It is the capital of Fatick Region....
, region of Fatick in Sine-Saloum
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....
, Sénégal.
See also
- Maat Sine Kumba Ndoffene Famak JoofMaat Sine Kumba Ndoffene Famak JoofMaat Sine Kumba Ndoffene Famak Joof Maat Sine Kumba Ndoffene Famak Joof Maat Sine Kumba Ndoffene Famak Joof (many variations as well as spellings: "Maad" or "Maat Siin Kumba Ndoffene Famak Joof"; "Mad a Sinig" ; "Maat Sine Coumba Ndoffène Fa mak Diouf" ; "Maat Sin Coumba Ndoffène Fa mak Diouf";...
- Muslim brotherhoods of SenegalMuslim brotherhoods of SenegalThis is a list of Muslim groups in Senegal . They are active Muslim organizations that can also be found in many other parts of Africa and the Islamic world.The three largest are:...
- The Tijaniyyah Expansion in West AfricaTijaniyyahThe Tijāniyyah is a sufi tariqa originating in North Africa but now more widespread in West Africa, particularly in Senegal, The Gambia, Mauritania, Mali, Guinea, and Northern Nigeria and Sudan...