Baol
Baol or Bawol was a kingdom in what is now central Senegal. Founded in the 11th century, it was a vassal of the Jolof Empire before becoming independent in the mid-16th century. The ruler bore the title of Teigne (or Teeň) and reigned from the capital in Lambaye. The kingdom encompassed a strip of land extending east from the ocean and included the towns of Touba, Diourbel, and Mbacke. It was directly south of the Kingdom of Cayor and north of the Kingdom of Sine.
Kingdom of Baol Baol | |||||||||
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| 1549–1894 | |||||||||
 Senegalese states c. 1850. Baol is at left. | |||||||||
| Capital | Lambaye | ||||||||
| Common languages | Wolof, Serer | ||||||||
| Religion | Serer religion, Islam | ||||||||
| Government | Monarchy | ||||||||
| Teigne | |||||||||
| History | |||||||||
• Established | Cayor defeats Jolof at Battle of Danki 1549 | ||||||||
• French colonization | 1894 | ||||||||
| Currency | |||||||||
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| History of Senegal |
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 Senegal portal |
History
Baol was founded when the Serer people moved into the region in the 11th or 12th century, fleeing Islamization in the Senegal river valley. Wolof groups gradually arrived later.[1]: 18
Baol was ruled by a mixed dynasty: the Wagadu maternal lineage (from the Ghana Empire) along with the Serer paternal dynasties of N'Gom (or Ngum), Thiaw, Joof or Diouf, and Faye.[2] Some of the early Serer kings included: Kolki Faye; Mbissine Ndoumbé Ngom; Massamba Fambi Ngom; Fambi Langar Ngom; Patar Xole Joof the Great (grandson of Maad Ndaah Njemeh Joof).[2][3]
The Portuguese began trading on the coast of Baol in the 15th century, bringing primarily horses and iron.[1]: 131
Amary Ngoné Sobel Fall, Damel of Cayor, and his cousin Maguinak Joof of Baol fought together at the Battle of Danki (1549), where they defeated the Emperor of Jolof and won independence.[2][3] Fall became the first Damel-Teign, reigning over both kingdoms in a personal union.[1]: 74 This arrangement resurfaced periodically throughout the history of the two states, with frequent wars between them. Fall was son of Lingeer Ngoneh Sobel Njie and the maternal grandson of Lingeer Sobel Joof, making him a descendant of the ancient Baol royal house of Maad Ndaah Njemeh Joof.
Around the turn of the 16th century, Baol, still largely Serer and animist and under the reign of Teigne Mafane Thiaw, was invaded by the nominally Islamic Cayor. Defeated in battle, some of the priests of Baol took refuge with the Maad Saloum, founding the city of Kaolack.[4]: 87
In 1697 Teigne Lat Sukaabe Fall conquered Cayor and built a powerful, centralized state backed by a military armed with firearms. Upon his death, however, he deeded each kingdom to a separate son, and the rivalry between them continued.[1]: 132 During the 18th century, Damel Maïsa Teindde Ouédji of Cayor annexed Baol, but the kingdom was embroiled in a succession dispute after his death. Baol regained its independence in 1756.[5]
The French conquest of Baol began in 1859 under Governor Louis Faidherbe. Most of Baol was conquered by 1874, but complete control of the former kingdom was only established in 1895 when it was divided into two provinces. Under colonialism, Mouridism, whose founder Amadou Bamba was a Baol-Baol, spread widely in the region.[1]: 74
Government
The social and political systems were basically the same as those of its larger neighbor, Cayor. The government was composed of the great electors who selected the Teigne, a crown-slave bureaucracy directly under the king, and representatives of each of the dependent communities (pastoralists, fishermen, clergy, castes and women).[1]: 75
Economy and Society
Baol was famous for its horses. It had unique breeds, which were faster and more robust than most of the horses on the plain. The kingdom's primary seaports were at Saly Portudal and Mbour, giving the nobles access to imported luxuries and firearms that they purchased with slaves raided from outlying villages or in war.[1]: 75
Baol was a Wolof kingdom, but included large communities of Serer-Safen and other Serer groups.[1]: 74 Natives of Baol are known as 'Baol-Baol', a common formulation in Senegal (e.g. Saloum-Saloum, Waalo-Waalo, etc.)
List of kings
Names and dates taken from John Stewart's African States and Rulers:[6]
- Niokhor (c. 1550–c. 1560)
- Amari (c. 1560–1593)
- Mamalik Thioro (1593–?)
- Tié N'Della (?)
- Tié Kura (?)
- M'Bissan Kura (?)
- Tiande (?–c. 1664)
- M'Bar (c. 1664–c. 1690)
- Tié Yaasin Demba (c. 1690–c. 1693)
- Tié Tieumbeul (c. 1693–1697)
- Lat Sukaabe (1697–1719)
- Mali Kumba Dyaring (1719)
- Ma-Kodu Kumba (1719–1749)
- Mawa (1749–c. 1752)
- M'Bissan N'Della (c. 1752–c. 1758)
- Ma-Kodu Kumba (c. 1758–1777)
Position vacant from 1777 to 1809
- Tié-Yaasin Dieng (1809–1815)
- Amadi Dyor (1815–c. 1822)
- Birayma Fatma (c. 1822–1832)
- Isa Tein-Dyor (1832–1855)
- Tié-Yaasin N'Gone (1855–c. 1857)
- Ma-Kodu Kodu Kumba (c. 1857–1859)
- Mali Kumba N'Gone (1859–1862)
- Tié-Yaasin Gallo (1862–1890)
- Tanor Gogne (1890–3 July 1894)
See also
Sources
- Clark, Andrew Francis; Philips, Lucie Colvin (1994). Historical Dictionary of Senegal (2nd. ed.). London: Scarecrow Press.
- Institut fondamental d'Afrique noire, Bulletin: Sciences humaines, Volume 38 (1976), pp. 452-458
- Fall, Tanor Latsoukabé, Recueil sur la Vie des Damel. Introduit et commenté par Charles. Becker et Victor. Martin, BIFAN, Tome 36, Série B, n° 1, janvier 1974
- Kesteloot, Lilyan; Veirman, Anja (1999). "Un lieu de mémoire sans stèle et sans visite guidée : le culte du Mboose à Kaolack (Sénégal)". Histoire d'Afrique : les enjeux de mémoire (in French). Paris: Karthala. p. 83-91.
- Barry, Boubacar (1972). Le royaume du Waalo: le Senegal avant la conquete. Paris: Francois Maspero. p. 195-6.
- John Stewart (2006). African States and Rulers (Third ed.). North Carolina: McFarland & Company, Inc. pp. 26–27.
- http://www.worldstatesmen.org/Senegal_native.html
- 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. 74-75