The Kingdom of Saloum (Serer: Saluum or Saalum) was a Serer kingdom in present-day Senegal and parts of The Gambia. The precolonial capital was the city of Kahone. Re-established in 2017, Saloum is now a non-sovereign traditional monarchy within Senegal. Its history, geography and culture is intricately linked with the sister state, the Kingdom of Sine, and it is common to refer to them as the Sine-Saloum or the Serer Kingdoms.

Typonymy

Serer oral traditions recount that the area was named Saluum/Saloum by the Maad Saloum Mbegane Ndour in the later part of the 15th century (c. 1494), named after Saalum Suwareh, the marabout of Mbegan Ndour. Alternatively, the name 'Saluum' could mean 'land of the Luum', an important family in the region.

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

History

thumb|left|Carte des peuplades du Sénégal de l'abbé Boilat (1853): an ethnic map of Senegal at the time of French colonialism. The pre-colonial states of Baol, Sine and Saloum are arrayed along the southwest coast, with the inland areas marked "Peuple Sérère".

Early history

Saloum and the surrounding region is known for its many ancient burial mounds or "tumuli" (podoom in Serer) containing the graves of kings and others. The kingdom also has numerous mysterious stone circles whose function and history are still debated by scholars, most of which pre-date the formation of the kingdom. who saw the entire region as their home. In the 11th century, the Serers of Takrur were persecuted for their Serer religious beliefs by the new Muslim convert and usurper, king War Jabi and his Muslim ally forces - resulting in the Serer exodus from Takrur. Those Serers headed south including Saloum - joining their distant Serer relatives. For more on that, see Serer medieval history.

Fall has advanced the claim that, the first inhabitants of the region, according to oral tradition, were a Mande people who immigrated from the Wagadu Empire to flee a drought, likely towards the end of the first millennium CE. The princess of Wagadou would marry into the Serer noble families such as the Joof, Njie, etc., giving birth to a Wagadou maternal dynasty in much of Serer country. For more on that, see Joof family, Teigne, and Serer maternal clans.

Before Maad Saloum Mbegan Ndour, Saloum existed in some form, but it is unclear what form it took. The area was composed a series of chiefdoms and independent villages, many of which led by Serer Lamanes and/or part of the Jolof Empire's sphere of influence. The core of what would become the Kingdom of Saloum was a Lamanic state called Mbey, with the capital at Njop. An alarmed French governor Émile Pinet-Laprade marched on Saloum at the head of 1,600 regulars, 2,000 cavalry, and 4,000 volunteers and footsoldiers. At the Battle of Pathé Badiane outside of Nioro, however, the marabout forces led by Lat Dior drove the French back towards Kaolack.

As well as forcibly converting traditional states and their populations to Islam, Maba Diakhou Bâ sought to abolish the traditional caste system of the Serer states. He is the current King of Saloum as of 2024, and the maternal uncle of the current King of Sine, Niokhobaye Fatou Diène Diouf, from the Royal House of Semou Njekeh Joof.

People and Society

The core of the Kingdom of Saloum is populated mostly by the Serer, but gradually the Wolof immigrants have settled in along with the Fulas, Mandinkas, etc.

The Serer language and Wolof are both widely spoken in Saloum. The Cangin languages are also spoken.

Economy

Saloum includes flat, swampy tideland areas inland from the Saloum River delta, which allowed for a flourishing industry of salt-manufacture. The kingdom exported this highly valuable resource regionally, with Kahone as a major trade center. The coubal was a tax in kind on salt levied by the Maad Saloum. He exercised a monopoly on salt sales, and production was restricted to women to prevent rival princes from using the saltpans as a revenue source with which they could challenge the king. Control of Gambia river ports allowed the export of salt east towards the Mali Empire. The Saloum river delta was also a major center for the harvesting, preserving, and export of fish, oysters, and shellfish. Niominka traders went up and down the coast, and later Europeans and Lançados traded in the many creeks and inlets.

The economic base in the 19th and 20th centuries shifted to groundnut cultivation and trade, exporting large quantities of nuts to Europe.

thumb|left|Bour Saloum Semou Diouf and his entourage in the 1890s

Government

The main provinces of Saloum were: Mbey, where the Maad Saloum ruled directly; Joñik centered around Djilor; Siñi north of Kahone, ruled by the Bar Ngay descended from the Ndiaye dynasty of Jolof; Ndoucoumane east of Siñi ruled by the Ndao family, formerly the rulers of Namandirou; Kajmoor and Mandaax along the Gambia river, also ruled by Ndiayes; among other, smaller territories, sometimes ruled by marabouts. The ruling class were ethnically and culturally Serer, part of the Guelowar clan, and were known as ceddo who often exploited and raided the population. Vassals included, at various times, Badibu, Niani, Niumi, Sabakh, and Sandial. The powers and prerogatives of local subordinate rulers varied.

The great Jaraaf was the head of the council that elected the Maad Saloum, also known as the Buur in Wolof, and would rule the nation in the event of his death until his successor had been enthroned. Buur-administrators served as governors of villages and provinces on behalf of the king, assisted by Farba who were in charge of enforcing laws and dispensing justice.

Notes

Sources

  • 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.
  • 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)
  • Gravrand, Henry. "La civilisation sereer, I. Coosan". Dakar, Nouvelles Editions Africaines (1983).
  • 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.