The Ceddo, also spelled Cedo, Tieddo, or Tyeddo, were a class of warrior-slaves in pre-colonial Senegambian societies, particularly Jolof, Cayor, Baol and Waalo. Up until the mid 19th century, they were a powerful political and social group closely aligned with the traditional monarchs of the region against the rise of Islam and colonialism. In modern-day Senegal the word retains negative connotations, and can describe the societies in which the ceddo operated or the followers of traditional African religions generally. [1]
'Ceddo' is a Fula word for either the Wolof people or the Mandinka, depending on the dialect. It is unknown how it came to be applied to animists generally. [2]
The late 17th and 18th centuries saw repeated rebellions by marabouts attempting to overthrow the partially Islamized kingdoms of Senegambia and replace them with Islamic theocracies. This period created a sharp divide in the ruling classes between the Muslims on one side and the ceddo on the other, whereas beforehand syncretic Islam had been generally practiced.
Although they were technically slaves of the king, the ceddo were a class apart who enjoyed significant prestige as warriors and lived the life of noblemen. They could marry noble women, but would not give their daughters in marriage to commoners, and some freemen chose to become ceddos. [2] They acted as the police, tax collectors, warriors, and the monarch's bodyguard. [1]
Fiercely opposed to the strict practice of Islam, they were renowned drinkers and brave fighters. They raided freely, including within their own kingdoms, for booty and slaves. Their depredations helped create unrest and ultimately promote Islam among the population, [3] : 78 and suppressed food production. [4] : 39 The ceddo were powerful into the late 19th century, when a generation of secular monarchs including Lat Dior and Alboury Ndiaye formally converted to Islam in an effort to build an alliance between the secular traditionalists and the Muslims to resist French colonial encroachment. Their promotion of the marabout interpretation of Islam, combined with their eventual failure on the battlefield, brought the Wolof population fully towards Islam. [3] : 104 [5] : 602, 605
Cayor was from 1549 to 1876 the largest and most powerful kingdom that split off from the Jolof Empire in what is now Senegal. Cayor was located in northern and central Senegal, southeast of Waalo, west of the kingdom of Jolof, and north of Baol and the Kingdom of Sine.
Waalo was a kingdom on the lower Senegal River in West Africa, in what is now Senegal and Mauritania. It included parts of the valley proper and areas north and south, extending to the Atlantic Ocean. To the north were Moorish emirates; to the south was the kingdom of Cayor; to the east was Jolof.
A marabout is a descendant of the Prophet Muhammad and 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 Sahara, in West Africa, and (historically) 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 ("Guides"), or leaders of religious communities.
The Toucouleur people or Tukulor people, also called Haalpulaar, are a West African ethnic group native to the Futa Toro region of Senegal. There are smaller communities in Mali and Mauritania. The Toucouleur were Islamized in the 11th century; their early and strong Islamic heritage, which is seen as a defining feature, is a "matter of great pride for them". They were among the first Muslims in the area that became Senegal. They were influential in the spread of Islam to West Africa in the medieval era.
The Wolof people are a West African ethnic group found in northwestern Senegal, the Gambia, and southwestern coastal Mauritania. In Senegal, the Wolof are the largest ethnic group (~39.7%), while elsewhere they are a minority. They refer to themselves as Wolof and speak the Wolof language, in the West Atlantic branch of the Niger–Congo family of languages.
Islam is the predominant religion in Senegal. 97 percent of the country's population is estimated to be Muslim. Islam has had a presence in Senegal since the 11th century. Sufi brotherhoods expanded with French colonization, as people turned to religious authority rather than the colonial administration. The main Sufi orders are the Tijaniyyah, the Muridiyyah or Mourides, and to a lesser extent, the pan-Islamic Qadiriyyah and the smaller Layene order. Approximately 1% are Shiites.
The Char Bouba war, also known as the Mauritanian Thirty Years' War or the Marabout War, took place between 1644 and 1677 in the tribal areas of what is today Mauritania and Western Sahara as well as in the Senegal river valley. It was fought between the Sanhadja Berber tribes and Muslim populations in the river valley, led by Lamtuna Imam Nasr ad-Din, on one hand; and the Maqil Arab immigrant tribes, foremost of which was the Beni Hassan, as well as the traditional aristocracies of the Wolof states on the other, supported by the French.
The Serer people are a West African ethnoreligious group. They are the third-largest ethnic group in Senegal, making up 15% of the Senegalese population. They are also found in northern Gambia and southern Mauritania.
Lat Jor Ngoné Latir Jop was a nineteenth-century damel (king) of Cayor, a Wolof state that is today in Sénégal. He is today a national hero of Senegal for his resistance to French colonialism.
Mamadu Diakhou Bâ, also known as Maba Jahou Bah, Ma Ba Diakhu, Ma Ba Diakho Ba, Ma Ba Jaaxu, Mabba Jaxu Ba, was a Muslim leader in West Africa during the 19th century. He was a disciple of the Tijaniyya Sufi brotherhood and became the Almami of Saloum.
The Kingdom of Sine 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.
Koki, also spelled Coki, is a town in Senegal, the capital of an eponymous arrondissement in the Louga Region.
The French conquest of Senegal started in 1659 with the establishment of Saint-Louis, Senegal, followed by the French capture of the island of Gorée from the Dutch in 1677, but would only become a full-scale campaign in the 19th century.
The Kingdom of Jolof, also known as Wolof and Wollof, was a West African rump state located in what is today the nation of Senegal. For nearly two hundred years, the Wolof rulers of the Jolof Empire collected tribute from vassal kings' states who voluntarily agreed to the confederacy. At the 1549 Battle of Danki, however, the Buurba Jolof was defeated by the lord of Kayor, resulting in the rapid disintegration of the empire. Jolof survived as a rump state, unable to access the Atlantic trade between its former vassal territories and the Portuguese.
This is a timeline of the history and development of Serer religion and the Serer people of Senegal, The Gambia and Mauritania. This timeline merely gives an overview of their history, consisting of calibrated archaeological discoveries in Serer countries, Serer religion, politics, royalty, etc. Dates are given according to the Common Era. For a background to these events, see Roog, Serer religion, Serer creation myth, Serer prehistory, Lamane, States headed by Serer Lamanes, Serer history and Serer people.
Lingeer was the title given to the mother or sister of a king in the Serer kingdoms of Sine, Saloum, and previously the Kingdom of Baol; and the Wolof kingdoms of Cayor, Jolof, Baol and Waalo in pre-colonial Senegal. The word "Lingeer" means "queen" or "princess" in Serer and Wolof language. The Lingeer was considered the “great princess of royal courts.” These kingdoms utilized a bilineal system, as a candidate for kingship could not succeed to the throne if he was not a member of the reigning materlineage, and thus, the Lingeer's maternal lineage was highly significant. In similarity, a candidate could not succeed to the throne as king if he was not a member of the noble reigning patriclans. That was particular so among the Serer who retained much of their old culture, customs and traditional religion where women played a significant role compared to the Wolof who adopted Islam. Various Lingeers have been noted for their resistance efforts to colonial conquest.
Ceddo, also known as The Outsiders, is a 1977 Senegalese drama film directed by Ousmane Sembène. It was entered into the 10th Moscow International Film Festival.
Lat Sukaabe Ngone Jey Fall, sometimes spelled Lat Sukabe or Lat Soucabe, was Damel-Teigne of the pre-colonial kingdoms of Cayor and Baol in what is now Senegal in the late 17th and early 18th centuries.
Alboury Ndiaye was the last Buurba of an independent Jolof Kingdom, and was famous for his determined resistance to the French conquest of Senegal.
Shaikh Amadou Ba was a powerful Tijani prophetic leader in what is now northern Senegal, active from 1868 to 1875. At the peak of his power he controlled several pre-colonial states, before being defeated and killed.