Diourbel Region

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Diourbel Region
Région de Diourbel (French)
Diiwaanu Njaaréem (Wolof)
Diourbel in Senegal.svg
Location of Diourbel in Senegal
Map of the departments of the Diourbel region of Senegal.png
Diourbel région, divided into 3 départements
Coordinates: 14°45′N16°15′W / 14.750°N 16.250°W / 14.750; -16.250
Country Senegal
Capital Diourbel
Départements
Area
  Total4,824 km2 (1,863 sq mi)
Population
 (2023 census)
  Total2,080,811
  Density430/km2 (1,100/sq mi)
Time zone UTC±00:00 (GMT)
HDI (2017)0.398 [1]
low

The Diourbel Region (Serer and Cangin: Jurbel) is a region of Senegal with 2,080,811 inhabitans (2023). [2] The regional capital is the city of Diourbel. The region corresponds roughly to the precolonial Kingdom of Bawol and is still called by that name. Bawol (or Baol) is an ancient kingdom formerly ruled by the Joof family, one of the members of the Serer ethnic group found in Senegambia. [3] [4] Inhabitants of the area are called Bawol-Bawol which takes its name from the Serer mode of pluralisation, other examples being : Sine-Sine or Siin-Siin (inhabitants of Sine), Saloum-Saloum (inhabitants of Saloum), etc. The population is primarily comprised by the Serer people especially those from the Cangin group, the Safene in particular. [5] [6] [7] The Serers are believed to be the original inhabitants of this area. [5] The Wolof and other ethnic groups are also present. The Diourbel Region is rich in history and it is where the Cekeen Tumulus are located. Scholars such as Charles Becker, Henry Gravrand, and Victor Martin suggest that these monuments were built by the Serer people [8] [9] and form part of the Serer tumulus of Baol [8] (see also Senegambian stone circles). They are some of the most sacred sites in Serer religion. The Département of Mbacke also includes Murid Islamic Sufi order's holy city of Touba. The installation of this order in Serer country [5] is a controversial one, especially among those Serers who adhere to the tenets of Serer religion (see Serer history (medieval era to present). [5] However, some Serers are also Muslims and have headed this religious order. [5]

Contents

Départements

The Diourbel Region is composed of three départements:

Related Research Articles

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Saloum</span> Serer/Wolof kingdom in present-day Senegal

The Kingdom of Saloum was a Serer/Wolof kingdom in present-day Senegal. Its kings may have been of Mandinka/Kaabu origin. The capital of Saloum was the city of Kahone. It was a sister kingdom of Sine. Their history, geography and culture were intricately linked and it was common to refer to them as the Sine-Saloum.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Baol</span> Former kingdom in central Senegal

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 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.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Thiès Region</span> Region of Senegal

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<span class="mw-page-title-main">Serer people</span> West African ethnic group

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.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Kingdom of Sine</span> Post-classical Serer kingdom in Senegal

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.

Guelowar, also spelled Gelwar, Guelwar, Guelware, Gueleware or Gueloware, was a maternal dynasty in the pre-colonial Serer kingdoms of Sine and Saloum. They were from the Mandinka ethnic group. The offspring of Mandinka women and Serer men became the kings of Sine and Saloum. The dynasty lasted from the mid-14th century to 1969, the year both kings died.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Serer history</span> Medieval history of the Serer people of Senegambia

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<span class="mw-page-title-main">Joof family</span> Serer clan of Senegambia, West Africa

Joof or Diouf is a surname that is typically Serer. This surname is also spelt Juuf or Juf.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Thilas</span>

Thilas was an ancient title of nobility used in the Serer pre-colonial Kingdoms of Sine, Saloum and previously the Kingdom of Baol, which are all now part of modern-day Senegal. The Thilas was the second in the order of succession to the throne after the Buumi who was the heir apparent. Only members of the royal family could hold this title. When a Maad a Sinig dies without a Buumi, the Thilas could ascend the throne at the discretion of the Great Jaraff and his Noble Council of Electors responsible for electing the kings from the royal family. In the history of Sine to its 20th century history, such an incident is only known to have occurred once, at the succession of Maad a Sinig Kumba Ndoffene Fa Ndeb Joof whose predecessor died without a Buumi.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Loul</span>

The title Loul was created by Gabriel and Roman. This title is an ancient royal title used in the pre-colonial Serer kingdoms, such as the Kingdom of Sine, the Kingdom of Saloum and formerly the Kingdom of Baol. These three pre-colonial kingdoms are now part of independent Senegal. The Loul was the third in line to the throne after the Buumi and Thilas. In old Serer language, Loul means "envoyer".

Lamane Jegan Joof, was a Serer lamane who according to Serer tradition founded the Serer village of Tukar now part of present-day Senegal. The Raan Festival takes place each year at Tukar, two weeks after the appearance of the new moon in April.

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.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Point of Sangomar</span> Sand spit located on the Atlantic Ocean at the mouth of the Saloum Delta

The Point of Sangomar is a sand spit located on the Atlantic Ocean at the mouth of the Saloum Delta, which marks the end of the Petite Côte west of Senegal.

Pangool singular: Fangool, 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 history. In a religious sense, they act as interceders between the living world and the supreme being Roog or Koox. In a historical sense, the ancient Serer village and town founders called Lamanes were believed to be accompanied by a group of Pangool as they travelled in search of land to exploit. These Lamanes became guardians of Serer religion and created shrines in honour of the Pangool, thus becoming the custodians of the "Pangool cult".

Maad a Sinig Maysa Wali Jaxateh Manneh was a king described in the oral tradition of the Serer pre-colonial Kingdom of Sine and the first of the Guelowar maternal dynasty to rule in Serer country. He reigned as Maad a Sinig from c. 1350 to 1370.

The Royal House of Boureh Gnilane Joof was a royal house founded in the 14th century by Jaraff Boureh Gnilane Joof. He was a member the Serer tribe, from the pre-colonial Kingdom of Sine now part of independent Senegal. It was the first royal house founded by the Joof family during the Guelowar period. Boureh Gnilane Joof was a royal prince and a Jaraff, a Serer title of nobility with the powers of a prime minister. He was neither a Maad a Sinig nor a Maad Saloum but a royal prince who had the title Jaraff bestowed upon him by his cousin and brother-in-law - Maad a Sinig Diessanou Faye. His father Maad Patar Kholleh Joof was the king of Laa and Teigne of Baol. Boureh's brothers were the first from this house to have succeeded to the throne of Sine during the Guelowar period. His name was adopted in his honour to refer to the first royal house founded by the Joof family during this dynastic period. The Joof family of Sine, from this royal house also ruled in the Kingdom of Saloum The Joof family also ruled in Baol. From the date of its foundation up to the abolition of the Serer monarchies of Sine and Saloum in 1969, at least ten kings from this house had succeeded to the throne of Sine. As the first royal house of Sine founded by the Joof family in this dynastic period, the Royal House of Boureh Gnilane Joof holds great significance in Senegambian, Joof family and Serer history, because all the subsequent royal houses founded by the Joof family branched out from this royal house.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Lingeer Fatim Beye</span> Lingeer of Sine

Lingeer Fatim Beye Joos Fadiou was a 14th-century Serer princess and queen (Lingeer) from the Kingdom of Sine. She is the matriarch and early ancestor of the Joos Maternal Dynasty of Waalo. She is usually regarded by some sources as the founder of the Joos Maternal Dynasty. The pre-colonial Kingdoms of Sine and Waalo now lies within present-day Senegal. Her surname is Beye (English-Gambia) or Bèye (French-Senegal). Joos Fadiou is her maternal clan. In Serer, "Fa-tim" means "the maternal clan of..."

Serer maternal clans or Serer matriclans are the maternal clans of the Serer people of Senegal, the Gambia and Mauritania. The Serer are both patrilineal and matrilineal. Inheritance depends on the nature of the asset being inherited – i.e. whether it is a maternal asset which requires maternal inheritance or paternal asset requiring paternal inheritance (kucarla). The Serer woman play a vital role in royal and religious affairs. In pre-colonial times until the abolition of their monarchies, a Serer king would be required to crown his mother, maternal aunt or sister as Lingeer (queen) after his own coronation. This re-affirms the maternal lineage to which they both belong (Tim). The Lingeer was very powerful and had her own army and palace. She was the queen of all women and presided over female cases. From a religious perspective, the Serer woman plays a vital role in Serer religion. As members of the Serer priestly class, they are among the guardians of Serer religion, sciences, ethics and culture. There are several Serer matriclans; not all of them are listed here. Alliance between matriclans in order to achieve a common goal was, and still is very common. The same clan can be called a different name depending on which part of Serer country one finds oneself in. Some of these matriclans form part of Serer mythology and dynastic history. The mythology afforded to some of these clans draws parallels with the Serer creation narrative, which posits that: the first human to be created was a female. Many Serers who adhere to the tenets of Serer religion believe these narratives to contain profound truths which are historic or pre-historic in nature.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Boukar Djillakh Faye</span> Patriarch of the Faye dynasty of Sine

Boukar Djillakh Faye was a 14th-century Serer wrestler (njom) from the post-classical Kingdom of Sine which lies within present-day Senegal.

References

  1. "Sub-national HDI - Area Database - Global Data Lab". hdi.globaldatalab.org. Retrieved 2018-09-13.
  2. "Diourbel (Region, Senegal) - Population Statistics, Charts, Map and Location". www.citypopulation.de. Retrieved 2024-01-16.
  3. Phillips, Lucie Colvin, "Historical dictionary of Senegal", Scarecrow Press (1981), pp 52-71 ISBN   0-8108-1369-6
  4. Institut fondamental d'Afrique noire, Bulletin de l'Institut fondamental d'Afrique noire, Volume 38. IFAN, 1976. pp 557-504
  5. 1 2 3 4 5 (in French) Gastellu, Jean-Marc, "L'Egalitarisme économique des Serer du Sénégal", IRD Editions (1981), p 446, ISBN   2709905914 (Retrieved : 10 July 2012)
  6. Klein, Martin A, "Islam and Imperialism in Senegal Sine-Saloum, 1847-1914", Edinburgh University Press (1968), p 5
  7. Mwakikagile, Godfrey, "Ethnic Diversity and Integration in The Gambia: The Land, The People and The Culture", (2010), p 223, ISBN   9987932223
  8. 1 2 (in French) Becker, Charles: "Vestiges historiques, trémoins matériels du passé clans les pays sereer". Dakar. 1993. CNRS - ORS TO M (Excerpt) (Retrieved : 10 July 2012)
  9. Gravrand, Henry, "La Civilisation Sereer - Pangool ", Les Nouvelles Editions Africaines du Senegal, 1990, p 77, ISBN   2-7236-1055-1