Mahmadu Lamine

Last updated
Mahmadu Lamine Drame
Bornc. 1835
Goundiourou, Mali
DiedDecember 12, 1887
near Ngogo-Soukouta, Gambia
Occupation marabout
Known forResistance to French colonialism in western Senegal

al-Hajj Mahmadu Lamine Drame,also known as Ma Lamine Demba Dibassi, (died 9 December 1887) was a nineteenth-century Tijani marabout who led a series of rebellions against the French colonial government in what is now Senegal.

Contents

Early life, education, and hajj

Mahmadu Lamine Drame was born between 1835 and 1840 at Goundiourou, near Kayes in what is now Mali. [1] [2] Educated in the Qur'an first by his father, a cleric, Lamine also studied at Tabajang in Casamance and Bunumbu in Kantora before later studying under Fodé-Mohammed-Saloum at Bakel. [1] :53,56 As a youth he participated in a jihad against the Tenda, but was captured, held for several years, and whipped. [3]

Upon his release sometime after 1850 he traveled to Ségou, where he met Umar Tall and may have served him. [1] :56 Some time between 1864 and 1874, Lamine went on a hajj, likely leaving Ségou a while after the death of Umar Tall and returning between 1878 and 1880. [1] :57,62 Upon his return, he was imprisoned by Tall's son Ahmadu Tall. [4] In 1885 Tall's son Madani freed him. [3]

Uprising

Lamine returned to the Upper Senegal and began gathering followers, his claims of friendship with the French notwithstanding. He soon proclaimed a jihad against Tenda. When Omar Penda, the new French-aligned almamy of Bundu, refused him passage Lamine and captured the capital of Boulibani in February 1886. [3] [5] In response, the French seized his wives, children, and belongings in Goundiourou. [3]

Between April 1st and 4th 1886, the marabout's forces besieged the French in their fort at Bakel, but the siege was broken by reinforcements coming from Kayes and he retreated south. The French, supported by Toucouleur and Moorish auxiliaries, burned a hundred villages in the area in revenge. [3] [6] Mahmadu Lamine's son Souaiybou, left behind to continue the fight in the Senegal river valley, was besieged for five months in the tata of Gori until April 1887. Upon his capture, he was court-martialed and shot at age 18. [3]

Lamine re-established himself at Diana, in what is now the Tambacounda region. Quickly reorganizing his state, he re-invaded Bundu, killing Omar Penda on July 16th 1886. In December 1886, two French columns led by Lt. Col. Joseph Galliéni and battalion chief Vallière marched on the town. Although it was fortified by two tatas, Lamine and his troops abandonned it without a fight. On December 26th the French troops burned the town to the ground to punish the inhabitants. [3]

Following this defeat, Lamine regrouped at Toubakouta in Niani, launching his next attack against the Kingdom of Wuli in July 1887. The capital was sacked and the king, another puppet of the French, was executed. Galliéni seized Toubakouta on 8 December 1887. Lamine again escaped, but was tracked down and captured by the forces of Musa Molo, king of Fuladu, a key French ally. Wounded in the fight, he died on the way back to Toubakouta. [3] His head was brought to the French, and his skull currently resides in the Musée de l’Homme. [7]

Related Research Articles

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Bundu (state)</span> Former state in West Africa

Bundu was a state in West Africa existing from the late 17th century until it became a French protectorate dependent on the colony of Senegal. It lay between the Falémé River and the upper course of the Gambia River, that is between 13 and 15 N., and 12 and 13 W.

Bakel is a town and urban commune, with a population of 18,939, located in the eastern part of Senegal, West Africa. The town is located on the left bank of the Sénégal River, 65 kilometers (40 mi) from the Malian border and linked by canoe ferry to the village of Gouraye in Mauritania.

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

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.

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

The Soninke (Sarakolleh) people are a West African Mande-speaking ethnic group found in Mali, southern Mauritania, eastern Senegal, The Gambia, and Guinea. They speak the Soninke language, also called the Serakhulle or Azer language, which is one of the Mande languages. Soninke people were the founders of the ancient empire of Ghana or Wagadou c. 200–1240 CE, Subgroups of Soninke include the Jakhanke, Maraka and Wangara. When the Ghana empire was destroyed, the resulting diaspora brought Soninkes to Mali, Mauritania, Senegal, Gambia, Burkina Faso, Côte d'Ivoire, Guinée-Conakry, modern-day Republic of Ghana, Kano in Nigeria, and Guinea-Bissau where some of this trading diaspora was called Wangara, leading to the saying “when Americans landed on the moon, a Soninke was already there” in Senegal, with other versions across West Africa.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Omar Saidou Tall</span> West African scholar and military leader (1794–1864)

Hadji Oumarûl Foutiyou Tall, born in Futa Tooro, present-day Senegal, was a Senegalese Tijani sufi Toucouleur Islamic scholar and military commander who founded the short-lived Toucouleur Empire, which encompassed much of what is now Senegal, Mauritania, Guinea and Mali.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Tukulor Empire</span> Sunni empire in West Africa (1861–1890)

The Tukulor Empire (1861–1890) was an Islamic state in the mid-nineteenth century founded by Elhadj Oumar Foutiyou Tall of the Toucouleur people of Senegal.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Siege of Medina Fort</span>

The siege of Fort Medina took place in 1857 at Médine, on the left bank of the Senegal River in present-day Mali. The Toucouleur forces of Omar Saidou Tall unsuccessfully besieged native and French colonial troops commanded by Paul Holle. After 97 days of siege, a relief force under French Governor Louis Faidherbe lifted the siege and forced the Toucouleur army to retreat.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Kaarta</span> West African state 1650 to 1890

Kaarta, was a Bambara kingdom that arose after the fall of the Songhai Empire in what is today the western half of Mali and lasted until its destruction by Umar Tall in the 1850s.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Futa Tooro</span> Semidesert region in Senegal and Mauritania

Futa Toro, often simply the Futa, is a semidesert region around the middle run of the Senegal River. This region, along the border of Senegal and Mauritania, is historically significant as the center of several Fulani states, and a source of jihad armies and migrants to the Fouta Djallon.

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.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Médine, Mali</span> Village in Kayes Region, Mali

Médine is a village and principal settlement (chef-lieu) of the commune of Hawa Dembaya in the Cercle of Kayes in the Kayes Region of south-western Mali. The village is located 12 km east of Kayes on the left bank of the Sénégal River just downstream of the Félou Falls. The site of the village was historically important as the falls were the furthest point up the Sénégal River from Saint Louis that could be reached by boat. Navigation was only possible after the rainy season when the river was in flood.

The Jakhanke -- also spelled Jahanka, Jahanke, Jahanque, Jahonque, Diakkanke, Diakhanga, Diakhango, Dyakanke, Diakhanké, Diakanké, or Diakhankesare -- are a Manding-speaking ethnic group in the Senegambia region, often classified as a subgroup of the larger Soninke. The Jakhanke have historically constituted a specialized caste of professional Muslim clerics (ulema) and educators. They are centered on one larger group in Guinea, with smaller populations in the eastern region of The Gambia, Senegal, and in Mali near the Guinean border. Although generally considered a branch of the Soninke, their language is closer to Western Manding languages such as Mandinka.

The Torodbe; singular Torodo were Muslim Toucouleur clerics and theocratic monarchs who preached and reigned in Futa Toro, a region located in the north of present-day Senegal, and other Fula communities in West Africa from at least the seventeenth to the early twentieth century. Drawn from all ethnicites and levels of society, the Torodbe aimed to 'purify' the Islam practiced in West Africa and establish Islamic states run with Islamic law.

Lamine is a given name and a surname. Lamin is the local name for Al-Amin. Notable people with the name include:

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Fuladu</span> Historic region and kingdom in the Upper Casamance, in Senegal

Fuladu or Fuladugu is a historic region and former Fula kingdom in the Upper Casamance, in the south of Senegal, and including certain areas in The Gambia and Guinea-Bissau. It was the last independent pre-colonial state in the area, ceasing to exist in 1903.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Kingdom of Wuli</span> Former country in present-day Gambia

Wuli was a Mandinka kingdom located on the north bank of the Gambia River in what is now the eastern portion of The Gambia and the Tambacounda region of Senegal. Ruled as an independent polity by the Wali family from the early 16th century until European colonialism in the late 19th, it controlled an important crossroads for trading routes linking the upper Niger river valley with the coast.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Gajaaga</span> Kingdom in West Africa

Gajaaga, also known as Galam, was a Soninke kingdom in on the upper Senegal river that existed from before 1000CE to 1858. The kingdom was mainly located in present day Senegal and some parts of Mali. It was sometimes referred to as the Land of Gold, which it exported in large quantities, and 'Galam' in fact means 'gold' in Wolof. In the middle of the 17th century, Gajaaga was perhaps the most powerful state in the upper Senegal river region. It controlled both banks of the river from the area of Kayes downstream to Bakel.

Alboury Ndiaye was the last Buurba of an independent Jolof Kingdom, and was famous for his determined resistance to the French conquest of Senegal.

The Soninke-Marabout Wars were a series of 19th-century civil wars across southern Senegambia pitting the traditional ruling classes of various states, mostly animist or only nominally Muslim, against Islamic reformers led by the marabout class. French and British forces frequently became involved in these conflicts, providing them an opportunity to extend colonial power into the hinterland.

Goundiourou, sometimes spelled Gunjur, also known as Dougouba, is a village in Mali just south of the city of Kayes. It was historically an important center of trade and islamic thought, mentioned in the chronicle of Al Bakri under the name Ghiyaru.

References

  1. 1 2 3 4 Fisher, Humphrey (1970). "The Early Life and Pilgrimage of Al-Hajj Muhammad Al-Amin the Soninke (d. 1887)". The Journal of African History. 11 (1): 51–69. doi:10.1017/s0021853700037439. JSTOR   180216. S2CID   162684356.
  2. Daniel Nyambarza. “Le Marabout El Hadj Mamadou Lamine d’après Les Archives Françaises.” Cahiers d’Études Africaines, vol. 9, no. 33, 1969, pp. 124–45. JSTOR, http://www.jstor.org/stable/4391033. Accessed 4 July 2023.
  3. 1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 Institut Fondamental de l'Afrique Noire. Musée Historique de Gorée Exhibit (August 2024).
  4. Isichei, Elizabeth (1977). History of West Africa since 1800. New York: Africana Publishing Company. p. 52. Retrieved 31 May 2023.
  5. Isichei, 53.
  6. Drame, B. "Histoire: Qui Est Mamadou Lamine DRAME ?". Mali Info. Retrieved 31 May 2023.
  7. Méheut, Constant (2022-11-28). "A Paris Museum Has 18,000 Skulls. It's Reluctant to Say Whose". The New York Times. ISSN   0362-4331 . Retrieved 2022-11-29.