Manga Sewa

Last updated

Manga Sewa (died 1884) was a Yalunka King of the Solimana who blew up a magazine and much of Falaba, the capital of Solimana, killing himself, his family and other leaders, rather than let it fall to Samori Toure's army.

Contents

Early life and career

Manga Sewa was born in Falaba, Solimana chiefdom, in the Northern Province of British Sierra Leone to Yalunka parents. His father was a Yalunka paramount chief of Solimana, a prosperous chieftaincy. Its capital, Falaba, was on the rich trading routes leading to the coast. Manga Sewa's father had a number of wives and dozens of children.

Touré 1884 attack

Manga Sewa became paramount chief of Solimana, a state in Northern Province. He was from one of the ruling families of the chieftaincy and would have been chief for life.

In the Beyla region of Guinea, Samori Toure (c.1830-1900), of the Touré clan, had expanded his influence; by 1878 he proclaimed himself faama (military leader) of his own Wassoulou Empire. In 1884 he took the title of Almany, commander of believers. In February of that year, he swept into north-east Sierra Leone, with his Mandinka army, bent on conquest. [1]

N'fa Ali, Toure's general, destroyed many villages in the Yalunka Kingdom and ultimately laid siege to the capital, Falaba. The Yalunka held out for five months and, in the end, were reduced to eating rats and the boiled leather of their sandals and mats. Sewa finally sent his younger brother, Dugu, on a secret mission to obtain aid from the Kuranko people, but Dugu was captured and executed on a nearby hill in full view of his country-men.

Manga Sewa called his elders, his wives, and the community into the powder magazine. He plunged a flaming torch into the great barrels of gunpowder. An enormous explosion shook the town, and the Mandinka breached the walls and charged inside.[ citation needed ]

Toure opened contacts with the British colonial administration in Sierra Leone. He also built a working relationship with the Fulbe (Fula) jihad state of Fouta Djallon. [1]

Related Research Articles

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Sierra Leone</span> Country on the southwest coast of West Africa

Sierra Leone, officially the Republic of Sierra Leone, is a country on the southwest coast of West Africa. It is bordered to the southeast by Liberia and by Guinea to the north. Its land area is 71,740 km2 (27,699 sq mi). It has a tropical climate and environments ranging from savannas to rainforests. As of the 2015 census, Sierra Leone had a population of 7,092,113. Freetown is both its capital and its largest city. The country is divided into five administrative regions, which are further subdivided into 16 districts.

Sierra Leone first became inhabited by indigenous African peoples at least 2,500 years ago. The Limba were the first tribe known to inhabit Sierra Leone. The dense tropical rainforest partially isolated the region from other West African cultures, and it became a refuge for peoples escaping violence and jihads. Sierra Leone was named by Portuguese explorer Pedro de Sintra, who mapped the region in 1462. The Freetown estuary provided a good natural harbour for ships to shelter and replenish drinking water, and gained more international attention as coastal and trans-Atlantic trade supplanted trans-Saharan trade.

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

The Mandinka or Malinke are a West African ethnic group primarily found in southern Mali, The Gambia, southern Senegal and eastern Guinea. Numbering about 11 million, they are the largest subgroup of the Mandé peoples and one of the largest ethnic-linguistic groups in Africa. They speak the Manding languages in the Mande language family, which are a lingua franca in much of West Africa. Virtually all of Mandinka people are adherent to Islam, mostly based on the Maliki jurisprudence. They are predominantly subsistence farmers and live in rural villages. Their largest urban center is Bamako, the capital of Mali.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Samori Ture</span> Almamy, Faama

Samory Toure, also known as Samori Toure, Samory Touré, or Almamy Samore Lafiya Toure, was a Mandinka Muslim cleric, military strategist, and founder of the Wassoulou Empire, an Islamic empire that was stretched across present-day north and eastern Guinea, north-eastern Sierra Leone, southern Mali, northern Côte d'Ivoire and part of southern Burkina Faso.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Kabala, Sierra Leone</span> Place in Northern Province, Sierra Leone

Kabala is the capital and largest town of Koinadugu District in the Northern Province of Sierra Leone. Kabala is one of the main towns in Northern Sierra Leone and is set in a rural landscape, surrounded by mountains.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Wassoulou Empire</span> 1878-1898 empire in West Africa

The Wassoulou Empire, also referred to as the Ouassalou Empire, Mandinka Empire, Samory's Empire or the Samorian State, was a short-lived West African state that existed from roughly 1878 until 1898, although dates vary from source to source. It spanned from what is now southwestern Mali and upper Guinea, with its capital in Bissandugu; it expanded further south and east into northern Ghana and Ivory Coast before its downfall.

Falaba is a rural town in Solima chiefdom, Falaba District in the Northern Province of Sierra Leone. The population of Falaba is largely from the Yalunka, Kuranko and couple of Mandingo ethnic groups. Falaba is virtually all Muslim and it is known for its deeply religious Muslim population. Farming is the major economic activity in Falaba.

Solimana was a small West African state of the nineteenth century with a capital at the fortress town of Falaba. Situated on rich trading routes in what is now Sierra Leone, Solimana was visited in 1822 by Alexander Gordon Laing and in 1869 by William Winwood Reade, making it nominally British.

The Mandingo Wars were a series of conflicts from 1883 to 1898 between France and the Wassoulou Empire of the Mandingo people led by Samori Ture. Comparatively, the French faced serious resistance by the Mandinka, as they were able to make use of firearms and tactics that impeded French expansion in the area. The French were ultimately triumphant and established dominance over Mali, Guinea and the Ivory Coast.

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

The Temne, also called Atemne, Témené, Temné, Téminè, Temeni, Thaimne, Themne, Thimni, Timené, Timné, Timmani, or Timni, are a West African ethnic group. They are predominantly found in the Northern Province of Sierra Leone. Some Temne are also found in Guinea. The Temne constitute the largest ethnic group in Sierra Leone, at 35.5% of the total population, which is slightly bigger than the Mende people at 31.2%. They speak Temne, a Mel branch of the Niger–Congo languages.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Koinadugu District</span> Place in Northern Province, Sierra Leone

Koinadugu District is a district in the Northern Province of Sierra Leone. It is the largest District in Sierra Leone in geographical area, and one of the least densely populated. Its capital and largest city is Kabala, which is also one of the main cities in Northern Sierra Leone. The District of Koinadugu has a population of 404,097, based on the 2015 Sierra Leone national census; and has a total area of 12,121 km2 (4,680 sq mi). Koinadugu District is subdivided into eleven chiefdoms.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Yalunka people</span> Ethnic group of West Africa

The Yalunka, or Dialonké, are a Mandé-speaking people and the original inhabitants of Futa Jallon, a mountainous region in Guinea, West Africa. The Yalunka people live primarily in Guinea, particularly in Faranah, while smaller communities are found in Kouroussa. Additional Yalunka are also located in northeastern Sierra Leone, southeastern Senegal, and southwestern Mali.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Chiefdoms of Sierra Leone</span>

The chiefdoms of Sierra Leone are the third-level units of administration in Sierra Leone. There are 190 chiefdoms in Sierra Leone, as of 2017. Previously, there were 149.

Foamansa Matturi was a Sierra Leonean ruler who led his fellow Kono people in fighting abilities and a diplomacy that helped bring stability to Kono District, a region that was continually the target of invasions from both its Sierra Leonean neighbours and Samori Toure's Mandinka warriors from French Guinea.

Mandingo people of Sierra Leone is a major ethnic group in Sierra Leone and a branch of the Mandinka people of West Africa. Most Sierra Leonean Mandingo are the direct descendants of Mandinka settlers from Guinea, who settled in the north and eastern part of Sierra Leone, beginning in the late 1870s to the 1890s under the rule of prominent Mandinka Muslim cleric Samori Ture. Also later a significantly large population of Mandinka from Guinea migrated and settled in Eastern Sierra Leone and Northern Sierra Leone in the early to mid 20th century. The Mandingo people of Sierra Leone have a very close friendly and allied relationship with their neighbors the Mandingo people of Guinea and Liberia, as they share pretty much identical dialect of the Mandingo language, tradition, culture and food.

Sewa or SEWA may refer to:

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Religion in Sierra Leone</span>

Sierra Leone is officially a secular state, although Islam and Christianity are the two main and dominant religions in the country. The Sierra Leone Government is constitutionally forbidden from establishing a state religion, though Muslim and Christian prayers are usually held in the country at the beginning of major political occasions, including presidential inauguration.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Ethnic groups in Sierra Leone</span> Ethnic groups living within the country of Sierra Leone

Sierra Leone is home to about sixteen ethnic groups, each with its own language. In Sierra Leone, membership of an ethnic group often overlaps with a shared religious identity. According to the 2004 census Temne is the largest ethnic group in Sierra Leone.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Falaba District</span> Place in Northern Province, Sierra Leone

Falaba District is a district in the Northern Province of Sierra Leone. It is one of the sixteen districts of Sierra Leone. Its capital and largest town is Bendugu. Other towns in Falaba District include Falaba, Sikunia, Krubola, Musaia Ganya and Mansadu. Falaba District is divided into thirteen chiefdoms. Falaba District is one of the largest districts in Sierra Leone in land area, However, it is one of the least most populous districts in the country. Falaba District is known for its mostly conservative Muslim population. Falaba District has a population of 205,353, based on 2018 estimate.

Bendugu is the capital and largest town of Falaba District in the Northern Province of Sierra Leone. Bendugu is a very rural town and is also the seat of Mongo Chiefdom. Bendugu is located in close proximity to the international border with the Republic of Guinea. Bendugu is about 85 miles to Kabala, and is 300 miles east of Freetown. The main economic activity in the town is farming.

References

  1. 1 2 "The Big Read: Samory Touré: The West African empire builder" Archived 2014-05-02 at the Wayback Machine , The Observer, 12 September 2009, accessed 30 April 2014
This page is based on this Wikipedia article
Text is available under the CC BY-SA 4.0 license; additional terms may apply.
Images, videos and audio are available under their respective licenses.