The medieval history of the Serer people of Senegambia is partly characterised by resisting Islamization from perhaps the 11th century during the Almoravid movement (which would later result in the Serers of Takrur migration to the south), [1] to the 19th century Marabout movement of Senegambia [2] [3] [4] and continuation of the old Serer paternal dynasties.
According to Galvan (2004), "The oral historical record, written accounts by early Arab and European explorers, and physical anthropological evidence suggest that the various Serer peoples migrated south from the Fuuta Tooro region (Senegal River valley) beginning around the eleventh century, when Islam first came across the Sahara." [5] : p.51 Over generations these people, possibly Pulaar speaking herders originally, migrated through Wolof areas and entered the Siin and Saluum river valleys. This lengthy period of Wolof-Serer contact has left us unsure of the origins of shared "terminology, institutions, political structures, and practices." [5] : p.52
Professor Étienne Van de Walle gave a slightly later date, writing that "The formation of the Sereer ethnicity goes back to the thirteenth century, when a group came from the Senegal River valley in the north fleeing Islam, and near Niakhar met another group of Mandinka origin, called the Gelwar, who were coming from the southeast (Gravrand 1983). The actual Sereer ethnic group is a mixture of the two groups, and this may explain their complex bilinear kinship system". [6]
After the Arab invasion of North Africa, the Berbers of the north advanced Islam via the Almoravid movement, penetrating parts of Africa, Europe and Asia. [7] [8] After the fall of the Ghana empire, the Serers resisted conversion and engaged in the battlefield to defend not only the Serer religion, but also their own power and wealth especially the Serer "Lamanic class" whose wealth and power was achieved through the Lamanic lineage. [9] [10] [11] [12] [13] [14] [15]
The Serer earned their living from agriculture, animal husbandry, fishing, boat building (an ancient Serer tradition) and transporting people over the river. [16] [17]
The jihads that had affected Tekrur in the 11th century which led to the Serers of Tekrur exodus only affected those Serers living in Tekrur at the time. It did not apply to all Serer people. The Serer people are very diverse and spread throughout the Senegambia founding towns and villages, the Serer names of these towns and villages still remain today. [18]
...the Serer traversed vast expanses of territory during pre-colonial times and saw the entire region [the Senegambia region] as their home, as their history of migration in the area clearly shows..
In the Senegambia region, the Serer people were ruled by Lamanes. The Serer who have migrated from Tekrur to join their distant Serer relatives created a southward migration for Mandinka migrants. Godfrey Mwakikagile proposed that the Mandinkas were either defeated in battle or incorporated into Serer society. [20] The Serers ruled over the Wolof kingdom of Jolof. They were ruling Jolof before the Jaw, Ngom, Mengue (or Mbengue) and Njie dynasties (who were all Serers with the exception of the Mengue dynasty who were Lebou – Mengue or Mbengue is a Lebou surname). [21] However, these Serer and Lebou rulers of Jolof (predominantly a Wolof area) became assimilated into Wolof culture.
The actual foundation of the Kingdom of Sine is unclear, but in the late 14th century Mandinka migrants entered the area. They were led by a matrilineal clan known as the Gelwaar. Here they encountered the Serer, who had already established a system of lamanic authorities, and established a Gelwaar led state with its capital in or near a Serer lamanic estate centred at Mbissel. [5] : p.54 [22] [23]
Marriages between the Serer paternal clans such as Faye and Joof to the Guelwar women created the Serer paternal dynasties and a Guelowar maternal dynasty. According to Serer oral tradition a king named Maad a Sinig Maysa Wali Jaxateh Manneh (many variations in spelling: Maissa Wali, Maissa Wally also known as Maysa Wali Jon or Maysa Wali Dione) – (reigned 1350) [24] was the first Guelowar king of Sine. Having served for several years as legal advisor to The Great Council of Lamans and assimilated into Serer culture, he was elected and crowned the firstking of Sine in (1350). [25] [26] His sisters and nieces were married off to the Serer nobility and the offspring of these unions where the kings of Sine and later Saloum (Maad a Sinig and Maad Saloum respectively). [25] [26] [27] [28]
Henry Gravrand reported an oral tradition describing what he called the "Battle of Troubang", a dynastic war between the two maternal royal houses of Ñaanco and the Guelowar,an off-shot and relatives of the Ñaanco (Nyanthio or Nyanco) maternal dynasty of Kaabu, in modern-day Guinea Bissau. [29] [30] In reporting this tradition, Henry Gravrand did not notice that this is actually a description of the 1867 (or 1865) Battle of Kansala. [23]
 | The examples and perspective in this section may not represent a worldwide view of the subject.(August 2015) |
 | This section may be unbalanced towards certain viewpoints.(August 2015) |
Njaajan Njie (English spelling in Gambia, Ndiandiane Ndiaye or N'Diadian N'Diaye – French spelling in Senegal, or Njaajaan Njaay - in the Serer language, also known as Amudu Bubakar b. 'Umar, [31] is the traditional founder of the Jolof Empire by the Wolof people. Traditional stories of the ancestry of this leader vary. One suggests that he was "the first and only son of a noble and saintly Arab father Abdu Darday and a "Tukuler" woman, Fatamatu Sail." This gives him an Almoravid lineage, ie a Berber and Islamic background, on his father's side, and a link on his mother's side to Takrur. [32] [33] James Searing adds that "In all versions of the myth, Njaajaan Njaay speaks his first words in Pulaar rather than Wolof, emphasizing once again his character as a stranger of noble origins." Njaajan Njie was the founder of the first Wolof kingdom and claimed by the Wolof as their ancestor. [34] On the topic of his origins, Sallah adds that "Some say that Njajan Njai was a mysterious person of Fulani origin. Others say he was a Serer prince." [35]
John Donnelly Fage suggests although dates in the early 13th century (and others say 12th century) are usually ascribed to this king and the founding of the empire, a more likely scenario is "that the rise of the empire was associated with the growth of Wolof power at the expense of the ancient Sudanese state of Takrur, and that this was essentially a fourteenth-century development." [36]
In 1446, a Portuguese caravel carrying the Portuguese slave trader - Nuno Tristão and his party attempted to enter Serer territory in order to carry out slave raiding. None of the adult passengers of that caravel survived. They all succumbed to Serer poisoned arrows except five young Portuguese (or fewer). One of them was left with the task to charter the caravel back to Portugal. Nuno was amongst those killed. [37] [38]
The Battle of Fandane-Thiouthioune also known as The Battle of Somb was a religious war (but also partly motivated by conquest – empire building) between the Muslim Marabout movement of Senegambia and the Serer people of Sine. [39] [40] On 18 July 1867, the leader of the Marabouts Maba Diakhou Bâ launched a jihad in the Serer Kingdom of Sine but was defeated and killed by the forces of Maad a Sinig Kumba Ndoffene Famak Joof, King of Sine. [41] [42] [43]
Maba Diakhou, a rather charismatic leader in the Marabout sect saw the propagation of Islam in Senegambia and an Islamic empire as his divine mission. [44] Although he did not achieve an Islamic empire, he had managed to conquer several villages in Senegal and Gambia and his movement was responsible for the Islamization of many Senegambians. [44]
Although by the end of the twentieth century most Serer had converted to Islam (about 85% by the 1990s), [45] Serer people's medieval to 19th century history in resisting Islamization has created a division between "believers" of Islam and "non-believers" such as the orthodox Serers who adhere to Serer religion. [46] [47] [48] Klein notes that :
This division is not just religious but also has an ethnic dimension. As opponents of Islam for nearly a millennia, anti-Serer sentiments are not uncommon. [49] However, the Serer countries, especially the Sine area of Senegal, is reported to be a true bastion of the anti-Islamic. [47] [50]
At present, the Serer population is estimated to be over 1.8 million based on population figures for Senegal, Gambia and Mauritania (2011) – excluding the Serers living in the West and elsewhere. They are more numerous in Senegal than in Gambia and Mauritania. Though traditionally mixed-farmers, boat builders and land owners, the Serers are found in all major professions including politics, medicine, literature, commerce, law, agriculture, etc. [51] Polyculture and boat building is still practiced by some Serers. Due to their Lamanic land inheritance system, they tend to have valuable land. Recently however, President Abdoulaye Wade's land reform law has affected many Serer farming communities in Senegal and they've lost their properties. [52]
{{cite book}}: |work= ignored (help)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.
The Serer-Ndut or Ndut also spelt are an ethnic group in Senegal numbering 38600. They are part of the Serer people who collectively make up the third largest ethnic group in Senegal. The Serer-Ndut live mostly in central Senegal in the district of Mont-Roland, northwest of the city of ancient Thiès.
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.
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.
The Saltigue, are Serer high priests and priestesses who preside over the religious ceremonies and affairs of the Serer people, such as the Xooy ceremony, the biggest event in the Serer religious calendar. They usually come from ancient Serer paternal families. Such a title is usually inherited by birthright. In Serer country, Saltigue are always diviners. The scope of this article deals only with the Serer Saltigues – "diviners" and termed by some scholars as "the ministers of the religious cult"; "pastors of the people" or within the remits of these definitions.
Maad a Signig Kumba Ndoffene Famak Joof was the King of Sine in modern-day Senegal. Maad a Sinig means king of Sine. He ruled from 1853 until his death on 23 August 1871. He was the son of Maad Souka Ndela Joof and Lingeer Gnilane Jogoy Joof. His father – Maad Souka Ndela came from The Royal House of Semou Njekeh Joof founded by Maad Semou Njekeh Joof in the early 18th century, which was the third and last Royal House of Joof family of Sine and Saloum. His paternal family ruled three Kingdoms : Sine, Kingdom of Saloum and previously the Kingdom of Baol. They descended from Maad Ndaah Njemeh Joof the 13th century King of Lâ (Laah) in Baol.
The Battle of Fandane-Thiouthioune, also known as the Battle of Somb or the Battle of Somb-Tioutioune, occurred on 18 July 1867. It was a religious war between the Serer people and the Muslim Marabouts in 19th-century Senegal and the Gambia, but it also had a political and economic dimension to it: vendetta and empire-building. Fandane, Thiouthioune and Somb were part of the pre-colonial Serer Kingdom of Sine, now part of independent Senegal.
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.
Lamane or laman means "master of the land" in the Mandingue, Wolof, and Serer languages. The name was also sometimes the title of chiefs or kings of the Serer people of the Senegambia region which includes modern day Senegal and the Gambia. This title was also used by some kings of the Wolof kingdoms. The title is sometimes used interchangeably with the old title Maad. After the Guelowars' migration to the Sine and the foundation of the Kingdom of Sine, "lamane" denotes a provincial chief answerable to the King of Sine and Saloum.
This is a list of states headed by the Serer Lamanes. The Lamanes have a historical, economic and religious significance in Serer countries. The following pre-colonial kingdoms and new states (post-independence) were for a long time dominated by the Serer Lamanic class :
Alioune Sarr was a Senegalese historian, author and politician whose family gained prominence in the Serer precolonial Kingdom of Sine and Saloum around the 14th century. They also made up the "sulbalƃe" class of Futa Toro. Sarr was born at Foundiougne. His father was a former Chief of Foundiougne, Gandoune, former head of the constituency of Ndiaye-Ndiaye and former prime minister of Diognick in Senegal. Although Sarr was a prominent politician like his father during the colonial era, he is best known as a historian and author especially after his famous work Histoire du Sine-Saloum which was officially published in 1949 and peer reviewed by historians.
Joof or Diouf is a surname that is typically Serer. This surname is also spelt Juuf or Juf.
Maad Semou Njekeh Joof was a member of the Joof Dynasty of the Kingdom of Sine now part of independent Senegal. Maad means king and Maad a Sinig means king of Sine in Serer. He was the founder of the Royal House of Semou Njekeh Joof, founded in the early eighteenth century. His royal house was the third and last royal house founded by the Joof family of Sine and Saloum. Since its foundation, at least seven kings of Sine from his royal house had succeeded to the throne including his son Maad a Sinig Boukar Tjilas Sanghaie Joof.
Buumi was a Serer royal title in the Serer pre-colonial Kingdoms of Sine, Saloum and previously Baol. All these pre-colonial Serer kingdoms are now part of modern-day Senegal. However, present-day Gambia, was called Lower Saloum and a former colony of the Kingdom of Saloum. The Buumi was always a member of the royal family. He was the first in line to inherit the throne of the Maad a Sinig or Maad Saloum. In some cases, a Buumi can act as regent if the king is too young, as was the case with Maad a Sinig Ama Joof Gnilane Faye Joof, whose uncle was appointed regent until Maad Ama Joof became much older. In pre-colonial Sine, the Buumi usually took residence at Somb Rongodior. In many cases, he was elected by the Maad a Sinig as his successor, however, the Great Jaraff and his Noble Council of Electors generally decides which member of the royal family succeeds to the throne. When Maad a Sinig dies without nominating his Buumi, as was the case with Maad a Sinig Mbackeh Ndeb Njie, the "thilas" may succeed him as was the case with Maad a Sinig Kumba Ndoffene Fa Ndeb Joof.
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.
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.
The patronym Faye is one of the typical surnames of the Serer people of Senegal, the Gambia and Mauritania. In French-speaking Senegal and Mauritania, and English-speaking Gambia, the surname is spelled Faye.
Boukar Djillakh Faye was a 14th-century Serer wrestler (njom) from the post-classical Kingdom of Sine which lies within present-day Senegal.
Babacar Sedikh Diouf or Babacar Sédikh Diouf is a Senegalese historian, author, researcher, campaigner against "Wolofization", a Pan-Africanist, and former teacher. He has written extensively about the history and culture of Senegal, Africa, and that of the Serer ethnic group to which he belong. He usually writes by the pen name Babacar Sedikh Diouf.
Maad Saloum Fode N'Gouye Joof was the last king of Saloum. He reigned as Maad Saloum from 1935 to 1969. His royal title Maad Saloum means King of Saloum in Serer.