Images
The Tata of Sikasso, illustration by Édouard Riou
A reconstructed tata somba in Benin
The tata of Kankelefa (1849)
The tata of Yang-Yang, Senegal
A tata or tata somba is a historic type of fortification used throughout West Africa. The word is applied to the wall itself as well as the elite living spaces within it for the ruler of the tata and his court. [1] It can also designate the defenses around a major city or other military center. [2] The term 'tata' derives from the Mandinka language but has used across a wide area, roughly corresponding to the former Mali Empire, since at least the 16th century. [3]
Tata are often made of wood and rammed earth or mudbrick, but sometimes of stone as well. [3] They usually have round or square towers, sometimes thatched, with arrow or gun slits. [4]
Tata ruins, such as that of Maba Diakhou Bâ near Nioro du Rip in Senegal, generally date from the 19th century, though some are older. The construction materials used make them vulnerable to erosion and degradation if not maintained regularly. The tata of northern Togo and Benin are a UNESCO World Heritage Site.
The history of Senegal is commonly divided into a number of periods, encompassing the prehistoric era, the precolonial period, colonialism, and the contemporary era.
The Lebu are a subgroup of Wolof in Senegal, West Africa, living on the peninsula of Cap-Vert, site of Dakar. The Lebu are primarily a fishing community, but they have a substantial business in construction supplies and real estate. They speak Lebu Wolof, which is closely related to Wolof proper but is not intelligible with it.
Gabu is the largest town in eastern Guinea-Bissau and capital of the Gabu Region.
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.
The Kénédougou Kingdom,, was a pre-colonial West African state established in the southeastern portion of present-day Mali, as well as parts of northern Côte d'Ivoire and western Burkina Faso.
Djibril Tamsir Niane was a Guinean historian, playwright, and short story writer.
The Central Bank of West African States is a central bank serving the eight west African countries which share the common West African CFA franc currency and comprise the West African Economic and Monetary Union.
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.
Tiongui is a small town and commune in the Cercle of Kolondieba in the Sikasso Region of southern Mali near the border with Ivory Coast. In 1998 the commune had a population of 6,004.
The Tammari people, also known as Batammariba, Tamberma, Somba, Otamari or Ottamari, are an Oti–Volta-speaking people of the Atakora Department of Benin where they are also known as Somba and neighboring areas of Togo, where they are officially known as Ta(m)berma. They are famous for their two-story fortified houses, known as Tata Somba, in which the ground floor houses livestock at night, internal alcoves are used for cooking, and the upper floor contains a rooftop courtyard that is used for drying grain, as well as containing sleeping quarters and granaries. These evolved by adding an enclosing roof to the clusters of huts, joined by a connecting wall that is typical of Gur-speaking areas of West Africa.
Canquelifá, sometimes spelled Kankelefa, is a village in the Gabú Region of north-eastern Guinea-Bissau. It lies to the northwest of Buruntuma.
Women in Senegal have a traditional social status as shaped by local custom and religion. According to 2005 survey, the female genital mutilation prevalence rate stands at 28% of all women in Senegal aged between 15 and 49.
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.
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.
Joof or Diouf is a surname that is typically Serer. This surname is also spelt Juuf or Juf.
Teigne was a Serer title for the monarchs of the pre-colonial Kingdom of Baol, now part of present-day Senegal. The Kingdoms of Baol and Cayor became intricately linked especially post 1549 when the Faal family came to into prominence, and it was the same family that eventually ruled both Kingdoms with the exception of few interruptions, notably Lat Joor Ngoneh Latir Jobe who was of a different patrilineage.
Tata of Chasselay is a cemetery in the city of Chasselay, Rhône including almost 200 graves of Senegalese Tirailleurs murdered during the Chasselay massacre of World War II.
