Mbegane Ndour
| Mbegane Ndour | |
|---|---|
| Maad Saloum | |
| Reign | c. 1493 - 1513 |
| Successor | Giran O Ngap |
| Born | Diakhao, Kingdom of Sine, present-day  Senegal |
| House | Guelowar |
| Father | Maari Nduur |
| Religion | Serer religion |
Mbegane Ndour, also spelled Mbegaan Nduur, was the founder and first king of the Kingdom of Saloum in present-day Senegal.
Family and Early Life
[edit]According the legend, Mbegane Ndour was the nephew of Maad a Sinig Maissa Wali, although this is likely a later invention to legitimate him, as the timelines do not match up.[1] His mother was injured, and sent by the Bour Sine to the village of Mboudaye, south of the Saloum river, to heal. There, she was impregnated by the famous warrior Maari Nduur, commonly known as Marga Tiatj. After Ndour was born, his father came to Sine to claim his bride, although the baby was raised in Sine.[2][1] Certainly, he was a part of the royal Guelowar clan.
His early career is subject of numerous, sometimes contradictory, oral traditions. Most likely he participated in wars in both Cayor and Baol, won a reputation as a brilliant general, and may have ruled as Teigne of Baol for a period.[3] He allied himself with the Buurba Jolof Biram Njeme Kumba, and the support of the Ndiaye dynasty would be important in the founding of Saloum.[4] A potential rival for power, Mbegane was not particularly welcome at the royal court of Sine, and so was sent to his paternal homeland to carve out a kingdom for himself.[3]
Maad Saloum
[edit]The chiefdom called Mbey was under the influence of a Toucouleur marabout named Elibana. Ndour asked for permission to settle in the village of Coofak, near modern-day Kaolack, and was refused.[5] The marabout's attempts to convert the local Serer to Islam had created friction, and so they joined Mbegane's forces, also strengthened by the purchase of horses and guns from European merchants on the coast. In the legend, after proving unable to overcome him on the battlefield, Ndour transformed into a snake and hid outside Elibana's mosque; when the marabout emerged from his prayers, the snake bit him, and he died. He then fought and defeated Diattara Tambedou, who was either Elibana's successor or a former ally of Ndour's. Tambedou, a Muslim Soninke, was likely a salt merchant. Control over this vital resource underpinned the conflict as much or more than religious differences.[6][7][8]
Ndour renamed Njop Kahone and made it the capital of a kingdom modeled on his homeland, Sine.[9][10][11] He built up his power by allying with the various smaller powers of the region, including Serer Lamanes, Soninke or Toucouleur marabouts, and local village chiefs, but he only directly controlled Mbey.[12]
About 10 years after taking the throne, he may have served as regent to the underage Maad a Sinig.[3] Legend that he founded the village of Ngaye Mekhe in Baol, where he died, after 20 years of rule.[13]
References
[edit]Sources
[edit]- Ba, Abdou Bouri (1976). "Essai sur l'histoire du Saloum et du Rip". Bulletin de l'IFAN. 38 (4). Retrieved 9 January 2025.
- Boulegue, Jean (2013). Les royaumes wolof dans l'espace sénégambien (XIIIe-XVIIIe siècle) (in French). Paris: Karthala Editions.
- Fall, Rokhaya (2022). Un espace de rencontre en Sénégambie : le Saalum (XVIe – XIXe siècle). Harmattan.
- Sakho, Oumar Malle (2021). ":Le sel dans la formation de l'espace du Saloum: XVIeme=XVII siecle". In Fall, Mamadou; Fall, Rokhaya; Mane, Mamadou (eds.). Bipolarisation du Senegal du XVIe - XVIIe siecle (in French). Dakar: HGS Editions. pp. 101–117.