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27-550: The most well-known damel is probably Lat Dior Diop (1842–1886) who was killed by the French after decades of resisting their encroachment on Wolof territory. Lat Dior is a Senegalese national hero. The 30th and last Damel of Cayor, Samba Laobé Fall, was killed by the leader of a French delegation, Captain Spitzer, at Tivaouane , Senegal. Among the social classes of Cayor, the Damel stood on

54-480: A descendant of the ancient Baol royal house of Maad Ndaah Njemeh Joof . Around the turn of the 16th century, Baol, still largely Serer and animist and under the reign of Teigne Mafane Thiaw, was invaded by the nominally Islamic Cayor . Defeated in battle, some of the priests of Baol took refuge with the Maad Saloum , founding the city of Kaolack . In 1697 Teigne Lat Sukaabe Fall conquered Cayor and built

81-585: A national hero of Senegal for his resistance to French colonialism . Lat Jor was the son of Sahewer Sohna Mbay ( Sakhéwère Sokhna Mbaye ) and the Linguère royal Ngoné Latyr Fall  [ fr ] ( Ngoné Latyr Fall ), Ngoné Latyr Fall was from the Wolof Dynasty of Paleen Dedd which ruled the two kingdoms of Cayor and Baol. Lat Jor belonged to the Geej or Guedj Wolof maternal dynasty that had supplied many of

108-457: A powerful, centralized state backed by a military armed with firearms. Upon his death, however, he deeded each kingdom to a separate son, and the rivalry between them continued. During the 18th century, Damel Maïsa Teindde Ouédji of Cayor annexed Baol, but the kingdom was embroiled in a succession dispute after his death. Baol regained its independence in 1756. The French conquest of Baol began in 1859 under Governor Louis Faidherbe . Most of Baol

135-517: A practicing Muslim for the rest of his life. Lat Jor led Maba's armies, reinforced with his ceddo warriors, in the conquests of the states of Baol and Djolof in July 1865. An alarmed French governor Émile Pinet-Laprade marched on Saloum at the head of 1,600 regulars, 2,000 cavalry, and 4,000 volunteers and footsoldiers. At the Battle of Pathé Badiane outside of Nioro, however, the marabout forces drove

162-474: A prior treaty with the French; at the ensuing negotiations, a fight broke out and he was killed on October 6, 1886. Maneuvered into a doomed battle at Dekhele in late December, Lat Jor was killed in action, and the kingdom of Cayor ceased to exist as an independent, united state. Lat Jor remains to this day a national hero in Senegal. In Dakar, there is a giant statue of Maalaw, the legendary horse of Lat Jor, near

189-481: A treaty early in 1871. With Amadou Ba's ambitions in Cayor and Lat Jor's support for the exiled Jolof prince Alboury Ndiaye , their former alliance was broken. Over the next few years they clashed over control of Baol until Amadou Ba invaded Cayor in July 1874. His forces won a series of victories against Lat Jor and his allies, until the French intervened. With their reinforcement, particularly heavy artillery, Lat Jor won

216-533: Is likely a later invention to celebrate the unity of the empire. Many of the earliest buurba s came from maternal lineages native to Baol, perhaps benefiting from the prestigious historical memory of Ghana. Some even used Lambaye as an imperial residence. The Portuguese began trading on the coast of Baol in the 15th century, bringing primarily horses and iron. Amary Ngoné Sobel Fall , Damel of Cayor , and his cousin Maguinak Joof of Baol fought together at

243-579: Is now central Senegal . Founded in the 11th century, it was a vassal of the Jolof Empire before becoming independent in the mid-16th century. The ruler bore the title of Teigne (or Teeň) and reigned from the capital in Lambaye . The kingdom encompassed a strip of land extending east from the ocean and included the towns of Touba , Diourbel , and Mbacke. It was directly south of the Kingdom of Cayor and north of

270-533: The Battle of Danki (1549), where they defeated the Emperor of Jolof and won independence. Fall became the first Damel-Teign , reigning over both kingdoms in a personal union and founding the Fall dynasty. This arrangement resurfaced periodically throughout the history of the two states, with frequent wars between them. Fall was son of Lingeer Ngoneh Sobel Njie and the maternal grandson of Lingeer Sobel Joof, making him

297-712: The Kingdom of Sine . There are no written sources for the early history of Baol, and even oral traditions are sparse. The earliest recorded Teigne of Baol was named Kayamangha Diatta and was a member of the Soninke Wagadu matrilineage, reflecting influence emanating from the Ghana Empire . Serer people moved into the region in the 11th or 12th century, fleeing Islamization in the Senegal river valley. Wolof groups gradually arrived later. The Wagadu dynasty integrated them into

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324-454: The Baol government. Some early Serer kings included: Kolki Faye; Mbissine Ndoumbé Ngom; Massamba Fambi Ngom; Fambi Langar Ngom; Patar Xole Joof (great-grandson of Maad Ndaah Njemeh Joof ). At some point early in its history, Baol was integrated into the Jolof Empire . The legend of Ndiadiane Ndiaye , the first Buurba Jolof , claims that the ruler of Baol voluntarily submitted to him, but this

351-681: The French back towards their fortifications at Kaolack . They couldn't, however, conquer the Serer Kingdom of Sine and were defeated at The Battle of Fandane-Thiouthioune (18 July 1867) by Maad a Sinig Kumba Ndoffene Famak Joof . In 1868 Lat Jor and his troops returned to Cayor to attempt to regain independence. He allied with Shaikh Amadou Ba and defeated the French in the battle of Mekhe on July 8th, 1869. The French were unwilling to see Lat Jor ally himself to another powerful marabout leader, however. On 15th July 1870 they recognized him as Damel of Cayor, cementing this understanding with

378-579: The Teigne, a crown-slave bureaucracy directly under the king, and representatives of each of the dependent communities (pastoralists, fishermen, clergy, castes and women). Baol was ruled by a mixed dynasty: the Wagadu maternal lineage (from the Ghana Empire ) along with the Serer paternal dynasties of N'Gom (or Ngum), Thiaw, Joof or Diouf , and Faye . The heir to the throne was given the title of Thialao , and ruled over

405-636: The bloody battle of Samba Saajo in February 1875 and Ba was killed. Despite being the acknowledged Damel of Cayor, Lat Jor had to deal with a revolt among the jaami buur , or royal slaves. The Franco-Adjor alliance broke down in 1883 when Lat Jor began a rebellion to resist the construction of the Dakar to Saint-Louis railway . He is reported to have told the French Governor Servatius: " As long as I live, be assured, I shall oppose, with all my might

432-477: The construction of this railway ." In 1883 the Governor installed one of Lat Jor's nephews, Samba Lawbe Fall, in his place as Damel of a depopulated Cayor. For three years Lat Jor fought a guerilla war with a small band of followers. By 1886 the French had signed a peace with Alboury Ndiaye of Jolof , had completed the railroad, and were at their most powerful. Samba Lawbe Fall started a war with Jolof that violated

459-451: The damel of Cayor, in order This biography of a member of an African royal house is a stub . You can help Misplaced Pages by expanding it . Lat-Dior Lat Jor Ngoné Latir Jop ( Wolof : Lat Joor Ngoone Latiir Joop ; French : Lat Dior Ngoné Latyr Diop ; c. 1842–1886) was a nineteenth-century damel (king) of Cayor , a Wolof state that is today in Sénégal . He is today

486-606: The great mosque. The Senegalese Army's main camp in Dakar as well as a stadium in Thiès are named for him. Faidherbe is reputed to have said of Lat Jor's troops: " Ceux-là, on les tue on ne les déshonore pas ." ("They can be killed but not dishonored"). This has been adapted as the motto of the Senegalese Army: " On nous tue, on ne nous déshonore pas ". The Cayor ruling class, although always nominally Muslim, had historically been hostile to

513-410: The kings of Sine and Saloum before turning to the marabout of Saloum, Maba Diakhou Bâ . Meanwhile, Louis Faidherbe deposed the ineffective Majojo, annexed Cayor, and divided it into five provinces. In order to cement his alliance with Maba, Lat Jor formally became of the cleric's talibes , or disciples. This was an important break from Cayor's relatively secular royal traditions. He remained

540-501: The province of Salao. Baol was famous for its horses. It had unique breeds, which were faster and more robust than most of the horses on the plain. The kingdom's primary seaports were at Saly Portudal and Mbour , giving the nobles access to imported luxuries and firearms that they purchased with slaves raided from outlying villages or in war. Baol was a Wolof kingdom, but included large communities of Serer-Safen and other Serer groups. Natives of Baol are known as 'Baol-Baol',

567-530: The rulers of Cayor and Baol over the preceding centuries. The matriarch of that matriclan was the Wolof Lingeer Ngoné Dièye , a Princess from Tubé Dieye in Gandiol. Gandiol is a Wolof region in the north of Senegal that borders Mauritania. Lat Jor was a direct maternal descendant of Lingeer Ngoné Dièye of Tubé Dieye. Eligible to be elected based on his maternal lineage, Lat Jor was the first damel who

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594-447: The stricter religious interpretations promoted by the marabouts. Lat Jor's initiation by Maba Diakhou Ba and his subsequent promotion of Islam when he retook the throne was an important factor in moving the Wolof population generally away from the earlier syncretic Islam and towards the faith as practiced by the clerics. Kingdom of Baol Baol or Bawol was a kingdom in what

621-509: The top of the hierarchy. The Damel were traditionally seen as great magicians and it was through female relatives that royal blood was transmitted. Every descendant of a Damel in the maternal line became a garmi or noble. The Damel began as the Great Lamane of Cayor, traditionally elected by the other Lamanes from the Fall family of Palene Ded, who claimed descend from Ousmane Boune Afal, a companion of Mohammed, by means of Wagadou . Lat Jor

648-406: Was conquered by 1874, but complete control of the former kingdom was only established in 1895 when it was divided into two provinces. Under colonialism, Mouridism , whose founder Amadou Bamba was a Baol-Baol, spread widely in the region. The social and political systems were basically the same as those of its larger neighbor, Cayor . The government was composed of the great electors who selected

675-441: Was installed in 1861 by the French. His opponents resisted, defeating the damel in battle the next year and installing the young Lat Jor in his place. After fighting a rearguard action at the battle of Ndari in early December 1863, Lat Jor crushed Majojo and his French allies in the battle of Ngolgol later that month. In January 1864, defeated at Loro, he was ultimately forced to flee Cayor. He tried unsuccessfully to find shelter with

702-489: Was not from the 'Fall' family on his paternal side, being a 'Diop' instead. Information on Lat Jor's life before his election as damel is known mostly through oral histories kept by griots . He was born in 1842 in Keur Amadou Yalla in northeastern Cayor. Raised in a nominally Muslim milieu, he studied at a Quranic school as a child. In 1859 at age 17 he was already involved in politics. The damel Majojo (or Ma-Dyodyo)

729-456: Was the only Damel elected who was not part of the Fall paternal line. The term "Damel" may derive from "breaker", coming from the Wolof verb "damma" meaning "to break," referring to the breaking of their vassalage to the Jolof Empire at the 1549 battle of Danki . Alvise Cadamosto , however, recorded the use of the title "Damel" for the ruler of Cayor much earlier, in the 1450s. The following are

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