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71-563: Serer oral traditions recount that the area was named Saluum/Saloum by the Maad Saloum Mbegan Ndour upon succeeding to the throne, which was in the later part of the 15th century (c. 1493/4). It was named after Saalum Suwareh, the marabout of Mbegan Ndour. Saloum, just like its sister kingdom, Sine , is known for its many ancient burial mounds or " tumuli " containing the graves of kings and others. The Kingdom has numerous mysterious stone circles. The Kingdom of Saloum

142-481: A Serer kingdom, his body was dragged out of the country and left for the vultures to feast on if there is no family or friend to claim the body and bury it elsewhere. They were also never accompanied by grave goods . No matter how long a Mauritanian Moor has lived in the area as a migrant, he could never achieve high status within the Serer aristocracy. The best position he could ever wish for within Serer high society

213-515: A standard couscous . The Serer traditional attire is called Serr . It is normally woven by Serer men and believed to bring good luck among those who wear it. Marriages are usually arranged. In the event of the death of an elder, the sacred "Gamba" (a big calabash with a small hollow-out) is beaten followed by the usual funeral regalia to send them off to the next life. Senegalese wrestling called "Laamb" or Njom in Serer originated from

284-414: A title of honour. According to some, the history of this position goes back to an early Moor in Serer country who had a child by his own daughter. Serers and Toucouleurs are linked by a bond of "cousinage". This is a tradition common to many ethnic groups of West Africa known as Maasir (var : Massir ) in Serer language ( Joking relationship ) or kal , which comes from kalir (a deformation of

355-462: Is a favourite pastime for Senegalese and Gambians alike. "The Serer people are known especially for their rich knowledge of vocal and rhythmic practices that infuse their everyday language with complex overlapping cadences and their ritual with intense collaborative layerings of voice and rhythm." Ali Colleen Neff The Sabar (drum) tradition associated with the Wolof people originated from

426-668: Is a list of presidents of Senegal, since the country gained independence from France in 1960. The Senegalese Constitution provides the following oath for the president which must be taken before they enter into office: "I swear, before God and the people of Senegal, to faithfully execute the office of president of the republic of Senegal, to keep the provisions of the Constitution and laws and to ensure their observance, to devote all my strength to defending constitutional institutions, to defend Senegal's territorial integrity and its independence, and [I swear] to spare no effort to realize

497-406: Is a matter of conjecture. Although matrilineality ( tim in Serer ) is very important in Serer culture, the Serer follow a bilineal system. Both matrilineality and patrilineality are important in Serer custom. Inheritance depends on the nature of the asset being inherited. That is, whether the asset is a maternal ( ƭeen yaay ) or paternal ( kucarla ) asset. The hierarchical highest status among

568-587: Is also a recent phenomenon among some Serers. For the Serer, the soil (where their ancestors lay in rest) is very important to them and they guard it with jealousy. They have a legal framework governing every aspect of life, even land law , with strict guidelines. Apart from agriculture (and other forms of production or occupation such as animal husbandry, fishing especially among the Serer-Niominka , boat building, etc.), some occupations , especially trade, they viewed as vulgar, common and ignoble. Hence in

639-429: Is called Chere (or saay) in the Serer language (pounded coos). They control all the phases of this dish from production to preparation. Other ethnic groups (or Serers), tend to buy it from Serer women market traders or contract it out to them especially if they are holding major ceremonial events. Chere is very versatile and can be eaten with fermented milk or cream and sugar as a breakfast cereal or prepared just as

710-471: Is called a ƭat Roog ('the way of the Divine'). It believes in a universal Supreme Deity called Roog (var : Rog ). The Cangin-language speakers refer to the supreme being as Koox . Serer religious beliefs encompasses ancient chants and poems; veneration and offerings to Serer gods, goddesses, and the pangool ( ancestral spirits and saints ); astronomy ; rites of passage ; medicine ; cosmology ; and

781-408: Is just a sample of the power of the bur kevel who was also a member of the griot caste. The slave castes continue to be despised, they do not own land and work as tenant farmers, marriage across caste lines is forbidden and lying about one's caste prior to marriage has been a ground for divorce. The land has been owned by the upper social strata, with the better plots near the villages belonging to

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852-457: Is part of the national curriculum of Senegal. Historically the Serer people's unwillingness to trade directly during the colonial era was a double edged sword to the Serer language as well as the Cangin languages . That resulted in the Wolof language being the dominant language in the market place as well as the factories. However, the Serer language, among other local languages, is now part of

923-459: Is that the Serer people have retained a matrilineal inheritance system. According to historian Martin A. Klein the caste systems among the Serer emerged as a consequence of the Mandinka people's Sine-Saloum guelowar conquest, and when the Serer people sought to adapt and participate in the new Senegambian state system. The previously held view that the Serer only follow a matrilineal structure

994-563: The Casamance conflict —which has plagued the Gambia , Senegal , and Guinea-Bissau since 1982. He has also been very vocal in calling for a peaceful transition of political power since 2023, in preparation for Senegal's 2024 Presidential Elections. Ethnically, Saloum was and still is Serer , but gradually the Wolof immigrants have settled in along with the Fulas , Mandinkas , etc. Unlike

1065-725: The Constitution of Senegal . Abdoulaye Wade was controversially allowed to run for president in 2012 following the 2008 constitutional amendment, but lost re-election to Macky Sall. The Palace of the Republic ( French : Palais de la République ) is the presidential residence, located in Dakar in the Plateau district. After having been the official residence of the Governor-General of French West Africa . The construction of

1136-633: The French , it was later defeated. However, like the Kingdom of Sine, the royal dynasty survived up to 1969, when the last absolute monarch of Saloum, Maad Saloum Fode N'Gouye Joof had died. His year of death corresponded with the death of Maad a Sinig Mahecor Joof , who was the last absolute monarch of Sine. These two kings were the last Serer and kings of the Senegalese kingdom with absolute power . After their deaths, both Kingdoms were incorporated into

1207-532: The Mandinka cleric Ma Ba Jaxoo. The inter-ethnic wars involving the Serer continued till 1887, when the French colonial forces conquered Senegal. Thereafter, the conversion of the Serer people accelerated. By the early 1910s, about 40% of the Serer people had adopted Islam, and by the 1990s about 85% of them were Muslims. Most of the newly converted Serer people have joined Sufi Muslim Brotherhoods, particularly

1278-501: The Mouride and Tijaniyyah Tariqas. The Serer practice trade, agriculture, fishing, boat building and animal husbandry. Traditionally the Serer people have been farmers and landowners. Although they practice animal husbandry , they are generally less known for that, as in the past, Serer nobles entrusted their herds to the pastoralist Fula, a practice that continues today. However, they are known for their mixed-farming. Trade

1349-618: The Senegal River valley, at the border of present-day Senegal and Mauritania, and moved south in the 11th and 12th century. They migrated again in the 15th and 16th centuries as their villages were invaded and they were subjected to religious pressures from Islamic forces. They have had a sedentary settled culture and have been known for their farming expertise and transhumant stock-raising. The Serer people have been historically noted as an ethnic group practicing elements of both matrilineality and patrilineality that long resisted

1420-552: The Serer-Laalaa (sometimes known as "Laa", "La" or "Lâ" or just "Serer"). Each group speaks Serer or a Cangin language . "Serer" is the standard English spelling. "Seereer" or "Sereer" reflects the Serer pronunciation of the name and are spellings used mostly by Senegalese Serer historians or scholars. The meaning of the word "Serer" is uncertain. Issa Laye Thiaw views it as possibly pre-Islamic and suggests four possible derivations: Professor Cheikh Anta Diop , citing

1491-757: The Toucouleur people in the Senegal River valley area. Serer people resisted Islamization and later Wolofization from possibly the 11th century during the Almoravid movement. They migrated south where they intermixed with the Diola people . After the Ghana Empire was sacked as certain kingdoms gained their independence, Abu-Bakr Ibn-Umar , leader of the Almoravids , launched a jihad into

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1562-610: The Wolof kingdoms , such as Jolof , Waalo , Cayor and Baol. The Kingdom of Baol was originally an old Serer Kingdom ruled by the Serer paternal dynasties, such as Joof family , the Njie family, etc. and the Wagadou maternal dynasty prior to the Battle of Danki in 1549. The Faal (var: Fall) paternal dynasty of Cayor and Baol that ruled after 1549 following the Battle of Danki were originally Black Moors ( Naari Kajoor ). Prior to

1633-531: The history of the Serer people . In contemporary times, about 85% of the Serers are Muslim, while others are Christian. Some Serer still follow Serer spiritual beliefs. According to James Olson , professor of History specializing in Ethnic Group studies, the Serer people "violently resisted the expansion of Islam" by the Wolof people in the 19th century. They were a target of the 1861 jihad led by

1704-546: The king of Saloum who took residence at Kahone . Around 1862, Sambou Oumanneh Touray, a disciple of Maba Diakhou Bâ (later foe) launched a jihad in Sabakh and Sandial. Having defeated the Fara Sabakh and Fara Sandial, he joined the two countries together (hence : Sabakh-Sandial ) and ruled it. The final Fara Sabakh and Fara Sandial died in that jihad. During the Serer paternal and Guelowar maternal dynasties from

1775-426: The oral tradition through songs and music. Of these, all castes had a taboo in marrying a griot, and they could not be buried like others. Below the artisan castes in social status have been the slaves, who were either bought at slave markets, seized as captives, or born to a slave parent. The view that the jambur (or jambuur ) caste were among the lower echelons of society is a matter of debate. The jaraff , who

1846-456: The 15th century to 1969, nearly 50 kings have been enthroned. The kings continued to hold their court in Kahone , but the city was eclipsed commercially by neighboring Kaolack . Portuguese explorers in the 15th century referred to Saloum as the kingdom of Borçalo , after 'Bor-ba-Saloum' (Wolof corruption for "King of Saloum" - Maad Saloum ). Although the Kingdom won some major battles against

1917-634: The Faal dynasty of Cayor and Baol , these two kingdoms were ruled by the Serer people with the patrilineages "Joof" or Diouf , Faye and Njie, and the maternal lineage of Wagadou – members of the royal families from the Ghana Empire (proper "Wagadou Empire") who married into the Serer aristocracy. All the kings that ruled Serer Kingdoms had Serer surnames, with the exception of the Mboge and Faal paternal dynasties whose reigns are very recent. They did not provide many kings. The Serer traditional religion

1988-721: The Gambian "Kombo". The Serer (also known as "Seex" or "Sine-Sine") occupy the Sine and Saloum areas (now part of modern-day independent Senegal). The Serer people include the Seex (Serer or Serer-Sine ), Serer-Noon (sometimes spelt "Serer-None", "Serer-Non" or just Noon ), Serer-Ndut (also spelt "N’doute"), Serer-Njeghene (sometimes spelt "Serer-Dyegueme" or "Serer-Gyegem" or "Serer-N'Diéghem"), Serer-Safene , Serer-Niominka , Serer-Palor (also known as "Falor", "Palar", "Siili", "Siili-Mantine", "Siili-Siili", "Waro" or just "Serer"), and

2059-573: The King of Sine in particular is very influential, and has been able utilise his influence on the President of Senegal (notably Macky Sall ), and the old pleasant cousinship between the Serer and Jola people by liaising with the King of Oussouye (Maan Sibiloumbaye Diédhiou) to help bring about economic and cultural development in the Senegambia region, and peace in Casamance , after decades of

2130-441: The Kingdom of Sine which is ethnically Serer and deeply rooted in "Serer- conservatism ", such as the preservation of Serer religion , culture, traditions, etc., Saloum is more cosmopolitan and multi-religious. This explains why some Serer traditionalists who adhere to the tenets of Serer religion are reluctant to afford it the same religious status afforded to Sine as one of the sacred Serer holy sites , in spite of housing many of

2201-578: The Sahara." 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 clouded the origins of shared "terminology, institutions, political structures, and practices." If one is to believe the economist and demographer Étienne Van de Walle who gave a slightly later date for their ethnogenesis, writing that "The formation of

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2272-575: 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 came 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". Their own oral traditions recite legends that relate their being part of, or related to

2343-626: The Serer Kingdom of Sine and spread to the Kingdom of Saloum . The Wolof people who migrated to Serer Saloum picked it up from there and spread it to Wolof Kingdoms. Each motif has a purpose and is used for different occasions. Individual motifs represent the history and genealogy of a particular family and are used during weddings, naming ceremonies, funerals etc. The Njuup (progenitor of Mbalax ) and Tassu traditions (also Tassou ) ( progenitor of rap music ) both originated from

2414-473: The Serer Kingdom of Sine . It was a preparatory exercise for war among the warrior classes. That style of wrestling (a brutal and violent form) is totally different from the sport wrestling enjoyed by all Senegambian ethnic groups today, nevertheless, the ancient rituals are still visible in the sport version. Among the Serers, wrestling is classified into different techniques and each technique takes several years to master. Children start young trying to master

2485-475: The Serer Kingdoms of Sine and Saloum were incorporated into independent Senegal, which had gained its independence from France in 1960. The Serer kingdoms of Sine and Saloum are two of the few pre-colonial African kingdoms whose royal dynasty survived up to the 20th century. Serer kingdoms included the Kingdom of Sine and the Kingdom of Saloum. In addition to these twin Serer kingdoms, the Serer ruled in

2556-606: The Serer Kingdoms. Many parts of present-day Gambia were former colonies of the Kingdom of Saloum. Originally, Saloum extended south to the north banks of the Gambia River . Present-day Gambia was referred to as Lower Saloum. Upper Saloum was where modern day Saloum is in Senegal. The States of Sabakh and Sandial were ruled by the Fara Sabakh and Fara Sandial (respective titles of the chiefs), and were both tributary to

2627-547: The Serer did not maintain a slave culture, or at least not to the same extent as other ethnic groups in the region. The Serer people are also referred to as: The Serer people are primarily found in contemporary Senegal , particularly in the west-central part of the country, running from the southern edge of Dakar to the border of The Gambia . The Serer-Noon occupy the ancient area of Thiès in modern-day Senegal. The Serer-Ndut are found in southern Cayor and north west of ancient Thiès. The Serer-Njeghen occupy old Baol ;

2698-533: The Serer people has been those of hereditary nobles and their relatives, which meant blood links to the Mandinka conquerors. Below the nobles, came tyeddo , or the warriors and chiefs who had helped the Mandinka rulers and paid tribute. The third status, and the largest strata came to be the jambur , or free peasants who lacked the power of the nobles. Below the jambur were the artisan castes, who inherited their occupation. These castes included blacksmiths, weavers, jewelers, leatherworkers, carpenters, griots who kept

2769-606: The Serer people. The Tassu was used when chanting ancient religious verses. The people would sing then interweave it with a Tassu. The late Serer Diva Yandé Codou Sène who was the griot of the late and former president of Senegal ( Leopold Sedar Senghor ) was proficient in the "Tassu". She was the best Tassukat (one who Tassu) of her generation. Originally religious in nature, the griots of Senegambia regardless of ethnic group or religion picked it up from Serer religious practices and still use it in different occasions e.g. marriages, naming ceremonies or when they are just singing

2840-525: The Serer sites (see Serer ancient history ). Although very cosmopolitan, it is also ethnically Serer, the other ethnic groups are migrants. The Serer language and Wolof are both widely spoken in Saloum. The Cangin languages are also spoken. Saloum includes flat, swampy tideland areas inland from the Saloum River delta . In recent years large areas of mangrove growth have been destroyed. There

2911-461: The Serer word kucarla meaning paternal lineage or paternal inheritance). This joking relationship enables one group to criticise another, but also obliges the other with mutual aid and respect. The Serers call this Maasir or Kalir . This is because the Serers and the Toucouleurs are related – according to Wiliam J. foltz "Tukulor are a mixture of Fulani and Serer" The Serers also maintain

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2982-520: The Serer word "Kalir" a deformation of "kurcala" which means paternal lineage or inheritance and is used exactly in that context by many Senegambians. The word gamo derives from the old Serer word gamohu – an ancient divination ceremony. Most people who identify themselves as Serer speak the Serer language . This is spoken in Sine-Saloum , Kaolack , Diourbel , Dakar , and in Gambia , and

3053-675: The Serer-Palor occupy the west central, west southwest of Thiès and the Serer-Laalaa occupy west central, north of Thiès and the Tambacounda area. The Serer people are diverse. Although they lived throughout the Senegambia region, they are more numerous in places such as old Baol , Sine , Saloum and in The Gambia , which was a colony of the Kingdom of Saloum. There they occupy parts of old "Nuimi" and "Baddibu" as well as

3124-469: The Serers who were the victims of Islamic jihads and enslavements did not participate much in slavery and when they do, it was merely in revenge. This view is supported by scholars such as François G. Richard who posits that: The Serer ethnic group is rather diverse, and as Martin A. Klein notes, the institution of slavery did not exist among the Serer-Noon and N'Dieghem. The Serer's favourite food

3195-558: The Sine-Salum, their present habitat." Other historians such as R. G. Schuh have refuted Diop's thesis. Professor Dennis Galvan writes that "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

3266-515: The basics before moving on to the more advance techniques like the "mbapatte" , which is one of the oldest techniques and totally different from modern wrestling. Yékini (real name: "Yakhya Diop"), who is a professional wrestler in Senegal is one of the top wrestlers proficient in the "mbapatte" technique. Lamba and sabar ( musical instruments ) are used as music accompaniments in wrestling matches as well as in circumcision dances and royal festivals. Serer wrestling crosses ethnic boundaries and

3337-410: The colonial era probably due to anti-Serer sentiments ) has now been discarded as there is nothing in the Serer oral tradition that speaks of a military conquest, but a union based on marriage. A marriage between the noble Guelowar maternal clan and the noble Serer patriclans . This view is supported by Senegalese historians and writers such as Alioune Sarr , Biram Ngom and Babacar Sédikh Diouf . With

3408-435: The colonial era, especially among the Serer nobles, they would hire others to do the trading on their behalf (e.g. Moors) acting as their middlemen. The Serer people have traditionally been a socially stratified society, like many West African ethnic groups with castes . The mainstream view has been that the Mandinka (or Malinka) Guelowars of Kaabu conquered and subjugated the Serer people. That view (propelled during

3479-406: The dividing line between dialects and different languages. President of Senegal The president of Senegal ( French : Président du Sénégal ) is the head of state of Senegal . In accordance with the constitutional reform of 2001 and since a referendum that took place on 20 March 2016 , the president is elected for a 5-year term, with a limit of two consecutive terms. The following

3550-569: The exception of Maysa Wali , this would explain why none of the kings of Sine and Saloum (two of the Serer precolonial kingdoms) bore Mandinka surnames, but Serer surname throughout the 600 years reign of the Guelwar maternal dynasty. The Serer noble patriclans simply married Guelowar women, and their offsprings bearing Serer surnames reigned in Sine and Saloum. The Guelowars also viewed themselves as Serer and assimilated in Serer culture. The alliance

3621-465: The expansion of Islam. They fought against jihads in the 19th century, and subsequently opposed the French colonial rule. In the 20th century, most of the Serer converted to Islam ( Sufism ), but some are Christians or follow their traditional religion . The Serer society, like other ethnic groups in Senegal, has had social stratification featuring endogamous castes and slaves. Other historians, such as Thiaw, Richard and others, believe that

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3692-425: The king to the battlefield and recount the glory or bravery of his ancestors in battle. They retain and pass down the genealogy and family history of the king. The bur Kevel could make or break a king, and destroy the entire royal dynasty if they so wish. The abdication of Fakha Boya Fall from the throne of Saloum was led and driven by his own bur kevel. After being forced to abdicate, he was chased out of Saloum. During

3763-458: The national curriculum of Senegal. About 200,000 Serer speak various Cangin languages , such as Ndut and Saafi , which are not closely related to Serer proper ( Serer-Sine language ). There are clear lexical similarities among the Cangin languages. However, they are more closely related to other languages than to Serer, and vice versa. For comparison in the table below, 85% is approximately

3834-480: The new Republic of independent Senegal which gained its independence in 1960. Thus the Kingdom of Sine and the Kingdom of Saloum were the last pre-colonial kingdoms of present-day Senegal to have survived up to the 20th century. In 2017, the Serer of Saloum decided to reinstate their monarchy, and Thierno Coumba Daga Ndao was selected from the Guelowar matrilineage to succeed the throne. After a contentious election, he

3905-408: The nobles. The social status of the slave has been inherited by birth. Serer religion and culture forbids slavery. "To enslave another human being is regarded as an enslavement of their soul thereby preventing the very soul of the slave owner or trader from entering Jaaniiw – the sacred place where good souls go after their physical body has departed the world of the living. In accordance with

3976-406: The praises of their patrons. Most Senegalese and Gambian artists use it in their songs even the younger generation like " Baay Bia ". The Senegalese music legend Youssou N'Dour , uses "Tassu" in many of his songs. In the pre-colonial era, Moors from Mauritania who came to settle in the Serer kingdoms such as the Kingdom of Sine , etc., were ill-treated by their Serer masters. If a Moor dies in

4047-430: The precolonial capital of Sine. The current Kings of Sine and Saloum are not absolute monarchs compared to their predecessors. Their roles are merely ceremonial and diplomatic. Although they have influence, especially the King of Sine, they have no official powers as Sine and Saloum are now part of independent Senegal. They ruled under a form of constitutional monarchy with no official powers. Despite their lack of power,

4118-497: The region. According to Serer oral history, a Serer bowman named Amar Godomat shot and killed Abu-Bakr Ibn-Umar with an arrow. They also violently resisted the 19th-century jihads and Marabout movement to convert Senegambia to Islam. The last kings of Sine and Saloum were Maad a Sinig Mahecor Joof (also spelled: Mahecor Diouf) and Maad Saloum Fode N'Gouye Joof (also spelled: Fodé N’Gouye Diouf or Fode Ngui Joof), respectively. They both died in 1969. After their deaths,

4189-469: The reign of Sanou Mon Faye – king of Sine, one of the key notables who plotted to dethrone the king was the king's own bur kevel. After influencing the king's own estranged nephew Prince Semou Mak Joof to take up arms against his uncle, the Prince who despised his uncle took up arms with the support of the bur kevel and other notables. The Prince was victorious and was crowned Maad a Sinig (King of Sine). That

4260-486: The same bond with the Jola people with whom they have an ancient relationship. In the Serer ethnic group, this same bond exists between the Serer patronym, for example between Joof and Faye . Many Senegambian people also refer to this joking relations as "kal" (used between first cousins for example between the children of a paternal aunt and a maternal uncle) and "gamo" (used between tribes ). "Kal" derives from

4331-461: The teachings of Seereer religion, bad souls will not enter Jaaniiw. Their departed souls will not be guided by the ancestors to this sacred abode, but will be rejected thereby making them lost and wandering souls. In order to be reincarnated (( ciiɗ , in Seereer) or sanctified as a Pangool in order to intercede with the Divine [ Roog ], a person's soul must first enter this sacred place." As such,

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4402-482: The unity of Africa". In 1991, presidential term lengths were extended from five to seven years. In January 2001, during Abdoulaye Wade 's first term, a constitutional referendum reduced the presidential term back to five years. In July 2008, during Wade's second term, the National Assembly approved a constitutional amendment increasing the length of the presidential term back to seven years, as it

4473-402: The work of 19th-century French archeologist and Egyptologist, Paul Pierret, states that the word Serer means "he who traces the temple." Diop continued: "That would be consistent with their present religious position: they are one of the rare Senegalese populations who still reject Islam. Their route is marked by the upright stones found at about the same latitude from Ethiopia all the way to

4544-506: Was a flourishing industry of salt -manufacture at the salt flats along the delta. Its economic base was groundnut trade, exporting large quantities of nuts to Europe. Serer people The Serer people ( Serer proper : Seereer or Sereer ) 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 Serer people originated in

4615-593: Was an alliance based on marriage. In other regions where Serer people are found, state JD Fage, Richard Gray and Roland Oliver, the Wolof and Toucouleur peoples introduced the caste system among the Serer people. The social stratification historically evidenced among the Serer people has been, except for one difference, very similar to those found among Wolof, Fulbe, Toucouleur and Mandinka peoples found in Senegambia . They all have had strata of free nobles and peasants, artisan castes, and slaves. The difference

4686-462: Was crowned King on 21 May 2017 at Kahone. He is the current King of Saloum as of 2024, and the maternal uncle of the current King of Sine, Niokhobaye Fatou Diène Diouf, from the Royal House of Semou Njekeh Joof . The Sine reinstated their monarchy in 2019, and Niokhobaye Fatou Diène Diouf from the Royal House of Semou Njekeh and of Guelowar matrilineage was crowned on 8 February 2019 at Diakhao ,

4757-529: Was previously known as Mbey (in Serer ) and was renamed Saloum by the Maad Saloum Mbegan Ndour in the later part of the 15th century (c. 1494). For several centuries prior to its renaming, its capital was called Ngap . According to Serer oral tradition, Mbegane Ndour named the Kingdom after his marabout, Saalum Suwareh. Like the Kingdom of Sine, the population is overrun and ruled by the Serer people. The two are generally referred to as

4828-411: Was prior to the adoption of the 2001 constitution. This extension did not apply to Abdoulaye Wade 's 2007–2012 term. In 2016, during Macky Sall 's first term, per another constitutional referendum , the length of the presidential term was decreased back to five years. The amendments were adopted in constitutional law № 2016-10. As of 2021, there is a two-term limit for the president in

4899-489: Was responsible for advising the king was also made up of jamburs as well as the bur kuvel/guewel (the chief griot of the king) who was extremely powerful and influential, and very rich in land and other assets. The buur kevel who also came from the griot caste were so powerful that they could influence a king's decision as to whether he goes to war or not. They told the king what to eat, and teach them how to eat, how to walk, to talk and to behave in society. They always accompany

4970-487: Was the most important person after the king ( Maad a Sinig or Maad Saloum ) came from the jambur caste. The Jaraff was the equivalent of a prime minister. He was responsible for organising the coronation ceremony and for crowning the Serer kings. Where a king dies without nominating an heir ( buumi ), the Jaraff would step in and reign as regent until a suitable candidate can be found from the royal line. The noble council that

5041-625: Was to work as a Bissit (Bissik). Apart from spying for the Serer Kings, the Bissit's main job was to be a clown – for the sole entertainment of the Serer King, the Serer aristocracy and the common people. He was expected to dance in ceremonies before the king and liven up the king's mood and the king's subjects. This position was always given to the Moors. It was a humiliating job and not

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