Maad a Sinig Kumba Ndoffene Fa Ndeb Joof

Maad a Sinig Kumba Ndoffene Fa Ndeb Joof
King of Sine
The King of Sine Kumba Ndoffene Fa Ndeb Joof fully dressed in his ceremonial robe and mounting a horse. In his left hand, it looks like he is holding the flag of Sine.
Reign circa 1898 - 1924
Coronation Crowned c. 1898 at Diakhao
Kingdom of Sine, part of present-day  Senegal
Predecessor Maad a Sinig Mbacke Ndeb Njie
Heir-apparent Maad a Sinig Mahecor Joof
Prime Minister His Great Jaraff (equivalent of prime minister) was Bandiougour Sène.[1]
Born Diakhao, Kingdom of Sine,
present-day  Senegal
Died 21 December 1923
at Diakhao
Issue El Hajj Farba Diouf
Full name
Maad a Sinig Kumba Ndoffene Fa Ndeb Joof
House The Royal House of Boureh Gnilane Joof
Religion Serer religion

Maad a Sinig Kumba Ndoffene Fa Ndeb Joof, also known as Kumba Ndoffene Joof II or Bour Sine Coumba Ndoffène Fandepp Diouf, was a King of Sine (now in present-day Senegal).[2] Maad a Sinig (also: Mad a Sinig or Maad Sine) translates as "King of Sine", Maad meaning king in the Serer language.[3][4][5][6][7] The surname Joof is the English spelling in the Gambia. Diouf is the French spelling in Senegal (see : Joof family).

There is no consensus regarding the exact date that Maad Kumba Ndoffene Fa Ndeb succeeded to the throne. According to some, he reigned from 1898 to 1924[8][9] which correlates with the written sources available at the time.[10] Other historians propose that, he reigned from 1897 or 1898 to 1923.[11] This version agrees pretty much with the oral tradition of the Serer people. According to Serer tradition, the king was very ill before his death and ruled for 27 winters (27 years) before his successor - Maad a Sinig Mahecor Joof succeeded to the throne. When the King died, there was a period of mourning and it took a little while to prepare for the Coronation ceremony of Maad a Sinig Mahecor Joof according to Serer custom and tradition.[12][13] Maad Mahecor Joof ascended to the throne in 1924,[9] more precisely, according to some, on 28 January 1924. Regarding the year Maad a Sinig Kumba Ndoffene Fa Ndeb Joof died, there is consensus that it was in 1923,[14] more specifically on 21 December 1923 at Diakhao.[15]

Maad a Sinig Kumba Ndoffene Fa Ndeb Joof should not be confused with Maad a Sinig Kumba Ndoffene Famak Joof, also known as Coumba Ndoffène I, who reigned from 1853 to August 1871.[16] The prefix Famak (or Fa mak) means "the elder" in the Serer language. Fa Ndeb (also :Fandepp, Fa ndepp or Fandeb) means "the young" in Serer. These prefixes were later additions (during and after the reigne of Maad a Sinig Kumba Ndoffene Fa Ndeb) to differentiate the two Kings of Sine who shared the same name and surname.[17]

Succession

His predecessor Maad a Sinig Mbacke Ndeb Njie died without nominating his Buumi (heir-apparent). At that time Maad Kumba Ndoffene Fa Ndeb was the Thilas (the second in line to the throne). Without a Buumi, Maad Kumba Ndoffene Fa Ndeb was elected by the Great Jaraff and his Noble Council, as King of Sine.[18] On his corronation, he was crowned Maad a Sinig Kumba Ndoffene Fa Ndeb Joof from the Royal House of Boureh Gnilane Joof.[11][19] His Great Jaraff (equivalent of Prime Minister) was Bandiougour Sène.[1]

French interference

The succession of Maad Kumba Ndoffene Fa Ndeb was unwelcomed by the French administration in Senegal, in particular by Hippolyte Alsace. The Great Jaraff and his Council of nobles who were in charge of electing the kings from the royal family were informed by Alsace that, he would not endorse their choice. The noble Council objected, and told him they had made their choice, and the people of Sine had appointed Maad Kumba Ndoffene Fa Ndeb as their king. This answer displeased the French administration. The Kingdom of Sine was divided into cantons and Maad Kumba Ndoffene Fa Ndeb was appointed Superior Chief of Eastern Sine and his rival Prince Kumba Jimit was made Superior Chief of Western Sine.[20] The interference of the French administration in Sine and their attempt to divide the Sine into cantons were bound to fail. Whilst in theory Maad Kumba Ndoffene Fa Ndeb was a simple Chief, in practice, he was King of Sine. The Serers of Sine had elected him and they were reluctant to submit to the orders of anyone else. The flaws in this system became apparent when the Serer population of Western Sine refused to pay their taxes. When the French administrator Victor Valantin went to Western Sine in March 1899 in order to force the people to pay taxes, the Serers of Western Sine hid their children, their wives and animals, and took up arms. Valantin and his party were forced to make a hasty retreat.[21] Relations between the French administration and the Serer nobility of Sine deteriorated further when the Charles Lefilliâtre wrote to Prince Leopold Joof, the private secretary of the King, saying that "there was no king," and a letter to Maad Kumba Ndoffene Fa Ndeb calling him a "simple chief and nothing more." Lefilliâtre later retracted his statements and became the main supporter of Maad Kumba Ndoffene Fa Ndeb within the French administration of Senegal.[22]

Leadership

In 1901, Maad Kumba Ndoffene Fa Ndeb managed to prevent the creation of a Christian mission in Diohine and kept the Church out of Sine.[23] When a disgruntled son of Damel-Teigne Lat Dior Ngoneh Latir Jobe (former King of Cayor and Baol) tried to incriminate Amadou Bamba by accusing him of pilling weapons in order to launch a war against the French administration, the French put Amadou Bamba on trial. Although Maad Kumba Ndoffene Fa Ndeb was a devout follower of Serer religion and not a Muslim, he was the only one who came to the defense of Amadou Bamba, and told the French administration to release him at once as the accusations made against him are nothing but lies. Amadou Bamba was released and all the false charges against him were dropped.[8][15]

Maad Kumba Ndoffene Fa Ndeb Joof was an effective leader and his powers were very real despite French directives.[23] When Farba Diouf (son of Maad Kumba Ndoffene Fa Ndeb) - himself a later convert to Islam, was once asked whether his father had ever contemplated converting to Islam. His response was : "Never!".[8]

Titles

Apart from being a Maad a Sinig (King of Sine) and previously a Thilas,[18] he was also made Officier de la Légion d'Honneur.[15]

Legacy

Léopold Sédar Senghor, the poet and first president of Senegal, magnified the king of Sine in his famous poem "Joal" in 1945. He described in Homeric manner all the nobility that surrounded the King in his ceremonies, and went on to talk about how Kumba Ndoffene Fa Ndeb once tried to trim his royal robes, which he [Senghor] still remembers in adulthood.[24]

Each year, the Mbacké family - the descendants of Amadou Bamba Mbacké give thanks to the Diouf family of Sine in remembrance of the day Maad a Sinig Kumba Ndoffene Fa Ndeb Joof came to the defense of Amadou Bamba against the false accusations levied against him. The event which is celebrated on 7 and 13 June each year, alternates between Diakhao (Capital of Sine and former residence of the King) and Darou Marnane. It is a major event.[15]

See also

Notes

  1. 1 2 Klein, Martin A., Islam and imperialism in Senegal: Sine-Saloum, 1847-1914, Stanford University Press, 1968, p. 195. ISBN 0804706212
  2. ↑ Klein, Islam and imperialism in Senegal, pp. 7, 173.
  3. ↑ Oliver; Fage & Sanderson. The Cambridge History of Africa, Cambridge University Press, 1985, p. 214. ISBN 0521228034
  4. ↑ Faal, Dawda, Peoples and empires of Senegambia : Senegambia in history, AD 1000-1900, Saul's Modern Printshop, 1991, p. 17
  5. ↑ Ajayi, J. F. Ade & Crowder, Michael, History of West Africa, vol. 1, Longman, 1985, p. 468. ISBN 0582646839
  6. ↑ Galvan, Dennis C. The State Must be Our Master of Fire, University of California Press, 2004, p. 270. ISBN 9780520235915
  7. ↑ Diouf, Marcel Mahawa, Lances mâles: Léopold Sédar Senghor et les traditions sérères, Centre d'études linguistiques et historiques par tradition orale, Niamey, 1996, p. 54.
  8. 1 2 3 Villalón, Leonardo Alfonso, Islamic society and state power in Senegal : disciples and citizens in Fatick, Cambridge University Press, 1995, p. 200. ISBN 0521460077
  9. 1 2 Klein, Islam and imperialism in Senegal, p. XV.
  10. ↑ Diouf, Niokhobaye, «Chronique du royaume du Sine, suivie de notes sur les traditions orales et les sources écrites concernant le royaume du Sine par Charles Becker et Victor Martin», Bulletin de l'IFAN, tome 34, série B, n° 4, 1972, p. 776-777
  11. 1 2 Diouf, «Chronique du royaume du Sine, in Bulletin de l'IFAN, tome 34, série B, n° 4, 1972, p. 732.
  12. ↑ Diouf, « Chronique du royaume du Sine, loc. cit., pp. 732-777.
  13. ↑ Sarr, Alioune, « Histoire du Sine-Saloum. Introduction, bibliographie et notes par Charles Becker », Bulletin de l'IFAN, tome 46, série B, n° 3-4, 1986-1987, pp. 211-283.
  14. ↑ Klein, Islam and imperialism in Senegal, p. 202.
  15. 1 2 3 4 «Magal du Grand Témoignage du Bour Sine Coumba Ndoffène Diouf Fandëb à Serigne Touba Khadimou Rassoul : 7 June 2009-DIakhao - 13 juillet 2009 Darou Marnane », article of Soleil in Xibar.net
  16. ↑ Klein, Islam and imperialism in Senegal, p. xv.
  17. ↑ This is a Serer tradition of not merely differentiating their kings with a similar name and surname, but also people from the same family with similar names and surnames (mak = elder, ndep/ndeb = younger).
  18. 1 2 Klein, Islam and imperialism in Senegal, p. 173.
  19. ↑ The Serer traditional way of crowning their kings. See Alioune Sarr, "Histoire du Sine-Saloum", also see : Coronation of Maad a Sinig Kumba Ndoffene Famak Joof.
  20. ↑ Klein, Islam and imperialism in Senegal, p. 195.
  21. ↑ Klein, Islam and imperialism in Senegal, pp. 200-203.
  22. ↑ Klein, Islam and imperialism in Senegal, pp. 201-202.
  23. 1 2 Klein, Islam and imperialism in Senegal, p. 203.
  24. ↑ «Je me rappelle les fastes du Couchant. Où Koumba N'Dofène voulait faire tailler son manteau royal.», in Brunel, Pierre (coord.), Léopold Sédar Senghor. Poésie complète, CNRS éditions, 2007 ISBN 2271066042

Bibliography


Preceded by
Maad a Sinig Mbacke Ndeb Njie		 Maad a Sinig
c. 1898–1924 		Succeeded by
Maad a Sinig Mahecor Joof
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