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Concept
Saloum
Summary
The Kingdom of Saloum (Serer language: Saluum or Saalum) was a Serer/Wolof kingdom in present-day Senegal. Its kings may have been of Mandinka/Kaabu origin. The capital of Saloum was the city of Kahone. It was a sister kingdom of Sine. Their history, geography and culture were intricately linked and it was common to refer to them as the Sine-Saloum.
Saloum, just like its sister kingdom (the Kingdom of 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 whose functions and history were unknown until recently.
Historian Donald R. Wright states that "In the last decade of the fifteenth century, a group of nyancho lineages from Kaabu moved north of the Gambia River and took over an area on the southern edge of the weakening Jolof Empire. From a settlement near the mouth of the Saloum River, these lineages soon mixed with the existing Wolof and Serer population and established the state of Saloum."
According to Abdou Bouri Ba the Kingdom of Saloum 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, it was named after Saalum Suwareh, a marabout of Maad Saloum Mbegan Ndour (variation: Mbegani Ndour). The tradition went on to say that, Saalum Suwareh agreed to give a juju fetish to Maad Saloum Mbegan Ndour (originally from the Kingdom of Sine) in order to defeat the Toucouleur conqueror and his Muslim marabouts provided he promised to rename the country after him once he is victorious. Mbegan Ndour agreed. After this oral contract, Mbegan Ndour defeated Ali Elibana and drove his Muslim marabout forces out of Saloum and reign over the country.
Like the Kingdom of Sine, the population is overrun and ruled by the Serer people. The two are generally referred to as the Serer Kingdoms. Many parts of present-day Gambia were former colonies of the Kingdom of Saloum.
Official source
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