Kahone or Kawon is a town and commune near Kaolack, Senegal. It is primarily agricultural, but it is participating in industrial development plans. Also, the town is pursuing increased tourism based on its ancient Serer culture.
Kahone is the royal seat of the Serer Kingdom of Saloum which has ruled there since the 15th century after the Gelwar's defeat in c. 1335, and centuries previous to that. Kahone was originally a far more important town than Kaolack, but the roles have been reversed in recent years, and Kahone has been reduced to a sub-prefecture of Kaolack. An annual royal festival is celebrated in which the O Maad (Serer king), Djaraaf (Serer prime minister) and other dignitaries meet to decide kingdom issues and hold pageants celebrating the history of Saloum and the Serer people.
There is a mosque thanks to the Wolof and FulaMuslim settlers and a Catholic missions in Kahone. There are numerous ancient tombs, stone circles and megaliths in the vicinity as well as large burial mounds implanted with baobab trees.
Kahone is routinely involved in many administrative territorial disputes with neighboring communes, always emphasizing its earlier importance.
In 2007, according to official estimates, Kahone had 5,852 inhabitants.
Sources
Henry Gravrand, La civilisation sereer, I. Coosan, Dakar, Nouvelles Editions Africaines (1983). In French.
Martin A. Klein, Islam and Imperialism in Senegal Sine-Saloum, 1847–1914, Edinburgh At the University Press (1968)
Alioune Sarr, Histoire du Sine-Saloum. Introduction, bibliographie et Notes par Charles Becker, BIFAN, Tome 46, Serie B, n° 3–4, 1986-1987. In French.
The Kingdom of Saloum 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.
The town and commune of Gandiaye in the Department of Kaolack, central Senegal, lies along National Route 1 about 24 kilometers from Kaolack. The population (2002) is about 10,000 consisting of the Serer, Wolof, Fula, Bambara and Jola) ethnic groups.
Kaolack is a town of 172,305 people on the north bank of the Saloum River and the N1 road in Senegal. It is the capital of the Kaolack Region, which borders The Gambia to the south. Kaolack is an important regional market town and is Senegal's main peanut trading and processing center. As the center of the Ibrahimiyya branch of the Tijaniyyah Sufi order founded by Ibrayima Ñas, it is also a major center of Islamic education. The Leona Niassene mosque (right) in Kaolack is one of the largest and best known in Senegal.
The Serer people 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 Kingdom of Sine was a post-classical Serer kingdom along the north bank of the Saloum River delta in modern Senegal. The inhabitants are called Siin-Siin or Sine-Sine.
Sine-Saloum is a region in Senegal located north of the Gambia and south of the Petite Côte. It encompasses an area of 24,000 square kilometers, about 12% of Senegal, with a population in the 1990s of 1,060,000.
The Saloum River rises about 105 kilometers east of Kaolack, Senegal, and flows into the Atlantic Ocean. The significant Saloum Delta is located at its mouth, which is protected as Saloum Delta National Park. The river basin lies within the Serer pre-colonial Kingdom of Saloum. Mangrove forests occupy a 5-kilometer belt on either side of the river almost 70 kilometers upstream.
The Saltigue, are Serer high priests and priestesses who preside over the religious ceremonies and affairs of the Serer people, such as the Xooy ceremony, the biggest event in the Serer religious calendar. They usually come from ancient Serer paternal families. Such a title is usually inherited by birthright. In Serer country, Saltigue are always diviners. The scope of this article deals only with the Serer Saltigues – "diviners" and termed by some scholars as "the ministers of the religious cult"; "pastors of the people" or within the remits of these definitions.
Maad a Signig Kumba Ndoffene Famak Joof was the King of Sine in modern-day Senegal. Maad a Sinig means king of Sine. He ruled from 1853 until his death on 23 August 1871. He was the son of Maad Souka Ndela Joof and Lingeer Gnilane Jogoy Joof. His father – Maad Souka Ndela came from The Royal House of Semou Njekeh Joof founded by Maad Semou Njekeh Joof in the early 18th century, which was the third and last Royal House of Joof family of Sine and Saloum. His paternal family ruled three Kingdoms : Sine, Kingdom of Saloum and previously the Kingdom of Baol. They descended from Maad Ndaah Njemeh Joof the 13th century King of Lâ (Laah) in Baol.
Guelowar, also spelled Gelwar, Guelwar, Guelware, Gueleware or Gueloware, was a maternal dynasty in the pre-colonial Serer kingdoms of Sine and Saloum. They were from the Mandinka ethnic group. The offspring of Mandinka women and Serer men became the kings of Sine and Saloum. The dynasty lasted from the mid-14th century to 1969, the year both kings died.
The prehistoric and ancient history of the Serer people of modern-day Senegambia has been extensively studied and documented over the years. Much of it comes from archaeological discoveries and Serer tradition rooted in the Serer religion.
Alioune Sarr was a Senegalese historian, author and politician whose family gained prominence in the Serer precolonial Kingdom of Sine and Saloum around the 14th century. They also made up the "sulbalƃe" class of Futa Toro. Sarr was born at Foundiougne. His father was a former Chief of Foundiougne, Gandoune, former head of the constituency of Ndiaye-Ndiaye and former prime minister of Diognick in Senegal. Although Sarr was a prominent politician like his father during the colonial era, he is best known as a historian and author especially after his famous work Histoire du Sine-Saloum which was officially published in 1949 and peer reviewed by historians.
Joof or Diouf is a surname that is typically Serer.
Diakhao is a commune in the Fatick Region in the west of Senegal.
Thilas was an ancient title of nobility used in the Serer pre-colonial Kingdoms of Sine, Saloum and previously the Kingdom of Baol, which are all now part of modern-day Senegal. The Thilas was the second in the order of succession to the throne after the Buumi who was the heir apparent. Only members of the royal family could hold this title. When a Maad a Sinig dies without a Buumi, the Thilas could ascend the throne at the discretion of the Great Jaraff and his Noble Council of Electors responsible for electing the kings from the royal family. In the history of Sine to its 20th century history, such an incident is only known to have occurred once, at the succession of Maad a Sinig Kumba Ndoffene Fa Ndeb Joof whose predecessor died without a Buumi.
This is a timeline of the history and development of Serer religion and the Serer people of Senegal, The Gambia and Mauritania. This timeline merely gives an overview of their history, consisting of calibrated archaeological discoveries in Serer countries, Serer religion, politics, royalty, etc. Dates are given according to the Common Era. For a background to these events, see Roog, Serer religion, Serer creation myth, Serer prehistory, Lamane, States headed by Serer Lamanes, Serer history and Serer people.
Maad Ndaah Njemeh Joof is one of the patriarchs of the Joof family, himself the medieval King of Laah in Baol now part of independent Senegal. He ruled from the late 13th century to the early 14th century, c. 1290. His descendants from the branch of Maad Patar Kholleh Joof ruled the pre-colonial Kingdoms of Sine, Saloum and Baol, from the 14th century to 1969. The last king of Sine and Saloum died in 1969. After their deaths, the Serer States of Sine and Saloum were incorporated into independent Senegal. His descendants went on to found three royal houses:
The Point of Sangomar is a sand spit located on the Atlantic Ocean at the mouth of the Saloum Delta, which marks the end of the Petite Côte west of Senegal.
The Royal House of Jogo Siga Joof was the second royal house founded by the Joof family during the Guelowar dynastic period of Sine. The Guelowar period commences from c. 1350 during the reign of Maad a Sinig Maysa Wali and ends in 1969 following the deaths of the last Serer kings of Sine and Saloum and the disestablishment of the monarchies in Serer countries. The pre-colonial Kingdom of Sine now lies within present-day Senegal.
Maad Saloum Fode N'Gouye Joof was the last king of Saloum. He reigned as Maad Saloum from 1935 to 1969. His royal title Maad Saloum means King of Saloum in Serer.
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