Kingdom of Sine
Encyclopedia
Serer people
The Serer people along with the Jola people are acknowledged to be the oldest inhabitants of The Senegambia....
kingdom along the north bank of the Saloum River
Saloum River
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 Kingdom of Saloum....
delta
River delta
A delta is a landform that is formed at the mouth of a river where that river flows into an ocean, sea, estuary, lake, reservoir, flat arid area, or another river. Deltas are formed from the deposition of the sediment carried by the river as the flow leaves the mouth of the river...
in modern Senegal
Senegal
Senegal , officially the Republic of Senegal , is a country in western Africa. It owes its name to the Sénégal River that borders it to the east and north...
. Much of the kingdom's population was and still is Serer
Serer people
The Serer people along with the Jola people are acknowledged to be the oldest inhabitants of The Senegambia....
.
History
The Kingdom of Sine was renamed "Sine" prior to 1400. Maysa Wali Jaxateh Manneh (many variations: Maysa Wali Jon; Maissa Wali Jon; etc) who had fled KaabuKaabu
The Kaabu Empire was a Mandinka Kingdom of Senegambia that rose to prominence in the region thanks to its origins as a former province of the Mali Empire...
with his family following the Battle of Turubang (1335) was granted asylum
Asylum
- Politics and society :* Asylum , places of refuge in ancient Greece and Rome* Right of asylum or political asylum* Church asylum or sanctuary, a right to be safe from arrest in the sanctuary of a church or temple...
by the Serer nobility of Sine.He was a member of the Guelowar
Guelowar
The Guelowar was a Serer and Mandinka dynasty between 1350 to 1969. The dynasty was formed through marriage between the Serer paternal dynasties such as Joof or Diouf, Faye and Ndiaye and the Mandinka maternal Guelowar dynasty of Kaabu in modern day Guinea Bissau who escaped the Battle of...
maternal dynasty of Kaabu
Kaabu
The Kaabu Empire was a Mandinka Kingdom of Senegambia that rose to prominence in the region thanks to its origins as a former province of the Mali Empire...
(many spelling variations: Gelwar, Gelwaar, Geulwar, etc) whose family were massacred by the Nyanthio (many spelling variations: Nyanco etc) maternal dynasty of Kaabu at Turubang (Turubang in Mandinka language
Mandinka language
The Mandinka language is a Mandé language spoken by millions of Mandinka people in Mali, Senegal, The Gambia, Guinea, Côte d'Ivoire, Burkina Faso, Sierra Leone, Liberia, and Guinea-Bissau and Chad; it is the main language of The Gambia. It belongs to the Manding branch of Mandé, and is thus fairly...
means to wipeout a clan or family). It was a dynastic war between two royal houses.After Maissa Wali assimilated into Serer culture and served as legal advisor to the Serer nobility of Sine - "The Great Council of Lamans
Lamane
Lamane or Laman "master of the land" were the landed gentry as well the title of ancient kings of the Serer people of the Senegambia region which includes modern day Senegal and The Gambia. This Serer title was also borrowed by the old kings of the Wolof kingdoms...
" - (the Lamanic class - kings and landed gentry
Landed gentry
Landed gentry is a traditional British social class, consisting of land owners who could live entirely off rental income. Often they worked only in an administrative capacity looking after the management of their own lands....
), he was elected and crowned by the nobility and people to rule. Almost a decade after his corronation, he elected Njaajaan Njie -a Serer noble from Waalo
Waalo
The Kingdom of Waalo was a kingdom on the lower Senegal River in West Africa, in what are now Senegal and Mauritania. It included parts of the valley proper and areas north and south, extending to the Atlantic Ocean...
(and founder of the Jolof Empire
Jolof Empire
The Jolof Empire was a West African state that ruled parts of Senegal from 1360 to 1890.-Origins:Traditional accounts among the Wolof agree that the founder of the state and later empire was Ndiadiane Ndiaye who lived in the 13th century...
) to rule the Kingdom of Jolof
Kingdom of Jolof
The Kingdom of Jolof was a West African rump state located in what is today the nation of Senegal. For nearly two hundred years, the Serer rulers of the Jolof Empire collected tribute from vassal kings states who voluntarily agreed to the confederacy. At the Battle of Danki, the Buurba Jolof was...
. He was the first Senegambian king to voluntarily gave his allegiance to Njaajaan thereby making Sine a vassal of the Jolof Empire.
About 1550 Sine overthrew the Jolof yoke and became an independent kingdom. The rulers of Sine as well as Jolof continued to follow traditional beliefs. On 18th July 1867, the Muslim cleric Maba Diakhou Bâ
Maba Diakhou Bâ
Maba Diakhou Bâ was a marabout from Rip, and a disciple of the Tijaniyya sufi brotherhood...
was killed at The Battle of Fandane-Thiouthioune
The Battle of Fandane-Thiouthioune
The Battle of Fandane-Thiouthioune , also known as "The Battle of Somb", occurred on 18th July 1867. It was a religious war between the Serer people against the Muslim Marabout of the 19th century in Senegal and The Gambia. Fandane-Thiouthioune was part of the old Serer Kingdom of Sine now part...
(common known as Battle of Somb) by the King of Sine Maat Sine Kumba Ndoffene Famak Joof
Maat Sine Kumba Ndoffene Famak Joof
Maat Sine Kumba Ndoffene Famak Joof Maat Sine Kumba Ndoffene Famak Joof Maat Sine Kumba Ndoffene Famak Joof (many variations as well as spellings: "Maad" or "Maat Siin Kumba Ndoffene Famak Joof"; "Mad a Sinig" ; "Maat Sine Coumba Ndoffène Fa mak Diouf" ; "Maat Sin Coumba Ndoffène Fa mak Diouf";...
while he was trying to take control of Sine and make it a Muslim land.
The rulers of Sine retained their titles throughout the colonial period and did not lose all official recognition until 1969.
Portuguese
Portuguese
Portuguese is an adjective referring to matters related to Portugal. It may refer to:* Portuguese language, natively spoken in Portugal, Brazil, Angola, Mozambique, Cape Verde, East Timor and other countries**including Portuguese dialects...
explorers in the 15th C. referred to Sine as the kingdom of Barbaçim, a corruption of 'Bur-ba-Sine' (Wolof
Wolof language
Wolof is a language spoken in Senegal, The Gambia, and Mauritania, and is the native language of the Wolof people. Like the neighbouring languages Serer and Fula, it belongs to the Atlantic branch of the Niger–Congo language family...
for 'King of Sine'), and its people as Barbacins (a term frequently extended by early writers to Serer people
Serer people
The Serer people along with the Jola people are acknowledged to be the oldest inhabitants of The Senegambia....
generally, while others insisted that Serreos and Barbacins were completely distinct peoples.) Old European maps frequently denote the Saloum River
Saloum River
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 Kingdom of Saloum....
as the "River of Barbacins/Barbecins"
It has now been acknowledged that the terms "Serreos" (Sereri) and "Barbacini" (a corruption of Wolof "Bur-ba-Sine") were actually a corruption by Alvise Cadamosto - the 15th century navigator. Alvise mistakenly distinguished between the "Sereri" (Serer people) and the "Barbacini", which seems to indicate that he was referring to two different people when in fact, the Kingdom of Sine was a Serer Kingdom where the "King of Sine" ("Barbacini") took residence. Since he had never set foot in Serer country, his accounts about the Serer people were mainly based on what his Wolof interpreters were telling him. "Barbacini" is a corruption of the Wolof phrase "Buur ba Sine" (also spelt: "Bor-ba-Sine" or "Bur-ba-Sine") meaning King of Sine, a phrase the Serers would not use.
National Symbol
The national anthemNational anthem
A national anthem is a generally patriotic musical composition that evokes and eulogizes the history, traditions and struggles of its people, recognized either by a nation's government as the official national song, or by convention through use by the people.- History :Anthems rose to prominence...
; flag and moto
Moto
Moto or MOTO may refer to:* Moto , a restaurant in Chicago known for its "high-tech" food* Motorola, the American multinational, Fortune 100, telecommunications company based in Schaumburg, Illinois* Motorola MOTO, a mobile phone...
of the Kingdom of Sine, although very old, became officialized during the reign
Reign
A reign is the term used to describe the period of a person's or dynasty's occupation of the office of monarch of a nation or of a people . In most hereditary monarchies and some elective monarchies A reign is the term used to describe the period of a person's or dynasty's occupation of the office...
of of Maat Sine Kumba Ndoffene Famak Joof
Maat Sine Kumba Ndoffene Famak Joof
Maat Sine Kumba Ndoffene Famak Joof Maat Sine Kumba Ndoffene Famak Joof Maat Sine Kumba Ndoffene Famak Joof (many variations as well as spellings: "Maad" or "Maat Siin Kumba Ndoffene Famak Joof"; "Mad a Sinig" ; "Maat Sine Coumba Ndoffène Fa mak Diouf" ; "Maat Sin Coumba Ndoffène Fa mak Diouf";...
Title of the National Anthem of Sine
In Serer SineFañ na NGORO Roga deb no kholoum O Fañ-in Fan-Fan ta tathiatia
In English
No one can do anything against his neighbour without the will of the Divine (Rog).
The Flag of Sine
The flag of the Serer people is white, which not only represent peace, but in Serer mythologyMythology
The term mythology can refer either to the study of myths, or to a body or collection of myths. As examples, comparative mythology is the study of connections between myths from different cultures, whereas Greek mythology is the body of myths from ancient Greece...
it is also the symbol of purity – (a pure heart and how you have lived your live in the living world). Those who lived a pure life in their life time are the ones who are immortalised as "Pangool" (ancestral spirits and Serer Saints) and venerated.
The Moto of Sine
In Serer SineDial - fi - mayou to Tiin
In English
Selflessly serve and produce.
Royalty
- Maat Sine Kumba Ndoffene Famak JoofMaat Sine Kumba Ndoffene Famak JoofMaat Sine Kumba Ndoffene Famak Joof Maat Sine Kumba Ndoffene Famak Joof Maat Sine Kumba Ndoffene Famak Joof (many variations as well as spellings: "Maad" or "Maat Siin Kumba Ndoffene Famak Joof"; "Mad a Sinig" ; "Maat Sine Coumba Ndoffène Fa mak Diouf" ; "Maat Sin Coumba Ndoffène Fa mak Diouf";...
(King of Sine 1853 - 1871) - Coronation of Kumba Ndoffene Famak JoofCoronation of Kumba Ndoffene Famak JoofKumba Ndoffene Famak Joof Kumba Ndoffene Famak Joof Kumba Ndoffene Famak Joof (see also: Maat Sine Kumba Ndoffene Famak Joof - many variations as well as spellings: “Maad” or “Maat Siin Kumba Ndoffene Famak Joof”; “Mad a Sinig” ; “Maat Sine Coumba Ndoffène Fa mak Diouf” ; “Maat Sin Coumba...
- Ama Gôdô MaatAma Gôdô MaatAma Gôdô Maat was an 11th century Serer king ....
- LamaneLamaneLamane or Laman "master of the land" were the landed gentry as well the title of ancient kings of the Serer people of the Senegambia region which includes modern day Senegal and The Gambia. This Serer title was also borrowed by the old kings of the Wolof kingdoms...