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Futa Toro (Tekrur) Kingdom |
Empires
Senegambian Fulani
Part 2
Introduction:
The
West African Kingdom of Futa
Toro (aka Fuuta Tooro - formerly Tekrur) is the
region on the Senegal River in what is
now northern Senegal and southern
Mauritania.
When Arabic
historians first mentioned the Western
Sudan in the 10th and 11th centuries
A.D. they also wrote about a series of
African States along the River Senegal.
On the coast north of the Senegal
estuary was the town of Awlil, which
exported salt to the states along the
river near the estuary on both banks
was the kingdom of Saghana. Further up
river was the Futa Toro.
Early History:
The ancestors of the
Tukulor founded
Tekrur probably as early as the 2,000
years ago. The significance of Tekrur is
illustrated by the fact that early
Arabic scholars of the Western Sudan
described the whole area as "The Land of
Tekrur".
The high point of Futa
Toro's territorial growth might have
been under the Dya'ogo dynasty, which
came to rule around 850 A.D. They royal
house was bought down by the
Mandinka's
Manna dynasty around 980 A.D.
Not
much is known about the Manna's rulers
with the exception of the Jihadist King
War-Jabi who ruled in the 1030s and died
in 1040. He was one of the first rulers
to convert to
Islam in the Western
Sahara. He also forced his subjects to
convert as well as introducing Sharia
Law within the empire in the 11th
century.
A
Muslim Jihadist named
Abdullah Ibn Yasin, who was fleeing from
persecution by the Sanhaja Berbers,
sought sanctuary in the Senegal Valley.
From here his teachings emphasised the
need for a Jihad against the areas
Kafirs and over time he build up a loyal
and dedicated number of followers
particularly from the Lamtuna branch of
the Sanhaja.
Leb, son of War
Jabi, envisioned that there could be
economic and political benefits for
Tekrur if Abdullah Ibn Yasin was given
military backing against the Berbers,
Sanhaja, Mesufa and Goddala. These
groups controlled the commercial trade
routes which ran north as well as the
route from the Ghana Empire. Ghana had also forced
Tekrur to become a partially-independent
state within their dominion. An alliance
with with Yasin offered the kingdom two
advantages. The first was to win them
their full independence as well as a
chance to take a share of the trade in
gold. The second benefit would be that
if Yasin failed then chance lay whereby
Tekrur could expand its power to Goddala
which lay to the north. Ibn Yasin, with
his followers converted into a militant
Islamic movement called the Almoravids.
Together with Tekrur they waged a holy
war that led to the eventual conquering
of Kumbi (Ghana's capital) in 1076.
Denianke
Dynasty:
Shortly after 1500 a
group of Fulani cattle herders ruled by
a prince called Tenguella waged a revolt
against the rule of
Askia Mohammed
of Songhai
mainly because they wanted their cattle
to move freely & maybe due to the taxes
levied on them. These groups of
Fula
were living in the plains between Thermes and Nioro between the Sahara and
Upper Niger. Tenguella led his soldiers
across the plains against Diara, one of
the old successor states of Ghana whose
king was now a vassal of the Songhai
Emperor, perhaps encouraged by the
reigning king of Manding, who was now a
declining rival of Askia. Askia's
brother, Amar, led an army against the
Fulani (Fulbe) invaders. When the two
armies met near Diara in 1512 Amar's won
the day and Tenguella was killed.
Tenguella's son, Koli, took over and led
his army south west, over the Senegal
River and arrived at Badiar, a region
which was situated to the north-west of
the Futa Jallon Mountains. Here he was
joined by many Mandinka fighters.
Looking for a new home to settle, these
Fulani and Mandinka marched round the
fringe of the
Wollof states and attacked
Tekrur. The ruling chiefs were
overthrown and a new royal lineage was
established. The name Tekrur was changed
to Futa Toro. These new rulers were
known as the Denianke. They remained in
control until 1776.
Government &
Power:
During the 19th century the Almamate
survived in its basic institutions, but
it never recovered the strength and zeal
of the earlier period. It was officially
governed by the Almamy of Futa Toro,
picked from a
group of "qualified" lineages who
possessed the necessary credentials of
education, but effective control lay with
regional chiefs of the central provinces
who possessed large land estates,
constituents and
slaves. Most of these
chiefs served in the capacity of
"electors" (jaggorde, sg. jaggorgal) of
the Almamy; their electoral council
contained a fixed core and fluctuating
periphery of members. Two families who
were "eligible" for the post of
Almamy,
the Lih of Jaaba in Hebbiyaabe province
and the Wan of Mbummba in Laaw province,
also succeeded in maintaining
considerable power during the 19th
century. The Wan in particular used
their growing wealth in land and slaves
to establish a power base in Laaw,
compete for the Almamy-ship, and at
times threaten to turn the national post
into their own fiefdom. The struggle of
various coalitions of "electors" and "eligibles"
for power constitutes the third part of
the anthology.
Part 2
States & Empires
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