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Empire of Kaabu, West
Africa |
Empires
Mali
Senegambian
Introduction:
The Kaabu Empire
(also spelt N’Gabu / Gabu) started as a
westward extension of the Manding
Empire. Its rulers were ordained into
office by the king of
Mali
(Manding) but as Mali declined during
the 15th century the Kaabu became
autonomous. Among the western
Mandinka
who inhabit
Senegambia, Kaabu was second
only to Manding in importance and its
ruling dynasty, who bore the title of Nyanchos,
were better known, more respected and
more jealous of their heritage than any
other of the Western Mandinka dynasties.
At the high point of Manding the Kora musical instrument was
introduced as well as the perfection of
older instruments such as the
Balafon,
Kontingo and the Bolombata which are
still used today by
Senegambian
griots, important
masquerade
dances like the
Kankurang, the Maano and
the Tintirinya are all said to have
originated in Kaabu.
The main
area of Kaabu is situated in the
vicinity of present-day Guinea-Bissau
and the land which lies north of the
Casamance River. It extended from the
Gambia River in the north to the borders
of Futa Jallon in the Republic of Guinea
in the south. The Mandinka ruled areas
of Niokolokoba, Jimara, Kantora, Tenda
and Tumana where all part of the Kaabu
kingdom.
Origins & Rise:
The empire was
established during the reign of Mansa
Sunjatta Keita as a result of westward
migrations from Manding by the Manding
war general
Tirmakhan
Traoré (also spelt Tiramakan, Tiramong
or Tiramaghan). Oral tradition has it
that Tiramong
Traoré came from the "West" in order to
exact retaliation against the Burba
Jolof for having stolen horses belonging
to Mansa Sujatta and had insulted the
king to boot. Tirmakhan Traoré
is said to have considered war as a kind
of 'sport' and was always ready to do
battle "anytime and any place". He
defeated the Jolof and sent Burba's
decapitated head back to his king in
Manding and proceeded to head southwards over
the Gambia River as far at
the Damantang Kingdom in modern day
Casamance. When he arrived in the Kassa
region he found Mandinka who were
already settled their since the 10th
century in search of land or to
establish new trade routes.
The general is thought to have made his
residence in Damantang where he later
married one of the daughters of the
prominent Mandinka family known as the
Sanes. In alliance with the Sanes they
either expelled or subjugated the
indigenous tribes and established
Mandinka supremacy in the area. He was
asked to come back to Manding by Sujatta
but died on his way there in the Upper
River Division of The Gambia. The ruling
classes of the empire were the Nyanchos
and they claimed paternal ancestry
through Tirmakhan as well as
supernatural maternal ancestry.
Local Hierarchy:
In addition to
the ruling Nyanchos family there were
also the Sanyangs and Sonkos who were
given the title Koringo and ruled below
the Nyanchos. They ruled the states that
made up Kaabu.
Fula:
Kaabu was encircled by
a number of Fula kingdoms and states
with the main ones being Bundu,
Futa
Toro, Masina and Futa Jallon. They
mostly clustered in the upper Casamance,
Jimara and Firdu until by the middle of
the 19th century they formed the
majority ethnic group. Despite this fact
the Nyanchos were still the ruling class
and the Fula in the area felt oppressed.
Their prime cattle stock and horses were
liable to confiscation at anytime
without any compensation. In the early
19th century Futa Jallon had started
raiding regularly into the very centre
of Kaabu. In the 1860s the armies of
Futa Jallon defeated the Kaabu army at
Berekolong Fort in Sankolla. This defeat
emboldened the Fula population, under
Alfa Molloh Baldeh, for a major showdown
against their Nyancho overlords.
Part 2
Empires
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