Maad

Maad (in Serer, or Mad) is the title given to a male monarch by the Serer people of Senegal, Gambia and Mauritania. In Serer royal history, the Maad possessed supreme power throughout Serer country. The Maad was chosen from the royal lineage and crowned by the great Jaraaf (French: Diaraf) who was equivalent to a prime minister. After his coronation, he would crown a member of his maternal family, usually his mother, sister, maternal aunt, or wife as Lingeer (Queen). The Serer titles Maad a Sinig (King of Sine) and Maad Saloum (King of Saloum) take their names from the radical Serer title Maad, and identifies which part of Serer country they rule.

Toponymy
In Serer, Maad mean king in its simplest definition. When referring to a king, the noun Maad is preceded by "o". For example "o Maad" (The King). In its historical context, Maad mean one who bears witness or to bear witness–denoting one who judges disputes, usually a king. Such judgments were carried out in public by the Serer kings. When used as a suffix, it identifies someones' noble status or function under the service of the king. For example, the term bii no maad means a noble, member of the royal family, the son of a king - one who got their nobility from their father; maad could also mean chief of a province.

The Serer term Maat is sometimes used interchangeably with Maad, but very rarely, and sometimes wrongly. In Serer, the term Maat is usually reserved for the ancient Serer kings whose function was also religious, for example the lamanes. Maat mean the reign of a sovereign, civil administration, and power. However, in its deepest, sacred meaning, it also means “the public thing”, in the highest sense of the term—evoking public order, order in the country, and manifests the natural inclination of the king/Serer man to want to capture the mystical aura that radiates from the Maat.