Talk:Maba Diakhou Bâ

Maba Diakhou Bâ
I first came across the Maba Diakhou Bâ article when I was looking for articles relating to Senegambia. Having read the view history section of the article, it was evident that it has been on display for quite a few years now.

The purpose of starting this discussion is to disagree with several aspects of the historical account being presented in the Maba Diakhou Bâ article, based on reliable secondary sources as stated in the notablity policy. Although I have primary documents about the man Maba Diakhou Bâ, I will stick to secondary sources in line with Wiki's policy. Before I start to put forward my counter argument, I think a brief history is necessary for those who are not well familiar with the subject.

Maba was a Senegambian jihadist in the 19th century who spent years launching wars against non-Muslim Kingdoms in order to convert them to Islam. As it will become clearer, you will find out that converting people to Islam was not his only objective for launching jihad. In any case, he was partly responsible for the mass conversion of the Senegambian people particularly the Wolof people and other tribes in the 19th century. This is very significant, because Senegambia which encompasses Senegal and The Gambia are predominantly Muslim countries. The Muslim population are the descendants of those converted in masses in the 19th century many of whom by Maba Diakhou Bâ. Islam being very strong in both Senegal and The Gambia especially with the advent of the Muslim brotherhoods of Senegal, Maba Diakhou Bâ is given a saint like figure in both Senegal and The Gambia. As such, no one dares to comment on the atrocities of Maba, his back handed dealings with the French and British administration during the colonial era, his enslavement of people whom he viewed as non-Muslims, his pillaging of lands etc. Instead, the Muslim majority of Senegambia led by the Muslim brotherhoods of Senegal have fabricated his historical account and pass it off as facts that some historians have fallen for, but of course there are others who will not be duped and have examined the true facts and written it accordingly. It is very important to point out here that, not all ordinary Senegambian Muslims feel this way. Many of them try to go about their daily lives with little thought for these kind of things. There are of course others who take the words of their religious leaders as scripture that is infallible even if ample evidence is presented to them. In most cases, when I talk about the Senegambian Muslim masses, I am referring to the Senegambian Muslim establishment, who mingle in politics, control what historical or religious programmes are presented in the media etc. These are the ones who control information and whose desire to is release the type of information they want others to know and believe. Having said all that, I now address each of the inaccurate accounts presented in Maba's article.

Maba was killed on the 18th July 1867 at the Battle of Fandane Thiouthiogne commonly known in Senegambian history as The Battle of Somb. He was killed by the Serer people led by their King Buur Sine Kumba Ndoffene Famak Joof when he thought he could go and launch his jihad against the Serer people as he had done with other non-Muslim tribes and kingdoms. (Sources: Histoire du Sine-Saloum by Alioune Sarr, and Essai sur l’histoire du Saloum et du rip by Abdou Bouri Bâ)

The article did not give us the exact date he died and in the "Death and legacy" heading, made a transitional error as to the year he died by putting "1876" instead of "1867". I will also address that section of the article later especially in relation to the first paragraph

In the first paragraph of this article, it says and I quote "He became leader Almamy in Saloum" and under the "Resistance and Conquest" heading, (in other words resisting French colonialism as noted in the first paragraph of that heading) it states and I quote : "While he eventually succeeded in overtaking the dynasty of Saloum, his movement never succeeded in Sine, (Kingdom of Sine) and much of Serer territory remained animist or Christian into the 20th century."

First of all, Maba was nothing more than an Almamy in rebellion. He was not a King with all the powers of a King and him overthrowing the Serer Dynasty of Saloum has not been accurately narrated in this article which I will delve in later. Note also that in the last paragraph of the first heading, the article talks about how Maba founded Nioro du Rip, but it did not tell us in any part of the article how he founded it, just like in the whole article, important pieces of information has been left out (deliberately or not).

Maba began his revolution in Nioro du Rip, previously called Passy Ndimbe which was a Mandinka village in Badibou. He conquered it in 1860 and renamed it Nioro du Rip, that was after he had killed their king - Maath Jakere Bessane (at Passy Khour) commonly known as Maath Jakere Serer. He then usurped the throne of Jereh Ba Marong in 1861 who was the Mandinka King of Badibou. The Marong noble family who have ruled this great kingdom for centuries would have their family's dynasty destroyed by Maba. In his attempt to build an empire of his own, he then moved to other Senegambian States before coming to the Serer Kingdom of Saloum.

Note that under the "Resistance and Conquest" heading the author of the article talks about how Maba fiercely fought against the French colonisers. In fact, many parts of the content of this article keep reminding us how Maba was an opponent of colonialism and how he fought the French invaders. This is not the truth as it will become evident later. As regards to his conquest of Saloum, most of the important facts have been left out as evident throughout this article.

The article failed to mention or give proper credit that, Maba's conquest of Serer Saloum would never have been possible without the assistance of the King of Cayor and Baol - Damel- Taign Lat Jor Ngoneh Latir Jobe (who was a Lebou going by tribal origins because the surname Jobe is originally Lebou not Wolof though the Lebou and Wolof people have been linked together due to Wolofization), the King of Jolof - Buur Ba Jolof Alboury Sainabou Njie (who was Serer by origin because the surname Njie is Serer in origin not Wolof but since they have ruled a Wolof Kingdom, they became Wolofized) these two Senegambian Kings Maba had converted by their own choice and he then turned them into Marabouts, and last but not least, the French. Yes! The French! The people whom this article is trying to make us believe Maba was an opponent of and was resisting. In fact, it was the French who crowned him Almamy to the dismay of the Serer people of Saloum. He was never a Buur Saloum or Maath Saloum (King of Saloum), but nothing more than an Almamy in rebellion from 1864 to 1867. The title Almamy is a Muslim title, which meant nothing to the Serer people of Saloum and have never saw him as a King. In fact, he knew himself he was not the King of Saloum, but nothing more than a religious leader of the Muslim community mainly made up of Wolof in Saloum. The one who was the true King of Saloum in 1864 was Faka Boya Latsouka Faal, hence the duplicity of their reigns. Maba is never listed as a King of Saloum by all the historians when listing the kings of Saloum. He is only listed as an Almamy next to the real kings. When it comes to 1864 in the list of Kings of Saloum, academics always list Faka Boya as King of Saloum and next to him or underneath him Maba is referred to an "Almamy" and in several books or academic papers as "Almamy in rebellion". See '''Alioune Sarr Histoire du Sine Saloum. Also see Martin A. Klein, Islam and Imperialism in Senegal. You may also see Abdou Bâ's Essai sur l’histoire du Saloum et du rip - (a member of Maba’s family).'''

Not only did these two powerful Senegambian Kings and the French backed Maba with their own armies to assault Serer Saloum and defeat the reigning King of Saloum (Samba Laobe Latsouka Faal - who was not a Serer but had Serer ancestry as the surname Faal can never be Serer), but the defeat of Samba Laobe Lasouka Faal was a "very easy defeat" (an opportunistic defeat). This defeat, is somewhat linked to the Badibou incident as stated above. To quote Tamsir Bâ, who is a Senegambian historian and member of Maba's family this is what he said in his attempt to justify Maba's conquest of Badibou:

"The son of the Mansa Badibou (King of Badibou) was initially responsible for the revolt. Math Diaker (Maath Jakere Serer), The Mansa's son, seized the wife of a Muslim and demanded that Maba send a cow for the marriage celebration.  Maba responded to the indignity with an insult, sending a bowl of porridge and beans.  His Emissary, a half brother, Amat Khodia Bâ, was held a hostage.  That night, Muslim forces tackled Passy Khour, killing Math Diaker (Maath Jakere Serer) and beginning their devastation of Badibou"

This account provided by Tamsir Bâ is factually incorrect and rebutted by several historians (see below). The British who were in possession of The Gambia made a decision to punish Badibou for their continuous harassment of British traders at Bathurst (now Banjul). The attack was thoroughly planned to coincide with Pinet Laprade's (of France) invasion of Saloum in 1861 - under the reign of Samba Laobe Latsouka Faal. Although the French invaded Serer Saloum in 1861, they did not conquer it until 1867 under the reign of Gedal Mbooj. Even after their conquest, they could not fully subdue Saloum. Maba conquered Saloum in 1864 - taking advantage of Samba Laobe's recent wars with the French, Kumba Jankeh and his own father - Makodu Kodu Joof Faal - at The Battle of Gouye Njuli (6th October 1862). Due to numerous attacks directed against the King of Saloum (Samba Laobe), Saloum lost quite a large number of people of its front line forces. The Kingdom's inability to gather more well trained forces quickly in order to replace those who perished in the hands of the French, Kumba Jankeh and Makodu Kodu Joof Faal - who was backed by the forces of the Beleup of Ndoukouman and Samba Laobe's own uncle - Sambou Kodu Joof Faal, enabled Maba to conquer  Saloum. It was an opportunistic defeat and mainly luck to the advantage of Maba. Although a brilliant military leader, his defeat of Serer Saloum was main luck and opportunistic, not to mention the fact that he was backed by the French, the King of Jolof and the King of Cayor and Baol.

In respect of Badibou, although the French and the British hated each other and were in constant battle on African soil, there were instances when they join forces to defeat the Senegambian kings. That was one of them. A number of French officers were sent to The Gambia to help the British defeat the royal family of Badibou. During this operation, Maba jumped on the boat of the British governor [Governor Darcy] and agreed to accompany the expedition if he speared his village. The governor agreed. The elderly king of Badibou (Jere Ba Marong) stood no chance. He was defeated but not killed. Maba put himself forward to negotiate peace terms after what he had done. He would be the last person one would expected to be a peace negotiator after his actions. The elderly king of Badibou astonished by the arrogance of the man (Maba), sent his timid son [Maath Jakere] to assassinate Maba. Maath was not only timid and weak, he was also a drunkard. The night before the mission, he was heavily drunk and he started ranting about his mission. That was not only witnessed by the British whose camp he frequented, but also a group of Muslim native who were sympathetic to Maba’s course. What happened next was inevitable. Maba found out about the plot and instead of Maath killing Maba, Maath was killed himself. This is how the revolt of Badibou began. What followed next was the Muslim's zealous massacre of the natives. Led by Maba, they swept through Badibou and burned down villages, pillaging land after land and taking slaves. In June 1862 when Bathurst (now Banjul – the capital of The Gambia) heard rumours that Saloum had invaded Badibou, Maba retreated. King Buntu Gamey (the king of Niumi), whom Maba had tried but failed to killed, returned to his ravaged kingdom to pick up the pieces. Eight months later (February 1863), Niumi was granted independence as a Pagan State - a treaty signed by the British and Maba himself. (See Martin A. Klein. Islam and Imperialism in Senegal, Edinburg University Press (1968).

Under the "Resistance and Conquest" heading of Maba Diakhou Bâ's article, it talks about how he had resisted colonialism and the French's enslavement of people and the ravaging of land, yet it did not talk about Maba's part in the enslaving of people, the ravaving of land and secret treaties he would sign with the colonialist for his own benefit. Another good example is the treaty of Njie-Kunda which he signed with the British Governor in The Gambia, begging him to protect his son (Saer Matti Bâ - another jihadist) if ever he was defeated by the French or the Serer people. (See Martin A. Klein. Islam and Imperialism in Senegal, Edinburg University Press (1968). Also see '''(Alioune Sarr, Histoire du Sine-Saloum. Introduction, bibliographie et Notes par Charles Becker, BIFAN, Tome 46, Serie B, n° 3-4, 1986-1987.'''

Maba was a fanatical Muslim, he destroyed and pillaged lands, burned down villages, sold slaves and killed pagans who refused to convert. There were three objectives of his jihad: total islamization, power and greed, though the last two would never be uttered in Senegambia especially in the presence of the Muslim majority because they do not want to know or do not want to hear it. When he invaded the Serer Kingdom of Saloum, it was not merely to Islamize the people but to rule as well, to build his own Muslim Empire. Saloum was very rich at the time, and a "better picking" than Nuimi. Hence he did not waste time with King Buntu Gamey of Nuimi, hence the reason he signed the treaty allowing the people of Nuimi to practice their Pagan Religion. It has little to to do with Islamization, but greed and power. As such, many historians have rebutted the claim being made by the majority Senegambian Muslims led by the Muslim brotherhoods of Senegal who have given him a saint like status and tried to circulate the same propaganda in their attempt to conceal the facts of history. The following is a direct quote from Martin A. Klein's book - Islam and Imperialism in Senegal:

'''"When a British Emissary told him (Maba) famine would result from his ravaging, he replied "God is our father, and has brought this war. We are in his hands." When he finally mustered the courage to attack the Serer people of Saloum, Serer prisoners of war were given two choices: death or shaving their heads (the shaving of the head is the beginning of conversion). Those Serers choose death rather than succumb to his wishes.  What he failed to comprehend was how highly the Serer people held their ancient religion.  As noted by Alioune Sarr in Histoire du Sine-Saloum. Introduction, bibliographie et Notes par Charles Becker, BIFAN, Tome 46, Serie B, n° 3-4, 1986-1987.'''  When the Muslim army led by Maba killed the King of (Saloum Buur Saloum Kumba Ndama Mbooj) at the Battle of Nandjigui in May 1859, the defeated Serer people chose to commit martyrdom rather than be converted to Islam. The same at The Battle of Kaymor and The Battle of Naodurou, where the defeated Serer villagers committed suicide rather than be converted or enslaved as they have done in non- Serer States particularly in Mandinka States. At the Kaymor and Naodurou, the defeated Serer men, women and children, young and old, killed themselves rather than succumb to their wish. At Naodurou, women throw their babies at the Well of Takumpa and followed them and vouched never to be Muslims or be enslaved. As noted by Amadou Waad in his book "Chronicle du Walo":

"The Serer people are the true guardians of the indigenous African religion which has neither been tainted by Christianity nor Islam"

This brings me to the account being presented in the article's last paragraph under the heading Resistance and Conquest,, which talks about Maba's success in Serer Saloum which he could not repeat in the Serer Kingdom of Sine. The Serers were fighting on both fronts: religion and nationalism. If they were not defending themselves against the Muslims, they were defending themselves against the French and in most cases, they were defending themselves from both Muslims and French who have joined forces as demonstrated above as well as prior to the Siege of Kaolack under the reign of Faka Boya Latsouka Faal - King of Saloum. (See Martin A. Klein, Islam and Imperialism in Senegal).

Under this article's heading titled "Battle of Rip (1865)," the article gave us one line talking about how Maba with the help of Lat Jor began the conquest of the Kingdom of Sine, Baol and Djolof. Part of this account is factually incorrect. Maba and Lat Jor did not plan to enter Serer-Sine until late 1866. Even Abdou Bâ - the Senegambian historian and member of the Bâ family acknowledge that in “Essai sur l’histoire du Saloum et du rip”. That actual planning was instigated by Lat Jor Jobe in his desire to seek revenge against the King of Sine Kumba Ndoffene Famak Joof, because he felt that King Kumba Ndoffene Famak refused to assist him to regain his throne after he was defeated and exiled by the French at The Battle of Loro (8th January 1864). Although the King of Sine (Kumba Ndoffene Famak) did offer him asylum as he had offered asylum to Lat Jor's predecessor in 1857, Lat Jor wanted more from him, that is to give help him some of his forces so that he can regain his throne. The King of Sine was unable to do that, because he was already engaged in a bitter battle against the French in regards to Joal among other things where he would be assassinated by the French in November 1871. If this article is referring to the incident of 1865 where a large group of Maba's disciples entered the Kingdom of Sine behind his back and tried to test the waters by attacking the Kingdom of Sine, well neither Maba nor Lat Jor where part of that. According to Martin A. Klein, Islam and Imperialism in Senegal, Maba denied any knowledge of it and never gave those forces the authority to attack Sine. This is in accordance with the account provided by Abdou Bâ. In any case, the Muslim army were defeated by the Serer army and they retreated.

Under the heading of this article titled the "Siege of Kaoloack 1865)" -, the article gave us just few lines telling us about the huge French forces fighting against Maba and Lat Jor, but it did not tell us the outcome and how that siege came about. To tell us how it came about would of course show Maba's secret dealings with the French and his pillaging and greed. The article did not mention the fact that it was Laprade (of France) who initially begged the King of Saloum Faka Boyo Latsouka Faal to leave the Kaolack post for a short time so that trade could resume with the Muslim Marabous.  That was after he tried and failed to conquer Saloum.  When the King of Saloum granted him that wish, he straight away informed Maba that the King of Saloum had left Kaolack and he can come back to Kaolack.  What followed next was ravaging, murder and looting led by Maba and his men.

Under the heading titled "Islimisation and reform" in this article, it says:

"Maba Diakhou Bâ's forces sought to abolish the traditional caste system of the Wolof and Serer aristocratic states."

This article is totally bias. Yes the Wolof and Serer States were somewhat aristocratic states but the article failed to mention that it was the aristocratic states especially the Wolof States who patronised him not just financially but militarily as well. A huge number of his army were made up of Wolof people. It was the Kings ruling Wolof States that were his main patrons. Furthermore, his own entourage was determined by caste. The "Torodbe" and leaders at the top and his slaves at the bottom.

Note also under the same heading how the article talks about regional kings keeping the region in a constant state of war and famine. This is exactly what Maba was doing as stated above. He was pillaging and enslaving, causing wars and famine as demonstrated above. This article is trying to make us believe that Maba was such a saint. He wasn't.

Under the title "Death and legacy", there appears to be a transitional error by the author in regards to the year Maba died. As stated earlier, he died on 18th July 1867 (not 1876) see above. Apart from this error, my greatest issue with this part of the article is the contempt the author of this article seem to show the Serer people. Although not blatantly obvious, it is not very difficult to see. In the first paragraph of this heading, we are told that:

"Maba Diakhou Bâ was killed leading forces against the animist Serer state of Coumba Ndoffène Diouf (King of Sine Kumba Ndoffene Famak Joof)."

I would have been quite happy with that even if the author did not mention the Battle of Fandane Thiouthiogne, the battle in which Maba was defeated by the Serer people of the Kingdom of Sine. I would have also been quite happy with that if the author did not mention how and why that battle came about. What I am not happy with is the line that follows the above statement, which somewhat demonstrate the point I made earlier about how the Senegambia Muslim masses, led by the Muslim establishment see Maba as a saint and demonizes the Serer people (especially those Serers who adhere to their religion) for killing their saint. The above statement is immediately followed by this line:

"By 1871, the Serer had re-instated their traditional monarchy, which was soon to be supplanted by the French"

In other words, "the Serer people paid the price for killing Maba and they deserved to be supplanted by the French." I may not even have mind if this statement was correct but in actual fact, it is factually incorrect. As stated above, 1871 was the year the King of Sine Kumba Ndoffene Famak Joof was assassinated in Joal by the French. Although the French argued that they didn't do it, but lay the blame on a French merchant called Bacaria, whom they described as mad and a drunk, historians such Martin A. Klein, Alioune Sarr  and R. Labouret in his book “ Les Royaumes Sérères” –proved otherwise. They lay the blame directly at the door of the French administration as they wanted to silence him once and for all for the King of Sine daring to challenging them on who manages the affairs of Joal, his own province. Although a new king inherited him and there were battles fought by Serer paternal dynasties e.g. the Faye family, the Joof family etc, the Serer monarchies survived right up to 1969 which was 9 years after the whole of Senegal gained its independence from France. 1969 of course was the year the two Serer kings of Sine and Saloum (Mahecor Joof and Fode Ngui Joof respectively) passed away. Therefore, it was only the Serer monarchies that saw the face of the 20th century. Unlike the Serer monarchies, the Muslim monarchies fell one by one right back in the 19th century. Yes, some Serer kings did signed treaties with the French especially after the death of Kumba Ndoffene Famak Joof. A good example of this is Sanou Moon Faye, who almost practically gave away the Kingdom of Sine to the French when he was pursued by the Joof family of Sine as well as the nobility of Sine. Even with those few Serer kings who signed treaties with the French, knew exactly how to play the French at their own game. The Muslim kings and religious leaders on the other hand signed treaties with the French and British but they didn't know how to play them at their own game, and that is a key factor as to why had fallen. Furthermore, virtually all the Serer kings that came after Kumba Ndoffene were true kings with all the powers expected of kings. A good example of this is King of Sine Kumba Ndoffene Fandeb Joof (Kumba Ndoffene Jr). When a Muslim prince tried to frame Amadou Bamba by falsely accusing him of piling weapons in order to launch a war against the French, the French put him on trial. Not a single Muslim or Christian leader came to the defence of Amadou Bamba. It took a Serer King (Kumba Ndoffene Fandeb Joof) to challenge the French and ask them to “release Amadou Bamba at once as the accusations made against him are nothing but lies.” The French had no option but to dismiss the case.

In conclusion, I am in no way opposed to having the historical accounts of Maba added on Wiki. He is a very important figure in Senegambian history and deserves to be added in an encyclopaedia like Wiki. What I am oppose to is to have the historical facts of the man (Maba) cooked-up as it has been cooked-up by certain quarters of Senegambians society for nearly 150 years. If the historical account of Maba is to be written, it should be written truthfully and accurately with no agenda. His positives and negatives must be highlighted. He had flaws just like everybody else. He was only human and nothing more.

Tamsier (talk) 04:26, 22 June 2011 (UTC)

Factual accuracy Dispute notice
Please summarize why a tag of factual accuracy is on this article. It is also malformated as it fails to notify the area of dispute. The key words are summarize. Not write a book for Amazon.com Tags can also be placed on the areas in dispute. If proper evidence is not given the tag will be removed. --Halqh حَلَقَة הלכהሐላቃህ (talk) 17:46, 14 November 2011 (UTC)

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