Fuuta Tooro

"Tu me manques fouta" (Baaba Maal)

David Robinson and Moussa Gouye visited Fuuta Tooro in 1967-69 with guidance from Oumar Ba. They collected oral traditions of the Haalpulaaren about the Fuuta Tooro. After 1980 Moustapha Kane helped at Michigan State University to transcribe and translate the Pulaar texts. The result is presenting the given texts in Pulaar and the translation in English.

The following map is from Oloruntimhin's "The Segu Tukulor Empire" with additional entries made by me from the Kane/Robinson book:

What we have with "The Islamic Regime of Fuuta Tooro" is the history of the Haalpulaaren in Fuuta Tooro in their own words!

'The Islamic Regime of Fuuta Tooro' contains 6 chapters:

• The Establishment of the Islamic Regime
• Conflict and Decline in the Islamic Regime
• The Domination of Regional Chiefs
• The Pressures of the French and Umar Taal
• The Hegemony of Abdul Bookar
• The French Conquest

Part A: The Establishment of The Islamic Regime

Text 1: The TooroBBe

The text describes the late 18th century. The FulBe were widely pagans, ruled by the DeeniyankooBe (the word comes probably from the village Deeny) and their crown soldiers, called KoliyaBBe. At this time there was an Islamic centre in Pir Sanakuur, from where Abdul Qaadir and Sileymaani Baal were deriving. This centre was influenced by the teaching of Algerian Shaikh Sidi Ahmed al-Tijani, the founder of the Tijaniyya order. This islamic FulBe formed the new social class TooroBBe. They took over the power of the DeeniyankooBe.

Text 2: The TooroBBe and the DeeniyankooBe

The text is a story about the rivality of DeeniyankooBe and TooroBBe in the late 18th century. The pagan FulBe (DeeniyankooBe) were described as "unknowledged", in comparison to the smart muslim FulBe (TooroBBe).

Text 3: Sileymaani Baal and Abdul Kaader

It was in the 1770ies, when Sileymaani Baal beat the Moors of the Brakna confederation, but he was killed in a battle at Maafonndu. Then Abdul Kaader accepted to become the Almamy.

Text 4: The Alkaati of Mboolo

This text gives a picture of the history of a famous family of Alkaatis (from the Arabic word for judge: al-qaadi), who were responsible for toll collecting at Mboolo Biraan in the central region of Fuuta Tooro.

Part B: Conflict and Decline in the Islamic Regime

Text 5: Kaliidu Mammado Gaajo: Almaami Abdul, Aali Siido and Aali Dunndo

This was in the first years of 1800, at the time when the Bunngoowi campaign started. Almaami Abdul assembled his troops in Njaayeen in the Western Fuuta. Aali Siide and his people from the Central Fuuta Region refused to follow the Almaami. This divided the TooroBBe in different groups. At Kajoor Almaami Abdul lost the battle against his enemies and fled over Wuro Soogi to the upper Sénégal river.

Part C: The Domination of Regional Chiefs

Part D: The pressures of the French and Umar Taal

Text 13: Bani Giise: Umar and the Jinns

This is a story told by Bani Giise in the village of Hoore Foonde. Hoore Foonde was the place in the central Fuuta where the Almamy usually was named. The story happend in the years 1858/59 following Umar's Ka'rta operations. Umar was seeking for support for his army and met with the chief of the Jinns near Hoore Foonde. The chief promised to give Umar an army of Jinns after the rainy season (nawet). In fact Umar was in the summer of 1858 in Fuuta Tooro to recruit new soldiers for his army.

Part E: The Hegemony of Abdul Bookar

Part F: The French Conquest

I will present step-by-step the content of this famous book. Please be patient.