Jolof Empire

Key Points

The Jolof Empire (French: Djolof or Diolof), also known as the Wolof or Wollof Empire, was a West African state that ruled parts of Senegal from 1350 to 1549. Following the 1549 battle of Danki, its vassal states were fully or de facto independent; in this period it is known as the Jolof Kingdom.
Traditional accounts among the Wolof agree that the founder of the state and later empire was the possibly mythical Ndiadiane Ndiaye (also spelled Njaajaan Njaay). Traditional stories of the ancestry of this leader vary. According to James Searing, the myth says that he was "the first and only son of a noble and saintly “Arab” father Abdu Darday and a “Tukuler” woman, Fatamatu Sall." This gave him an Almoravid Islamic lineage and a link on his mother's side to Takrur. James Searing adds that "In all versions of the myth, Njaajaan Njaay speaks his first words in Pulaar rather than Wolof, emphasizing once again his character as a stranger of noble origins."
The Portuguese arrived in the Jolof Empire between 1444 and 1510, leaving detailed accounts of a very advanced political system. There was a developed hierarchical system involving different classes of royal and non-royal nobles, free men, occupational castes and slaves. Occupational castes included blacksmiths, jewellers, tanners, tailors, musicians and griots. Smiths were important to the society for their ability to make weapons of war as well as their trusted status for mediating disputes fairly. Griots (storytellers) were employed by every important family as chroniclers and advisors, without whom much of early Jolof history would be unknown. Jolof's nobility were nominally animists, but some combined this with Islam. However, Islam had not dominated Wolof society until about the 19th century.
Throughout the different classes, intermarriage was rarely allowed. Women could not marry upwards, and their children did not inherit the father's superior status. However, women had some influence and role in government. The Linger or Queen Mother was head of all women and very influential in state politics. She owned a number of villages which cultivated farms and paid tribute directly to her. There were also other female chiefs whose main task was judging cases involving women. In the empire's most northern state of Walo, women could aspire to the office of Bur and rule the state.
The Jolof Empire was largely conquered by the imamate of Futa Jallon in 1875 and its territories fully incorporated into French West Africa by 1890.

External Links

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References

Wikipedia contributors. (2019, January 24). Jolof Empire. In Wikipedia, The Free Encyclopedia. Retrieved 20:59, February 3, 2019, from Link