Kumba Ndoffene Famak Joof (Serer: Kumba Ndoofeen fa Maak Juuf, 1810Mahawa Diouf. L'information Historique: L'exemple du Siin. Ethiopiques n°54 revue semestrielle de culture négro-africaine Nouvelle série volume 7 2e semestre 1991 – 23 August 1871Klein, Martin A. Islam and Imperialism in Senegal, Sine-Saloum 1847–1914, p. 106. Published by Edingburg University Press (1968). . Also see footnote on that page: A letter from the Commandant of Gorée to the Governor of Senegal – Thursday 24 August 1871, Archives de la République du Sénégal, Dakar (formerly the archives of the French West African Federation). Wednesday was when dues (taxes) were collected. Such activities like these are forbidden on a Thursday (a day of rest) in Serer religion. This means the King was killed on the previous day when he visited Joal to resolve the Joal crises with the French. Also see: Issa Laye Thiaw, La Religiousite des Sereer, Avant et Pendant Leur Islamisation. Ethiopiques, No: 54, Revue Semestrielle de Culture Négro-Africaine. Nouvelle Série, Volume 7, 2e Semestre 1991. Also: A. Corre. "Les Sérères de Joal et de Portudal. (1883). Paris, Rev.)) was the Maad a Sinig ("King of Sine" in Serer) in modern-day Senegal. He ruled from 1853 until his death on 23 August 1871. He was the son of Souka Ndela Joof and Lingeer Gnilane Jogoy Joof. His father Souka Ndela came from the Royal House of Semou Njekeh Joof founded by Semou Njekeh Joof in the early 18th century, the third and last royal house founded by the Joof family of Sine and Saloum.Diouf, Niokhobaye. "Chronique du royaume du Sine." Suivie de notes sur les traditions orales et les sources écrites concernant le royaume du Sine par Charles Becker et Victor Martin. (1972). Bulletin de l'Ifan, Tome 34, Série B, n° 4, (1972). pp 14-18 (pp 722-730)Sarr, Alioune. Histoire du Sine-Saloum. Introduction, bibliographie et Notes par Charles Becker, BIFAN, Tome 46, Serie B, n° 3-4, 1986–1987 His paternal family ruled three kingdoms: Sine, Saloum, and Baol. They traced descent to Ndaah Njemeh Joof, the 13th century King of Laah (or Lâ) in Baol.l'epopee De Sanmoon Fay. "La famille Juuf". Ethiopiques n°54 revue semestrielle de culture négro-africaine Nouvelle série volume 7 2e semestre 1991.Alioune Sarr. Histoire du Sine-Saloum. Introduction, bibliographie et Notes par Charles Becker, BIFAN, Tome 46, Serie B, n° 3-4, 1986–1987
Kumba Ndoffene Famak's mother, Lingeer Gnilane Jogoy Joof, came from the Guelowar maternal dynasty. The Guelowars had ruled two Senegambian Kingdoms, Sine and Saloum. They had also provided two kings of JolofOumar Ndiaye Leyti. "Le Djoloff et ses Bourba". Nouvelles Editions Africaines, 1981. and heirs to the thrones of Cayor and Baol. According to oral tradition, they originated from the royal family of Kaabu in the 14th century who were granted asylum by the Serer nobility of Sine (the lamanes) following some dynastic struggle in Kaabu with the Nianco dynasty.Sarr, Alioune, Histoire du Sine-Saloum. Introduction, bibliographie et Notes par Charles Becker, BIFAN, Tome 46, Serie B, n° 3-4, 1986–1987, pp 722-726Sarr, Alioune, Histoire du Sine-Saloum (Sénégal) Introduction, bibliographie et notes par Charles Becker. 1986-87, p 19 The name Famak (Serer proper: fa Maak) means the Elder in Serer. He should not be confused with his successor Kumba Ndoffene Fa Ndeb Joof who reigned from c. 1898 to 1924. The name fa Ndeb/Fandeb (Serer: fa Ndeb) means the Younger in Serer. The prefix Famak is a later addition in order to differentiate him from his successor, who is sometimes referred to as Kumba Ndoffene II.
Succession and coronation
Kumba Ndoffene Famak succeeded to the throne in 1853 following the death of the young Ama Joof Gnilane Faye Joof.Niokhobaye Diouf. Chronique du royaume du Sine. Suivie de Notes sur les traditions orales et les sources écrites concernant le royaume du Sine par Charles Becker et Victor Martin. Bulletin de l'Ifan, Tome 34, Série B, n° 4, 1972. pp 772-774 (pp 47-49)David Boilat. Esquisses Sénégalaises, Bertrand, 1853, p. 145. (Paris, Karthala, 1984) He was crowned in September 1853 by the Great Jaraaf (head of the Noble Council of Electors responsible for electing kings from the royal family). Guests included his paternal and maternal family as well as the dignitaries of Sine.Alioune Sarr, Histoire du Sine-Saloum. Introduction, bibliographie et Notes par Charles Becker, BIFAN, Tome 46, Serie B, n° 3-4, 1986–1987. pp 28-30 His succession to the throne went unchallenged during the 19th century.Klein, p 46
External threats The reign of Maad Kumba Ndoffene Famak was in constant threat by two external forces : the French who wanted to extend their authority in his Kingdom following the defeat of Waalo under Lingeer Ndateh Yalla Mboge and by Tafsir Amat Jahu Bah more commonly known as Maba Diakhou Bâ who wanted to Islamize the Animist Serer people of Sine and Saloum.
Leadership style
Maad a Sinig Kumba Ndoffene Famak was a very strong leader whose word was generally accepted by the French. However, sometimes he had his reasons for giving very limited protection to the French merchants and even less protection to the French missionaries, whom he regarded as spies of the French administration in Senegal and the French government in Paris. This rumour was first circulated by his predecessor — Maad a Sinig Ama Joof Gnilane Faye Joof,Klein, p 51 who stopped the French from building any bricked chapel or church in his Kingdom. During the first few years of Maad Kumba Ndoffene Famak's reign, the Mission at N'Gasobil faced constant harassments designed to force their departure. The people were not only ordered not to sell anything to the mission, but also not to send their children to Christian schools in fear that the mission would corrupt the minds of the young.Klein, Martin A., Islam and Imperialism in Senegal Sine-Saloum, 1847–1914, p. 52. Edinburgh University Press (1968)
In 1856, Father Lamoise and Kobes (accompanied by French officers) went to Sine to see Maad Kumba Ndoffene Famak. They presented their complaints to the king about the constant harassments which began during the reign of Maad Ama Joof Gnilane Faye Joof. Lamoise also used the meeting to seek the king's permission to build a brick chapel. Permission was not granted. Lamoise threatened to build a brick chapel with or without the king's permission. Maad Kumba Ndoffene Famak threatened to kill Lamoise if he dared to disobey his orders. Nothing was achieved by the French in that meeting.Klein, p 53
Maad a Sinig Kumba Ndoffene was related to the other Senegambian royal families (Jolof, Cayor, Baol, Waalo and Saloum) and was known for giving asylum to the royal families of those kingdoms, so much so that the French governor of Senegal at the time—Pinet Laprade used to refer to him as "the King of Kings."le Quotidien, La communauté sérère face à la Commission nationale chargée de la rédaction de l’histoire du Sénégal (18 September 2019)
Siege of Kaolack In 1866, the French governor Émile Pinet-Laprade tried to encourage resettlement around Kaolack (a province of the Kingdom of Saloum) and promised to restore order and trade there. He failed to achieve that. Kaolack which was previously sacked by the Muslim marabouts in 1865 falls within the jurisdiction of Saloum, ruled by the Maad Saloum (king of Saloum), and not by the Maad a Sinig (king of Sine). It was part of the jurisdiction of Maad Saloum Fakha Boya Latsouka Fall. The King of Sine (Maad a Sinig Kumba Ndoffene Famak) was not willing to persuade his people to settle in a war zone.Klein, p 87
Laprade (and his predecessors Faidherbe and Jauréguibéry) who previously had nothing good to say about the Serers, referring to them "drunkards" and "violent against the Muslims" now needed Maad Kumba Ndoffene Famak's assistance to solve the problem in Kaolack. He wrote several letters to Maad Kumba Ndoffene Famak begging him to do something.Klein, pp 79, 87 To secure the support of Maad Kumba Ndoffene Famak, Laprade changed his strategy by calling the Muslim marabouts "thieves".
When Maad Kumba Ndoffene Famak tried to offer help to the King of Saloum (Fakha Boya Latsouka Fall), the King of Saloum turned him down and refused to listen to him. According to some (such as Klein, Bâ, etc.), Fakha Boya was a weak king who was unwilling or unable to solve the Kaolack problem, his own province. However, the consensus is that, the sacking of Kaolack by the marabout forces would not have happened without Laprade. It was Laprade who initially asked Fakha Boya whether he could withdraw his army from the Kaolack post for a short period so that trade could resume with the marabouts. That was after he tried and failed to conquer the Kingdom of Saloum. When King Fakha Boya withdrew his army from the Kaolack post, Laprade immediately informed Maba Diakhou Ba in July 1864 that the army of Fakha Boya had left and he can come back. When the marabout came, they ransacked and looted Kaolack and virtually control it. As the situation worsened in Kaolack, Maad Fakha Boya lost all control in Kaolack, and the marabouts were no longer willing to listen to Laprade. As such, Laprade lost all influence he had on the marabouts and needed Maad Kumba Ndoffene Famak's assistance to deal with the problem.Klein, pp 82, 87
Maad Kumba Ndoffene Famak against the Muslim marabouts
Maad Kumba Ndoffene Famak resisted against French expansionism, and the strategy of the French to use him against Maba Diakhou Bâ. According to some, had he accepted the French's terms and strategy, Maba would have been killed in the 1850s. Émile Pinet-Laprade mistook that for cowardice which was not the case.Klein, p 89
However in 1867, Maba Diakhou who had avoided the animist Kingdom of Sine for six years decided to launch a jihad in the Sine. The British administration in the Gambia and the French administration in Senegal had both tried to get rid of Maba Diakhou when relations broke down, but failed. Governor George Abbas Kooli D'Arcy (the British governor in the Gambia) was arming Maba and the marabout forces with British weapons.Klein, pp 82, 87-88 He also planned and executed the invasion of the Mandinka animist State of Baddibu in the Gambia in a revenge attack against the British traders by animist Baddibu. D'Arcy planned his invasion to coincide with the French's unsuccessful invasion of animist Serer Saloum in 1861.Klein, pp 71, 146-147
Almost a week after Maba's victory in Kaolack, a large group of his disciples entered Sine. Maba himself did not enter Sine. The battle was indecisive as the marabout forces withdrew when they realised that they could not penetrate Sine.Klein, p 90
The surprise of Mbin o Ngor (Mbetaan Keur Ngor) Mbin o Ngor (var: Mbon o NGOOR) is a small Serer village in Sine. The Surprise of Mbin o Ngor in 1867 was not an open battle. It was a surprise attack by the marabouts against the Serer community of this village. The Wolof term for it is "Mbetaan Keur Ngor" which means "the surprise attack of Keur Ngor". "Mbetaan" means surprise. In the Serer language, the incident is known as "Mbin o Ngor".L'epopee de Sanmoon Fay. Ethiopiques n°54 revue semestrielle de culture négro-africaine Nouvelle série volume 7 2e semestre 1991Sarr, pp 37-38