Origins:
The ancestors of the Mandinkas
(Mandingo) of today's Gambia and Senegal region lived
in Kangaba which was a part of the ancient Mali Empire.
They became independent in AD 1235 and gradually some
of them moved westwards. They were looking for a better
climate as well as farming and grazing land which they
found near the big rivers Gambia, Senegal and Casamance.
Another reason was their search for better trading possibilities
near the Trans-Sahara-Route. Finally it was also princes'
and generals' hope to reign over own land. This was
indeed possible, because the original inhabitants of
the region lived on scattered farms and therefore weren't
able to defend themselves effectively.
Expansion:
Whereas at the beginning only single families dared
to move, in the middle of the 13th century general Tiramang
Touray started a big campaign into the region which
is today in the south of the eastern half of Gambia.
He founded the Kaabu Empire and expanded into all directions,
so that at the end of the thirteenth century the whole
area with many different nationalities was under the
Mandinka's rule. Later Tiramang's descendants and his
generals founded their own empires within Kaabu. In
the centre of the seventeenth century Kaabu was in its
heyday which wasn't only mirrored in the geographical
extent, but also in the cultural development. During
this time the Europeans' influence started. They were
mainly interested in trade with slaves, gold and ivory.
In the beginning of the nineteenth century the Kaabu
Empire lost power. The single states were led by individually
thinking rulers and the influence of the Islam changed
very old traditions and structures. The Islamic influence
already started in the 15th century, when the Fulas
sent out missionaries to other peoples, priests from
Morocco preached and Muslim traders came from far away
and founded churches near the rivers. Muslims usually
enjoyed high standing, because they were well educated,
had medical knowledge and extensive relations. Therefore
they were also often in the council of Mandinka rulers.
The people were especially interested in their magical
powers. Soon amulets were filled with Koranic verses
and Muslims` prayers were considered to be a special
protection. Nevertheless the animistic thinking didn't
stop. In the 19th century Islamic leaders had established
in nearly all Mandinka states.
Dissent & Decline:
Strict Muslims accomplished the building of mosques,
prayer five times a day and fasting in many settlements,
but often the Islamic doctrine wasn't taken too serious.
Usually the personal experience of Allah, even through
animistic actions, was more important for them than
the actual doctrine. In this way it was, for most people,
easier to become a Muslim. Nevertheless Islam tried
to weaken the central points of the traditional religion:
Secret societies were destroyed or turned into Islamic
communities and places of initiation were used for Islamic
feasts. As a result of this the rites were still important
in the families, but the annual festivals and the honouring
of the ancestry lost their importance.
Thus two societies with separate laws and behaviour
patterns developed within the empire. In this way many
conflicts and changes were induced in all nations. Young
men left their families in order to follow their masters,
new Muslim settlements developed and traditional ones
broke up for reasons of religion. Even families were
divided in this way. Supporters of the traditional religion
were called "Soninke" (from Kafirs - Arab
unbeliever), whereas Muslims called themselves Marabouts,
which was originally used for Northern African masters
of cults. In 1850 an open fight broke out, which went
down in history as the Soninke-Marabout-Wars. Islamic
Fulas invaded the country and Ma Bah, son of a Mandinka
Marabout proclaimed the holy war (Jihad). The longer
the war lasted the more the fight for power displaced
religious reasons.
Thus it even happened that Muslims fought against each
other, e.g. when a traditional ruler was to be displaced
by a Marabout. At the end of the 19th century this war
made it possible for the English who had their settlements
near the mouth of the Gambia River even a long time
before to subjugate the area along the river and make
it their colony. The marabouts' leaders were defeated
and some of the Mandinka rulers even were glad about
it, because they were tired of fighting, though the
ancient Mandinka empire had now been destroyed and the
traditional Mandinka rule had come to an end. In 1901
England and the native leaders signed a peace treaty
and the interior of the country was divided into 5 provinces. |
