Battle of Fandane-Thiouthioune

According to Serer oral tradition, before Maad a Sinig Kumba Ndoffene Famak and his army made their way to the battlefield, he summoned the elders (his counselors) to perform the ancient rituals of their forefathers. He then commanded his Jaraff (head of the noble Council of Electors) also a Saltigue, - Wassaly Sene to perform the ritual of the ancestors and predict the outcome. Wassaly Sene is reported to have cited the name of Roog (the Supreme Deity in Serer religion), raised his spear to the Gods of the heavens and struck it to the ground. He then cried out "Victory!"[20][21] During the battle, Maba Diakhou Bâ is said to have recited the Shahada (Islamic declaration of faith) from the Quran.

Maad a Sinig Kumba Ndoffene Famak Joof's army composed of the Buumi Somb (the heir to the throne of Somb with his army from the east); the Great Jaraff and his army from the south; Maad Patar (King of Patar) and his army from the north-east; the Sandigue Ndiob from the north; Maad Amad Ngoneh Joof (King of Thiouthioune and uncle of Maad Kumba Ndoffene Famak); Makhoureja Ngoneh Joof (variation : Makhoukhédia Ngoné, prince of Sine and younger brother of Boucary Ngoneh Joof who was killed at Mbin o Ngor); the Great Farba (his general) as well as the army of Sine, covering the west and north-west; Maad Saloum Sadiouka Mbodj (king of Saloum); etc. The griots beat junjung of Sine (the war drums) - a call for arms.[22][23]

Maba Diakhou Bâ was accompanied by his brothers Ousmane Bâ and Abdoulaye Ouli Bâ (not to be confused with the historian Abdou Bouri Bâ, grand-nephew of Maba); the King of Cayor and Baol Damel-Teigne Lat Dior Ngoné Latyr Diop (and his army); the King of Jolof, Bourba Jolof Alboury Sainabou Njie (and his army); Gumbo Gaye (king of Sanjal) - also spelt Gumbo Guèye; Biran Ceesay (Biranne Cissé); his generals such as Mama Gaolo Nyang and Tafsir Sa Lolley Jabou Samba (general and military advisor to Maba); etc.[24]

The Sine army having performed the required rituals according to Serer custom, Maad a Sinig Kumba Ndoffene Famak Joof led his army to Somb (in the Kingdom of Sine), the battlefield. Serer tradition states that, Somb was the starting point of the battle but it did not end there. It ended in Fandane-Thiouthioune where the outcome was decided. Muslim tradition agrees pretty much with this account.[10][25][26]

On the day of the battle, there was a heavy rain.[27][28] Maad Semou Gallo Joof (son of Maad Amad Ngoneh) with his cousin Mbagne Somb Faye and their griots led an offensive attack on the Muslim Marabout forces. The Serer strategy was to push the Muslim Marabout forces into Somb where a strong resistance had been prepared and to prevent them from entering Thiouthioune. The strategy failed. Maba and his army successfully entered Thiouthioune. However at Thiouthioune, Maba's army faced a strong resistance by some of the retinue forces of King Amad Ngoneh of Thiouthioune, which included Maad Semou Gallo Joof and the princes: Gniba Dior Joof, Madior Latdjigué and Biram Joof. The battle took place between Somb and Thiouthioune and lasted three quarters of the morning.[1] In the early stages of the battle, the Muslim Marabouts prevailed. The princes and Maad (King) Semou Gallo Joof were killed. The prince Mbagne Somb Faye committed suicide when he was captured by the Muslim Marabouts.[12] Around 12 pm, it started to rain. Maba and his army took refuge in the coppices which surrounded the pond of Fandane and attempted to dry off their arms. Around that time, Maad Kumba Ndoffene Famak had left Ndoffane Nomad with his army and moving towards Fandane to defend it. Before his arrival, Damel-Teigne Lat-Dior Ngoneh Latyr and Bourba Jolof Alboury Sainabou (both valiant and experienced warriors) contemplated withdrawing from the battle at around 2 pm (tisbâr time – Muslim prayer time in the afternoon). Damel-Teigne Lat Dior reported to Maba that, he had heard the sound of Sine's junjung approaching, and Maad Kumba Ndoffene Famak is bound to be among them. He tried to discuss an exit strategy because the Sine army would be too strong for them. Maba was not interested in an exit strategy, his mission was to Islamize and conquer Serer Sine.[6][11][12][29] When Maad Kumba Ndoffene Famak and his army, accompanied by the King of Patar; the King of Poukham and the Sandigue Ndiob arrived on the scene, they interposed between the Muslim Marabout forces and the Kingdom of Saloum locking the Marabouts in Sine and cutting off their exit route into Nioro du Rip (Maba's residence), via Saloum. Damel-Teigne Lat Dior Ngoné Latyr and Bourba Jolof Alboury Sainabou Njie realising that the cause has been lost, abandoned Maba in the battlefield. They fought their way out of the battlefield, the Damel-Teigne escaped and headed towards Cayor and the Bourba Jolof towards Gossas.[12][30][31] The Serer army defeated the Muslim Marabouts. Maba was killed at Fandane and so was the Serer Prince Makhoureja Ngoneh Joof whom according to some was responsible for killing Maba.[30][32] The King of Sine was injured. Many of Maba's men fell at Fandane-Thiouthioune. His generals such as Mama Gaolo Nyang were held prisoners. Mama Gaolo was released two days after the battle to go and relay the incident in his country.[12][30] After Maba had been killed, Maad Kumba Ndoffene Famak had his head cut off and his limbs dismembered. He then sent an arm and the head, with a letter to the French commandant at Gorée to announce his victory. The remains of Maba's body were scattered in several parts of Sine, including Felir, Samba Toude, Ndialgué and towards Thiamassas (var :Tiémassass).[30][33][34] According to some scholars such as Diagne, Becker, Cheikh Diouf, Klein, etc., Maad Kumba Ndoffene Famak's letter and action was a threat to the French administration in Senegal, especially his succeeding letter sent to the French governor which listed the prominent members of Maba's army that had fallen in the Sine.[12][33][35][36] The French administration in Senegal under the governorship of Émile Pinet-Laprade kept out of the battle. They armed neither side nor did they involved their forces.[37] The French also had limited ammunition and forces (they were dying from the wars and diseases).[38] Although Lamprade tried to gain more arms and French forces from France for the protection of French interest in the colony, the French government in Paris refused to sanction it and decided to devote all French resources in France due to the crisis in Europe, and their ultimate defeat in the Franco-Prussian War. As such, Laprade was ordered "to stay on the defensive" and told "he would not even receive white troops" to replace those who have died from disease.[39]

Abdoulaye Ouli Bâ (Maba's brother) was not killed in the battle. In a revenge attack, he was castrated for participating in the surprise of Mbin o Ngor, the kidnapping of Lingeer Selbeh Ndoffene Joof (Maad Kumba Ndoffene Famak's daughter), forcefully marrying her and making her pregnant. Although released, he went missing for some time people thought that he had died like his two brothers (Maba and Ousmane) at the battle. He resurfaced by January 1868 during the raidings of the Mandinka principalities of Niani and Ouli, in the Gambia.[40][41][42]

At the end of the battle, the victorious King of Sine Kumba Ndoffene Famak nursed his injuries and led his army back home. The griots of Sine beat the junjung and chanted the following hymn in his honour (the hymn is still chanted in his honour):[43]

• Bâ, Abdou Bouri. Essai sur l’histoire du Saloum et du Rip. Avant-propos par Charles Becker et Victor Martin. Publié dans le Bulletin de l’Institut Fondamental d’Afrique Noire. Tome 38, Série B, n° 4, octobre 1976, p. 813-860.
• Bâ-Curry, Ginette. In Search of Maba: A 19th Century Epic from Senegambia, West Africa (Preface of the Play by Edris Makward, Emeritus Professor of African Literature, Univ of Wisconsin, USA), Phoenix Press International, Maryland, 2011 [Category: Drama].
• 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).
• Bâ, Tamsir Ousman. Essai historique sur le Rip (Bur Sine Mahecor Diouf; Latgarand N'Diaye & Abdou Boury Bâ). BIFAN. 1957
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• Gravrand, Henri. Horizons Africaines, No 68, p 15
• Diagne, Pathé. Pouvoir politique traditionnel en Afrique occidentale: essais sur les institutions politiques précoloniales. Published: Présence africaine, 1967.
• L'épopée de Sanmoon Fay. Ethiopiques n°54 revue semestrielle de culture négro-africaine Nouvelle série volume 7 2e semestre 1991
• Diouf, Cheikh. Fiscalité et Domination Coloniale: l'exemple du Sine: 1859-1940. Université Cheikh Anta Diop de Dakar - (2005)
• Diouf, Mahawa. L’INFORMATION HISTORIQUE : L’EXEMPLE DU SIIN. Ethiopiques n°54 revue semestrielle de culture négro-africaine Nouvelle série volume 7 2e semestre 1991
• Klein, Martin A. Islam and Imperialism in Senegal Sine-Saloum, 1847–1914. Edinburgh At the University Press (1968).
• Lipschutz, Mark R. and Rasmussen, R. Kent. Dictionary of African historical biography. 2nd Edition. University of California Press, 1989. ISBN 0-520-06611-1.
• Sarr, Alioune. Histoire du Sine-Saloum. Introduction, bibliographie et Notes par Charles Becker, BIFAN, Tome 46, Serie B, n° 3-4, 1986–1987.
• Thiam, Iba Der. Maba Diakhou Bâ, Almamy du Rip (Sénégal), Paris, ABC, Dakar-Abidjan, NEA, 1977, p44.