webPulaaku
Encyclopedia of African History
Kevin Shillington, ed. Vol. 1. New York & London. Fitzroy Dearborn. p. 538-540
Futa Toro is the region situated along the middle valley of the Senegal River
in West Africa, immediately south of the Sahara Desert. The north bank lies in
Mauritania, while the south bank is in Senegal. The Senegal River was a link, not
a divide, between the north and south banks. The river also served as the central
focus of the region, linking east and west.
Futa is the general name that the Fulbe, the area's dominant ethnic group, gave
to the areas where they lived, while Toro is the province
with the oldest identity in the middle valley; it lies in the western portion around the towns of Podor
and Njum. The area never extended more than approximately ten miles on either bank
of the river, and stretched for about 250 miles along the length of the Senegal
River. The linguistic evidence strongly suggests that Futa Toro may be the birthplace
of the Fulbe people, and many Fulbe oral traditions cite Futa Toro as their homeland.
The Fulbe of Futa Toro and elsewhere in the river valley now call themselves Haalpulaar'en,
or "those who speak Pulaar:' the local dialect of the Fulfulde language. In
Wolof, French, and general Senegalese usage, the Fulbe of Futa Toro are called
Toucouleur, derived from the name of the ancient state of Takrur (or Tekrur).
Futa Toro's predecessor was ancient Takrur, situated on both banks
of the middle Senegal River and contemporary with the Ghana Empire.
Takrur may have been founded as early as 100 CE, reaching its height in the ninth
and tenth centuries. The dominant ethnic group was Fulbe (sometimes called Fulani
or Peul), with minority populations of Wolof, Berber, and Soninke. The rulers apparently
became Muslims in the 1030s. The region was situated just beneath the Western Sahara
and on trans-Saharan caravan routes, which were developed well before the tenth
century.
The state also had the advantage of being on a river that flowed from the south,
permitting people to live very close to the desert edge. Berbers operated the trade
routes through the desert to Morocco, exporting some gold from Bambuk, further
up the Senegal River, which was exchanged in Takrur. The people also grew millet
and cotton and manufactured cotton textiles, which were traded to the desert nomads.
While Takrur received some salt from desert traders, most of its salt came from
the evaporating salt pans at the mouth of the Senegal River. Takrur defended itself
successfully against several Moroccan raids in the eleventh century but was in
decline by the twelfth century, owing primarily to local power struggles and competition
for resources.
Several dynasties and groups attempted but failed to rule the middle valley after
the decline of Takrur. The main obstacle was the length of Futa Toro along the
river. In the period from about 1490 until 1776, however, most of Futa Toro was
ruled by the Deniyanke dynasty founded by Koly
Tenhella Ba. Futa Toro came into
limited contact with Portuguese traders in the early sixteenth century, supplying
some slaves, usually captives from non-Muslim states, for the transatlantic slave
trade. Later the French, who used the Senegal River as a trade conduit into the
interior, became Futa Toro's dominant European trading partners. From the sixteenth
to the eighteenth centuries, Futa Toro, like its predecessor Takrur, was often
the subject of raids by Moroccan forces eager to expand the influence of their
state and acquire the wealth in gold and slaves from the Western. Sudan. Futa Toro
was able to maintain its independence from invading armies, but the constant attacks
weakened the central state. By the sixteenth century, the Deniyanke rulers and
a significant portion of the population were Muslims. A clerical diaspora from
Futa Toro helped spread Islam throughout Western, Africa.
The inhabitants of Futa Toro practiced mixed farming, combining agriculture and
livestock herding. The summer rains watered the highland crops and raised the river
level, which spilled over the banks of the middle valley. After the waters receded
in December, the moist floodplain could then be planted with millets, sorghum,
and maize for a dry season harvest.
This double harvest made Futa Toro a food-exporting region and also drew migrant
farmers from the surrounding areas. Cattle raising was also an important part of
the Fulbe of Futa's early economy and identity. Fulbe herders practiced seasonal
migration, staying near permanent sources of water in the dry season, then moving
out with the rains, and finally returning when the water holes and pastures dried
up. Futa pastoralists moved in regular patterns, either to the steppe north of
the river and close to the Sahara Desert, or south into the steppe called the Ferlo
between Futa Toro and the Gambia River. In Futa Toro, two groups of Fulbe emerged,
including sedentary farmers and migratory herders. The herders were dependent on
the farmers of all ethnic groups for agricultural goods and water during the dry
season while the herders supplied milk and meat for the farmers. Raiding periodically
disrupted the exchange of goods and services, but cooperation generally characterized
farmer-herder interactions. There was also some fishing and craft production, especially
leatherwork, blacksmithing, and weaving. Finally, griots or praise singers lived
at court and performed many diplomatic and judicial functions in addition to their
public performance. Much of what is known about the early history of Futa Toro
derives from oral traditions preserved by griots.
In 1776 indigenous Muslims, led by Suleyman Bal, took advantage
of the weak Deniyanke dynasty and launched a successful and influential
Islamic revolution, creating the alinamate of Futa Toro. They Instituted a new
ruling class, the torodbe. The most effective almamate ruler, Abdul
Kader Kan,
extended the borders of Futa to the west and southeast. However, the defeat of
his forces by the Wolof state of Kajoor, signaled
the decline of the almamate until its dominance by the French in the mid-nineteenth
century.
Further Reading
Barry, Boubacar Senegambia and the Atlantic Slave Trade. Cambridge: Cambridge
University Press, 1998.
Kane, M. and D. Robinson. The Islamic Regime of Fuuta Tooro. East Lansing: Michigan
State University Press, 1984.
Robinson, D. Chiefs and Clerics: Abdul Bokar Kan and Futa Toro, 1853-1891. Oxford:
Clarendon Press, 1985.
Robinson, D., P Curtin, and J. Johnson. “A Tentative Chronology of Futa Toro
from the Sixteenth through the Nineteenth Centuries.” Cahiers d'Etudes Africaines
12 (1972) 555-592.
Willis, J. R. “The Torodbe Clerisy: A Social View.” Journal of African
History 19 (1978): 195-212.
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