info@webfuuta.site webFuuta — webPulaaku — webAfriqa © 1997-2014. Afriq Access & Tierno S. Bah. All rights reserved.
Fulbright Scholar. Rockefeller Foundation Fellow. Internet Society Pioneer. Smithsonian Research Associate.
Evanston, Illinois. 1965. 180 p. (Ph.D. Dissertation in History)
The Islamic reform movement that expanded from Masina around 1700 had a significant impact on the history of Fouta-Diallon. Earlier Foula immigrants had entered Fouta peacefully and had settled among the Baga, Diallonké, Landouma, and Tanda peoples without attempting to proselytize. After about 1700, however, Muslim Foula from Masina actively propagated Islam in neighboring areas, including Upper Guinea and Fouta-Diallon 1.
By 1700 the number of Muslim converts had increased throughout Fouta-Diallon and had attracted many Muslim Foula refugees from Masina. Each Foula village chose the most respected cleric, a karamoko 2 (Muslim scholar), to serve as village chief. As these Islamic communities grew, their missionary activities became more open and aggressive. The same drives that caused the emigration from Masina impelled these Muslim Foula toward the creation of their own kingdom. Friction over land and cattle riahts with the Baga, Diallonke, and other groups in the region increased, and skirmishes became more frequent.
In 1725, therefore, the time was ripe for revolution. Those with political and economic grievances gave their support to nine karamokos who, representing, nine different Foula villages, met near Pita, in Fouta, to organize a jihad against all non-believers 3.
Throughout the remainder of the century the Foula continued periodic warfare against the Baga, Diallonké, Tanda, and Landouma, converting and killing some, and driving many others toward the Atlantic coast.
After having declared the holy war, the karamokos chose for their leader Alfa Ibrahima Sambegu, the most learned and respected of the clerics 4. Alfa Ibrahima was then escorted to the sacred town of Fougoumba where, after having translated the Koran into the Foula dialect, he was formally installed as almamy (king or supreme chief) under the name of Karamoko Alfa 5.
The coronation ceremony was conducted by the chief of Fougoumba who presented Karamoko Alfa with a baton and a sword—symbols of authority. The Fougoumba chief then wrapped a turban around the supreme chief's head, once for each of the nine karamokos. This symbolized allegiance to the almamy. At this point Karamoko Alfa praised his ancestors, recounted his own accomplishments, announced the plans he had for his subjects, and promised to uphold the Koran and the constitution. The Fougoumba chief then praised the almamy and called upon all inhabitants of Fouta-Diallon to be loyal to the new authority. At the conclusion of the ceremony, messengers unere dispatched to spread the word throughout the kingdom. This ceremony became customary for future coronations 6.
After this phase of the ceremony, the almamy entered a large hut to fast and pray in silent retreat for nine days, one for each karamoko. Rice and fonio were thrown on the hut for good luck. Each subsequent day the chief of Fougoumba entered the hut and released one turn of the turban. After the ninth day Karamoko Alfa emerged from his retreat and officially began his reign 7.
The almamy's first official act was to confer with a group of trusted Timbo marabouts to select chiefs for the nine provinces. They finally decided that in addition to his central duties the almamy would rule Timbo Province and that the remaining eight provinces would be governed by members of his family. Karamoko Alfa then summoned the eight candidates and installed them by placing turbans on their heads 8.
The meeting of these Timbo marabouts, evolved into a hereditary electoral council which, after the reign of Karamoko Alfa, named the almamy and advised him on the appointment of provincial chiefs 9.
Timbo, the home of Karamoko Alfa, was chosen capital of the kingdom. This choice irritated the Fougoumba chief who allegedly wanted to become almamy. Partly to appease him, but mainly out of deference to Fougoumba's traditional position as a religious center, Karamoko Alfa and the provincial chiefs proclaimed the following privileges for the holy town: all almamys would be crowned there and the chief of Fougoumba would preside; all open assemblies of free citizens 9 would meet in Fougoumba; all provincial armies would assemble there before launching a holy war; and the holy town was declared neutral ground on which rivals for the throne were forbidden to fight 10.
With the installation of the supreme chief and the provincial chiefs, and the selection of a capital, the first step in the establishment of the Kingdom of Fouta-Diallon was completed. The next step was the development of administrative and political institutions to which the inhabitants of the kingdom could devote their loyalty and support.
Karamoko Alfa reigned during a crucial period in the history of Fouta-Diallon. His was the task of uniting the nine provinces into a centralized unit at a time when large numbers of the inhabitants were neither Muslim nor Foula.
The almamy's first step toward establishing this unity and loyalty was the formulation of a constitution to which the inhabitants of Fouta could agree.
The Foula constitution, which allegedly was written, was based on the prescriptions of the Koran: it recognized the equality of all Muslims in law and duty; commanded obedience to the karamokos and absolute respect of all religious regulations, especially those pertaining to regular prayers and participation in holy wars. This document was signed at the coronation ceremony and all of the chiefs pledged themselves to adhere to it 11.
As Muslims, the Foula made no distinction between religious and secular aspects of the society. The almamy, therefore, was regarded as ruler over the entire community, which rested on Koranic law, of which he was guardian and court of last resort.
He was head of the administration and commander of the army.
Karamoko Alfa began laying the foundation for the development of a strong centralized administrative system by first solidifying his personal position. Appealing to the provincial chiefs on the basis of his wealth, his position as the most respected cleric, and his reputation as a military leader during the jihad. Karamoko Alfa secured a declaration from the provincial chiefs around 1790 (?) proclaiming the kingship hereditary with him as the first in succession 12.
Those members of the family who were appointed as provincial chiefs also served as the almamy's principal advisers. The main advisory body, however, was the grand
council which consisted of representatives selected from the provincial councils and presided over by the chief of Fougoumba. This council was also responsible for deciding whether an almamy should be relieved of his duties. He could be relieved only when the council determined that he was physically or mentally incapable of governing, or when he failed to rule in accordance with the constitution or the Koran. The Fougoumba chief was charged with informing 13 the almamy of the council's decision.
The council also had the responsibility for establishing a tribunal in Timbo with authority over state justice. This assured that Koranic law was applied throughout the kingdom. In such important matters as holy wars, the council shared its responsibilities with an assembly of free men called by the almamy to meet at Fougoumba to make the final decision 14. A holy war, therefore, represented the consensus of the whole community.
From the grand council the almamy chose his several ministers. He appointed a grand minister to supervise external affairs. It was this minister who negotiated treaties with Europeans. A karamoko was appointed as judicial minister responsible for Islamic and customary law. He headed the tribunal in Timbo and had a staff to maintain contact with tribunals throughout the kingdom. The almamy also chose a military minister whose responsibility was to provide information on all military matters, to coordinate the provincial armies in time of war, and to assist in training the almamy's personal guard 15.
This bureaucratic system also included important officials who were not members of the grand council. These were the administrators whom the almamy assigned to each of the provinces. Their duties included the supervision of tax collection, mediation of disputes between the almamy and provincial chief, coordination of provincial armies with the military minister, and the supervision of land rights.
The provincial administrator, therefore, was one of the most vital links in the administrative system of Fouta-Diallon. In addition to serving as the eyes and ears of the almamy, he worked closely with the military minister 16, judicial minister, and the provincial chief.
The almamy made central authority felt throughout the kingdom also through the collection of taxes. His income derived primarily from two sources. First, the provincial chiefs gave an annual gift of produce—mutton, beef, grain, clothes, and metals. The second and more reliable source of income came from the harvests of the captive (slave) villages (mostly Sousou and Malinké), which were under the direction of an official appointed by the almamy or the provincial chief. Between ten and twenty per cent of these harvests was received annually by the almamy. Other sources of income included taxes on merchant caravans passing through Fouta-Diallon, and taxes levied on business and commercial transactions. These latter sources became increasingly important with the aggressive European commercial penetration into the interior during the last quarter of the nineteenth century 17.
As military commander Karamoko Alfa assumed the responsibility for organizing a central army, and appointed his nephew, Sori Mawɗo, as second in command. This army was composed of units organized and equipped by each of the provincial chiefs. When mobilized it numbered about 12,000 men, including slaves, vagabonds, and criminals whom the provincial chiefs did not want in their personal guards. The central army, therefore, was not normally well trained or disciplined. Thus, the most effective fighting unit available to the kingdom was the almamy's personal guard, which comprised men selected by the supreme commander and trained at Timbo 18.
The almamy could also rely on the personal troops, which the provincial chiefs maintained for internal security. These were the best troops available to the provincial chiefs, who retained command even when fighting under the almamy. Except when a holy war was declared, the supreme commander could normally rely only on those troops from provinces threatened by an attack. This inability of the almamy to count on full mobilization whenever needed was a serious disadvantage because he never knew in advance how many troops he could commit in battle. Nor could he know how well trained and armed the troops would be.
Moreover, the maintenance of troops by the provincial chiefs represented a potential force which could challenge the almamy's power. In the case of the original chiefs, however, each honored his oath of allegiance to the supreme chief 19.
In spite of the disadvantages, the military system of Fouta-Diallon not only contributed to the solidification of a centralized authority, it also helped to develop a sense of patriotism by making all male inhabitants subject to military duty under the almamy. Men not eligible for military service, as well as women and children, made their contribution in kind for the support of the militia. Each province also recognized that in case of an outside threat, it could rely on the assistance of the supreme commander 20.
There were several other advantages to this system. The central authority by having military units available in, and at the expense of, the provinces was relieved from maintaining a huge military budget. Military operations could be undertaken at various points in the kingdom in a minimum amount of time. These factors provided for the kind of security and loyalty vital to the establishment and maintenance of the Kingdom of Fouta-Diallon.
While Karamoko Alfa did not fully develop this elaborate administrative system, he did lay much of the foundation for it. He introduced the custom of hereditary kingship, began the practice of employing provincial chiefs as advisers, inaugurated the first grand council, supervised military organization, and allegedly wrote the constitution. He was in fact a "founding father" and when he died his subjects grieved for several days 21.
There is a difference of opinion on the date of Karamoko Alfa's death 22. There is also a divergence of opinion on the conditions under which Ibrahima Sori succeeded Karamoko Alfa as the second almamy. According to Houis, because Karamoko Alfa's son, Saliou, was a minor the electoral council agreed that Ibrahima Sori, the trusted military adviser and nephew of the deceased almamy, would succeed to the throne as regent 23.
Saint Père's account states that Karamoko Alfa was suspicious of Sori, who was older and more popular than the almamy's sons. About 1790, therefore, Karamoko Alfa persuaded the provincial chiefs to recognize that his heirs and those of Sori would rule alternately every two years 24. If this account is true, it is possible that the almamy regarded the alternate succession rule as a means not only to assure the throne for his heirs, but also to guarantee a smooth succession of power in the future.
The study by Guébhard explains that Karamoko Alfa's only two sons died before their father. Ibrahima Sori, therefore, was the only surviving heir 25.
Oral accounts do not resolve the controversy, but they do reveal that Saliou succeeded Sori. This would refute the account by Guébhard. Beyond this, the several accounts, oral and written, do agree that Ibrahima Sori succeeded Karamoko Alfa. This was a crucial period in the history of Fouta-Diallon because the kingdom was in the formative stage of its social, economic, and political developments.
The new almamy followed the practice of his predecessor by replacing all provincial chiefs and central officials with friends and members of his family. While this change was intended to assure loyalty to the almamy, it had the disadvantage of placing in office chiefs who lacked experience and the popular appeal which the first officials had established. In addition to this, several of Sori's provincial chiefs allegedly failed to report taxes, and hoarded supplies for themselves and their families. These factors seriously frustrated the attempts of Almamy Sori to establish a just and popular regime 26.
Ibrahima Sori was more successful in military campaigns, and it was he who built a great army on the foundation laid by his predecessor. He organized an army and attacked the non-Muslims of Wassoulou in Upper Guinea. This kingdom was governed by Kondé Birama who was fighting in the Sudan. Upon his return, Kondé found that his kingdom had been pillaged by the Foula almamy. Around 1806 Kondé sought revenge by launching an attack against Fouta-Diallon and burning Timbo. It was this fire which allegedly destroyed the Foula constitution 27.
The almamy, having been surprised by the attack, appealed to his provincial chiefs to dispatch troops to Fougoumba. Within a short time these troops were available to the almamy who surrounded Kondé, attacked him on all sides, and finally defeated him. This victory greatly increased Ibrahima Sori's popularity in Fouta-Diallon. The Foula henceforth called him "Sori the Great." 28
When Sori the Great died around 1810, Alfa Saliou was old enough to become almamy but he was challenged by Sori's son, Sadou. Because of the popularity of Sori the Great and the likelihood that his son would muster a strong army, Saliou agreed to allow him to become almamy provided the throne would revert to the Alfa dynasty after a two-year period. Sadou accepted the proposition but failed to step down after two years. Consequently, Saliou recruited an army and avenged the attack of Kondé by invading and defeating Wassoulou. He then returned to Fouta-Diallon and demanded the throne from Sadou. The latter's refusal resulted in his defeat and the assumption of the kingship by Saliou 29.
From the time of Sori the Great the electoral council attempted to alternate the selection of almamy between the Alfa and Sori dynasties. If Karamoko Alfa and lbrahima Sori agreed on a two-year alternate succession rule in the 1790's, as Saint-Père has stated, it does not seem to have had the full support of the two dynasties and the electoral council. It was probably only a tacit agreement among provincial chiefs. The period from the 1790's to about 1840 therefore, was a time of unrest and wars of succession and constituted a threat to the influence of the electoral council whose candidates, were ignored by both of the dynastic houses. The council, therefore, held a series of conferences with both Alfa and Sori leaders and finally arranged a compromise agreement around 1840. This accord provided that the title and power of almamy would pass alternately every two years from one ruling house to the other. As long as a chief maintained his position as head of his lineage, he remained eligible for election as almamy. This agreement was sanctioned by both Alfa and Sori chiefs and the electoral council, and became a basic means of checking and balancing the competing dynastic families by clearly limiting the term of office. Under it the Alfa and Sori lineages continued to govern Fouta-Diallon until the establishment of French colonial authority 30.
Under this succession agreement one of Fouta-Diallon's most respected leaders, Omarou, became almamy. He was born around 1814, and during much of the civil strife of the 1820's and 1830's he lived in refuge with cousins in Fouta-Bhundu. Around 1835 he returned to Fouta-Diallon where, because of his strong physical appearance, the reputation of his uncle (Sori the Great), and his military prowess, he attracted many young men to his support 31.
Omarou allegedly killed one of the sons of Almamy Boubakar in the late 1830's. When he refused to appear before the tribunal as ordered by the almamy, he was sentenced to death. Only the grand council, which feared renewed civil war, was able to prevent the almamy from ordering troops to arrest Omarou 32.
In the meantime, Omarou launched an attack on Timbo. After several days of fighting, his mother, Kadiatu, interceded and arranged for the withdrawal of her son's troops in exchange for Boubakar's promise that Omarou would become the next sovereign. A few months later, however, Omarou learned that the almamy had died but that the death had been kept secret. He capitalized on the situation by recognizing Ibrahima Sori Daara, Boubakar's son, as the sovereign for the next two years.
This action cannot be explained satisfactorily, though there are at least two possible explanations. Omarou may have wanted to avoid another civil war, and he probably hoped to solidify overwhelming support for his future reign. In any case, when Ibrahima decided not to relinquish his sovereignty after the two-year period, Omarou seized and kept it for about twelve years 33.
There are several reasons why he could rule so long in violation of the recently concluded alternate succession agreement. First, he was very popular, even before he assumed the kingship. Second, he brought a measure of law and order to the kingdom. Third, he was successful as a military commander who spread Islam to surrounding areas. Fourth, Omarou took a personal interest in the material welfare of his subjects. It was he, according to legend, who encouraged the cultivation of cotton by convincing his wives and other women to spin thread which could be woven into cloth 34.
A revolt in 1856 against his rule forced Omarou to relinquish control, but he returned in 1858 under the terms of the alternate succession accord which he recognized until his death in 1866. After that, Fouta-Diallon again became the scene of wars of succession until a measure of stability was established in the 1880's 35.
The last quarter of the nineteenth century witnessed a new development which contributed to the divisive forces in Fouta-Diallon. This new factor was the vigorous penetration of the hinterland by European colonists. However, in order to obtain a clearer understanding of political and administrative developments in the Kingdon of Fouta-Diallon prior to the establishment of colonial rule, it is necessary to examine the administrative and political structure at the provincial level.
The Kingdom of Fouta-Diallon was divided into nine provinces:
Although all of the provinces possessed local autonomy and were not uniform in all of their political and administrative developments, all provinces were divided into districts, had the same general administrative structure, and enjoyed the same general political, social, and religious relationship to the central authority. All of the provinces had councils wbich were composed of the several district chiefs appointed by the provincial chief. In each case the provincial council's main responsibility was to advise the provincial chief on local matters. It was also authorized to select from its membership representatives to serve on the grand council at Fougoumba 36. Because of this general structural uniformity in the provinces, therefore, an investigation of one province should be helpful in revealing the nature of some of the provincial problems and their impact on relations between the province and the kingdom.
Labé Province has been chosen for examination because it occupies a special place in the history of Fouta-Diallon, and many of its records have been preserved. The special significance of Labé has derived from its position as a major crossroad in early Foula migrations, because of its density and homogeneity of population, and because of the reputation of its warriors, of its impressive mosque, numerous koranic schools, and of its honored karamokos and marabouts. Labé also played a strategic role in Foula resistance to French colonialism. An investigation of Labé Province, therefore, sheds significant light on provincial developments.
Sheik Aldiouma Mawɗo of the Diallo lineage was one of the early proselytizers of Islam in Fouta-Diallon. Of his four sons one was Kalidou who became head of the Kalidouyanké clan, one of the most influential of Mawɗo's lineage. According, to one legend, Kalidou's ancestors came from Fez and settled in the Labé region during the seventeenth century. Another legend holds that hewas a Malinké slave who bought by a Foula family in Fouta-Diallon. At some point he became converted to Islam and began proselytizing in Fouta. Muslim fugitives from neighboring areas joined him and helped develop a vigorous Islamic movement in the early part of the eighteenth century 37.
During the eighteenth century jihad, the Kalidouyanké clan conquered most of the Diallonké people and was delegated command of the Labé region by Karamoko Alfa. Alfa Mamadou Cellou, who had directed a Koranic school, became Labé's first Muslim chief in the late 1750's. He was a pious chief and left a reputation of establishing law and order in the province 38.
Chief Cellou had two sons, Mamadou Dian and Modi Soulayman. In the 1780's Karamoko Alfa confirmed Dian as chief of Labé to succeed his deceased father. Dian thus supported the Alfa dynasty, while his brother supported the Sori dynasty. Both, therefore, were regarded as heads of these respective ruling houses in Labé and continued to rule in accordance with the custom of hereditary succession which developed at the central level 39.
The main preoccupation of the Labé chiefs in the eighteenth century and early part of the nineteenth was the same as that of the other provincial chiefs—military campaigns against non-Muslims. Mamadou Dian distinguished himself as a leader of such campaigns. Very little is known about Dian and subsequent Labé chiefs before the 18801s, with the exception of Alfa Yaya Mawɗo, who became chief of the province around 1850. According to legend, he led approximately 5,000 Foula against an estimated 27,000 Malinké in a religious war. About 7,000 of the Malinké allegedly were cavalry, but in spite of the overwhelming odds, Alfa Yaya Mawɗo was victorious. His army, however, was decimated by a small pox epidemic. Only about 1,200 men, including the Labé chief, returned to Labé 40.
Increasingly, as the nineteenth century progressed, Labé military campaigns were launched against the non-Muslins on the Atlantic coast, especially along the Rio Nunez river and in Portuguese Guinea. The motive, however, was not entirely religious. Political and military control over those coastal people assured taxes and tribute from them as well as control over European planters and merchants 41.
It is noteworthy that the Labé chiefs who caused the almamy the most trouble were the ones who succeeded in establishing at least a minimum of military and political control along the coast. This region, therefore, became a source of serious irritation between Labé chiefs and the almamy and resulted in conflicts with the European merchants whose trade and businesses were periodically harassed by the Foula of Labé.
The Labé military commanders most revered by the Foula are Alfa Mamadou Cellou, Mamadou Dian, Alfa Yaya Mawɗo, Alfa Ibrahima, and Alfa Yaya. With the exception of Alfa Mamadou Cellou, who remained loyal to Karamoko Alfa, the Labé chiefs were continuously involved in disputes over the limits of their authority with the almamy 42.
Partly because he was a recent chief and partly because he became a symbol of resistance to French colonialism, Alfa Yaya is much better known and more records are available about him than any other Labé chief. In fact, he is more widely known than any other chief of the kingdom, including almamys 43.
Alfa Yaya was born around 1850 to Alfa Ibrahima. Although he received only a minimum education in the Koranic school (several Foula remember that he could not write his name), he participated in several military campaigns with his father . This taught him the tactics, strategy, and leadership that made him a successful military commander 44.
As chief of Labé Alfa Yaya had an advisory council of sixty nobles wo had demonstrated their loyalty, military prowess, and religious conviction. Although he made the final decisions, Alfa Yaya consulted his advisers on important matters 45.
The Labé chief also had a well-organized personal army, which included eighty commanders responsible for 1,000 riflemen and 1,000 sabermen. Several hundred horses were normally available for use as cavalry, which was well-disciplined and instilled with a keen sense of loyalty to their chief and to Islam. Foula legend recalls that Alfa Yaya's troops were always armed, even at prayers. The Labé chief allegedly considered the saber the mark of a gentleman as well as an instrument for maintaining law and order and expanding the area of Muslim control 46.
The provincial commander of this army was the chief's son, Modi Aguibou. From these troops the most courageous and faithful were chosen for Alfa Yayals personal guard, which was housed near him, and always readily available to him. The Labé chief personally trained and commanded these troops 47.
With these military units at his disposal, Alfa Yaya succeeded not only in preserving order and protecting his borders, he also increased the amount of territory under his control. Thus Foula legends portray him as their greatest military commander. How his military prowess and widespread popularity resulted in serious disputes with the almamy and later precipitated a grave dispute with the French is treated in Chapter VI.
The Kingdom of Fouta-Diallon was established on the initiative and action of the Muslim Foula, who did not distinguish between the religious and secular aspects of Fouta society. Islam not only gave religious sanction for the Foula conquest and rule, but also provided a common bond for all of the inhabitants.
As head of the administration and commander of the army, guardian of the law and court of last resort, the almamy was virtually supreme. Moreover, the political system provided for a combination of hereditary and appointed offices. The former assured continuity of rule and status by the Foula; the latter assured loyalty to the supreme chief. This same system prevailed in the provinces and had the same effects at that level.
On balance, however, there were some political checks and limitations on the almamy's authority. First of all, his election resulted from political competition and compromise In the dynastic family and the final decision rested with the electoral council. In office, the almamy customarily consulted the grand council as the provincial chiefs consulted the provincial councils. The almamy was obligated to call an assembly of all free men to meet with the grand council to decide on holy wars. The judicial minister and the court in Timbo were empowered to interpret the constitution and the Koran, and when the almamy disregarded either of these documents he risked being removed from office by the grand council. Moreover, the fact that there was no large standing army meant that the almamy had to consider the interests of the provincial governments and chiefs. These several factors, therefore, were restraints on the power of the almamy and the central government.
Notes
1. Hopewell, "Muslim Penetration into French Guinea," p. 3; and Arcin, La Guinée Française, p. 510.
2. Karamoko is a borrowing from Maninka language. It means learned person; litteraly, karan=read, moko=person. Its Pular equivalent is gando, or jannoowo.
3. The nine karamokos were:
4. Personal interviews support Paul Guébhard L'Histoire du Fouta-Diallon et des Almamys (Paris: 1909), pp. 8-9, and Alphonse Gouilly, L'Islam dans l'Afrique Occidentale Francaise (Paris: 1952). p. 67.
5. The election of Karamoko Alfa may also have been due to his Arabic ancestry. See Guébhard, L'Histoire du Fouta-Diallon, p. 11.
Two titles widely used in Fouta-Diallon are Alfa and Tierno. Usually Alfa indicates that a Muslim has completed the st udy of the science of Islam, and Tierno signifies that a Muslim has studied the Koran in Arabic and Foula, one study level below the science of Islam. (Discussed in Chapter IV). Both titles have lost some of their significance because parents frequently named their sons after Alfa and Tierno. But according to oral and written accounts, Alfa Ibrahima was an Islamic scholar.
6. Personal Interviews support Paul Marty, L'Islam en Guinée (Paris: 1921), p. 14.
7. Personal interviews support the accounts presented in Aperçu Général, p. 4; Hecquard. Voyage sur la Côte, p. 263; and Saint-Père, Crération du Royaume du Fouta-Diallon. (Paris: 1929), p. 519.
8. Ibid. pp. 516, 517, and personal interviews.
9. Personal interviews and Saint-Père, Création du Royaume, pp. 516-517; P. Marty, L'Islam en Guinée, p. 12. This assertion is both wrong and contradicts note 3 above. The provincial rulers were co-founders of the Islamic kingdom. They were probably only confirmed by the new Almamy, who was a primus inter pares, chosen among the group of nine peers. (T.S. Bah)
10. Loc. cit.
11. Free citizens is an indirect reference to the captive population as well as the caste groups, who were barred from participating in such gatherings. (T.S. Bah)
12. Saint Père, Création du Royaume, p. 501; Hecquard, Voyage sur la Côte, pp. 260-261; and personal interviews.
13. Apercu Général, p. 4; Hecquard, Voyage sur la Côte, p. 263; Saint Père, Création du Royaume, p. 519; and supported by numerous personal interviews.
14. Saint Père, Création du lloyaune, pp. 511-515.
15. Hecquard, Voyage sur la Côte, pp. 314-315, and personal interviews.
16. Saint Père, Création du Royaume, p. 518, and personal interviews.
17. Hecquard, Voyage sur la Côte, pp. 314-317
18. Marty, L'Islam en Guinée, p. 19; Guébhard, L'Histoire du Fouta Djallon, pp. 81-82; and personal interviews.
19. Marty, L'Islam en Guinée, p. 19; Hecquard, Voyage sur la Côte, p. 318; and personal interviews.
20. Guébhard, L'Histoire du Fouta-Diallon, pp..90-93; and Saint Père, Création du Royaume, pp. 501, 519.
21. Guébhard, L'Histoire du Fouta-Diallon, pp. 89-95; Saint Père, Création du Royaume, pp. 501, 5191 and personal interviews.
22. Personal interviews.
23. Saint Père, Création du Royaume, p. 534, and personal interviews.
24. Guébhard, L'Histoire du Fouta-Diallon, p. 920, and Saint Père, Création du Royaume, p. 521 agree on 1790. Cornevin, Histoire des Peuples, p. 370, Houis, La Guinée Francaise, p. 28, and Trimingham, A History of Islam in West Africa, (Oxford: 1962), p. 167 accept 1751; Marty, L'Islam en Guinée, p. 6 uses the period 1780-1790.
25. Houis, La Guinée Française, p. 23.
26. Saint Père, Création du Royaume, pp. 524-528,
27. Guébhard, L'Histoire du Fouta-Diallon, pp. 19-20.
28. Personal interviews and Saint Père, Création du Royaume, p. 530.
29. Ibid., pp. 538-539; Houis, La Guinée Française, p. 23; and supported by personal interviews.
30. Personal interviews and Saint Père, Création du Royaume, pp. 541-546.
31 Ibid., pp. 548-550, and personal interviews.
32. Personal interviews support Marty, L'Islam en Guinée, pp. 9, 13.
33. Hecquard, Voyage sur la Côte, pp. 308-309; and Houis, La Guinée Française, p. 29.
34. Hecquard, Voyage sur la Côte, p. 309; and Houis, La Guinée Française, p. 30.
35. Petit Historique; Houis, La Guinée Française, p. 30; Hecquard, Voyage sur la Côte, pp. 309-311; and personal interviews.
36. Petit Historique and Hecquard, Voyage sur la Côte. p. 315.
37. Personal interviews.
38. Numerous interviews support Aperçu Général, p. 1, and Hecquard, Voyage sur la Côte, pp. 314-315.
39. Aperçu Général, pp. 3, 4; Marty, L'Islam an Guinée, pp. 36-37; and personal interviews. . 38. Personal interviews.
40. Personal interviews and Apercu Général., p. 5.
41. Aperçu Général. pp. 4-5.
42. Discussed in Chapter V.
43. Aperçu Général, pp. 4-5
44. Based on numerous personal observations and interviews.
45. Personal interviews.
46. Aperçu Général, p. 7.
47. Personal interviews support Apercu General, p. 7.
48. Aperçu Général. p. 7, 8.
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