The Joof family is one of the old Senegambian royal families of Serer ethnicity.
The surname Joof, also spelt Juuf or Juf (in Serer and Cangin), Joof (English spelling in the Gambia) or Diouf (French spelling in Senegal and Mauritania), is a surname that is typically Serer. Though there are multiple spellings for this surname, they all refer to the same people. The differences in spelling came about because Senegal and Mauritania were colonized by France, while the Gambia was colonized by the United Kingdom. Although spelt differently, they are pronounced the same way.
The totem and symbol of the Joof family is the antelope and gazelle, the symbol of grace, royalty, wisdom, hard work and protection in Serer mythology. The name of their clan is Njuufeen (in Serer).Other spelling: Njufeen or NjoofeneFaye, Louis Diène. Mort et naissance Nouvelles Éditions africaines, 1983, p. 74.Gastellu, Jean-Marc (M. Sambe - 1937). L'égalitarisme économique des Serer du Sénégal. IRD Editions, 1981, p. 130. The Joof family of Guelowar matrilineage also have another totem called Mbossé (a form of lizard, as in the Mbosseh festivalNiang, Mor Sadio, [in] Ethiopiques numéro 31 - révue socialiste de culture négro-africaine 3e trimestre, IFAN, (1982)). They are the only ones permitted by custom and the rules governing totemic prohibitions to make libations to this reptile (not be confused with the primordial tree in Serer cosmogony)Diop, Cheikh Anta, The Cultural Unity of Black Africa: The Domains of Patriarchy and of Matriarchy in Classical Antiquity. Third World Press, 1978, p. 190, Members of the Joof family from other Serer maternal clans also have their own maternal totems (see that article).
Members of this family had ruled over many of the pre-colonial kingdoms of Senegambia, including the Kingdom of Sine, the Kingdom of Saloum and the Kingdom of Baol. The royal princesses (Lingeers) from the Joof family were also given in marriage to the pre-colonial kings and princes of Senegambia. Some of these included the kings of Jolof, kings of Waalo, kings of Cayor and Baol (after 1549 following the Battle of Danki). From these marriages, they provided many heirs to the thrones of these kingdoms.Sarr, Alioune, "Histoire du Sine-Saloum (Sénégal). Introduction, bibliographie et notes par Charles Becker". Version légèrement remaniée par rapport à celle parue en 1986-87Ndiaye Leyti, Oumar, Le Djoloff et ses Bourba, Dakar: Nouvelles Editions africaines, 1981, 110 pp. Although usually associated with Serer royalty, the Joof family also figure prominently in Serer religious affairs.
History of the Joof family The Lamanic era
The Wagadou period
The Joof family is one of the old families of Senegambia. Serer oral tradition speaks of a noble called Lamane Jegan Joof, owner of a large herd of livestock and estate who was also a farmer. He migrated from Lambaye following an argument with his relative, the king of Lambaye. The dispute concerned the governance of Lambaye and over-taxation of his herd which he considered unjust. As such, he decided to head south and founded Tukar with his younger brother Ndik Joof. The tradition then went on to say that, he had a son called Sosseh Joof (Socé Diouf) who was the heir of Tukar.Galvan, Dennis Charles, The State Must Be Our Master of Fire (2004), pp. 2-281. Some scholars have proposed that, Tukar (and many of its surrounding villages such as Njujuf, Sob, etc., which were founded by Lamane Jegan Joof making them part of his estate and colony) now a rather large village in present-day Senegal, is an ancient village and well before the Guelowar period (1335Sarr, Alioune, Histoire du Sine-Saloum (Sénégal) Introduction, bibliographie et notes par Charles Becker. 1986-87, p 19) and placed the foundation of these villages in the 11th century, if not earlier.Galvan, The State Must Be Our Master of Fire (2004), p. 80.Bressers & Rosenbaum, Achieving Sustainable Development (2003), p. 151. The Joof family had ruled Tukar for many centuries, inherited from their ancestor Lamane Jegan Joof through the Serer Lamanic custom, a rather strict custom of Serer land law and inheritance. In 2004, Lamane Njaga Dibor Ndoffene Joof (Lamane Diaga Dibor Ndofene Diouf) was the last lamane of Tukar.Galvan, The State Must Be Our Master of Fire (2004), pp. 109-111.
In the early history of the Ghana Empire to its end, the royal princesses of the Empire married into the Serer aristocratic families, some of these included Joof family. These royal princesses belonged to the maternal clan Wagadou (Bagadou in Serer language). With the Joof paternal clan, they ruled the Kingdom of Baol and provided many kings from the patrilineage Joof (the Joof paternal dynasty of Baol). Some of these kings include Boureh Joof (Bouré Diouf), Guidiane Joof (Guidiane Diouf), Ma Joof, Jinak Dialane [probably Gnilane] Joof, Maguinak Joof, etc. These kings preceded the Guelowar period by at least two or three centuries and long before the Fall paternal dynasty of Baol and Cayor who inherited the throne around 1549 after the Battle of Danki. The general consensus is that, after the demise of the Joof paternal and Wagadou maternal dynasties of Baol with other Serer paternal dynasties who jointly ruled Baol, the Fall paternal dynasty succeeded them, hence the first Damels and Teignes (titles of the kings of Cayor and Baol, respectively) from the Fall patrilineage were of Wagadou maternal descent. They simply married into the old royal family and succeeded to the throne.Phillips, Lucie Colvin, Historical Dictionary of Senegal, Scarecrow Press, 1981, pp. 52-71. Institut fondamental d'Afrique noire. Bulletin de l'Institut fondamental d'Afrique noire, Volume 38. IFAN, 1976, pp 557-504.
The 11th-century legendary figure Amar Godomat or Ama Gôdô Maat, né. Ama Kodu Joof, is a member of this family. Ama is also known as Xamakodu Fa Maak (meaning Hamacodou The Elder, in Serer).Comité national pour la célébration du 90e anniversaire du Président Léopold Sédar Senghor, Le Colloque senghorien de Dakar. Presses universitaires de Dakar (1998), p. 216
The Guelowar period
The Guelowar period starts from 1350 during the reign of the first Guelowar king of Sine - Maad a Sinig Maysa WaliSarr, "Histoire du Sine-Saloum (Sénégal)", loc.cit., p. 21.Thilmans, Guy; Descamps, Cyr & , Senegalia: études sur le patrimoine ouest-africain: hommage à Guy Thilmans, Sépia, 2006, pp. 220-21. and ends in 1969 after the death of the last king of Sine and Saloum (Maad a Sinig Mahecor Joof and Maad Saloum Fode N'Gouye Joof respectively).Klein, Martin A. Islam and Imperialism in Senegal Sine-Saloum, 1847-1914, Edinburgh University Press (1968). p. XV.Sheridan, Michael J., & Nyamweru|, Celia, African Sacred Groves, James Currey, 2008, p. 141.
Maysa Wali and his family (the maternal clan Guelowar) fled Kaabu in 1335 following a dynastic struggle. They were defeated by the Ñaanco maternal dynasty of Kaabu (their extended relatives) and were granted asylum in the Kingdom of Sine by a Serer noble Council called The Great Council of Lamanes. Having served as legal advisor to this noble Council for 15 years, Maysa Wali managed to win the confidence and trust of the council and the common people. He was nominated and elected by the council and the people as king of Sine. He was the first Guelowar king of Sine. He gave his sisters in marriage to the Serer nobility which sealed the union between Serer and Guelowar.Ngom, Biram (Babacar Sédikh Diouf), La question Gelwaar et l’histoire du Siin, Université de Dakar, Dakar, 1987, p. 69. It was the offspring of these marriages between the old Serer paternal noble clans and the Guelowar maternal clan of Kaabu that ruled the kingdom of Sine and later Saloum. In this Guelowar period, the Joof family (one of the oldest Serer paternal noble clans) provided many kings in the Kingdoms of Sine and Saloum (the Joof paternal dynasty of Sine and Saloum). The Joof family also founded three royal houses as follows (in the order of foundation):La famille Juuf [in] « L'épopée de Sanmoon Fay », [in] Éthiopiques (revue), no. 54, vol. 7, 2e semestre 1991 Diouf, Niokhobaye, Chronique du royaume du Sine, pp. 712-13.
The Royal House of Boureh Gnilane Joof (Serer: Mbind Bure Nilaan,Buschinger, Danielle (ed & trans: Kloos, Jan Willem), Van den vos Reynaerde: mittelniederländisch - neuhochdeutsch, Presses du Centre d'Etudes médiévales Université de Picardie (1992), p. 59, other: Keur Bouré Gnilane) The Royal House of Jogo Siga Joof (Serer: Mbind Jogo Siga, other: Keur Diogo Siga) The Royal House of Semou Njekeh Joof (Serer: Mbind Sem-Jike, other: Keur Semou Djiké or Keur Semou Ndiké)
They all trace their descent to Maad Ndaah Njemeh Joof (also known as Bour Ndaah Ndiémé Diouf or Ndaah Njeeme Juuf) - the king of Laah (or Laa) in Baol, around the 13th century. Maad Ndaah Njemeh Joof was the father of Maad Niokhobai Joof (also king of Laa) who was the father of the Great
Maad Xole Joof (né: Xole Njuug Juuf (King of PaataarPaataar or Patar is an ancestral home of several members of the ruling Joof family of Sine. They ruled that province for centuries, and even during the Guelowar era, members of this family who sat on the throne of Sine came from Paataar.)Variations: Maad Patar Kolleh Joof, Bour/Buur Patar Kholleh Joof, Patar Kholé Diouf or Bour Patar Kholleh Diouf) - the conqueror of Baol as Teigne, was the first of the Joof family to marry a Guelowar (Maad a Sinig Maysa Wali's niece). From that marriage, he had Maad a Sinig Niokhobai Mane Nyan Joof (French: Niokhobaye Mane Niane Diouf) and Maad a Sinig Gejopal Mane Nyan Joof (French: Guédiopal Niane Mane Diouf), who were the first kings of Sine during the Guelowar period from the patrilineage Joof. Their brother Jaraff Boureh Gnilane Joof (French: Diaraf Bouré Gnilane Diouf) was not a king of Sine, but a Jaraff (equivalent of Prime Minister), who gave his name to the first Royal House of the Joof Dynasty (in the Guelowar period) and it is from that "The Royal House of Boureh Gnilane Joof" derived from, which provided several kings in Sine and Saloum. The Joof Dynasty that succeeded to the throne of Saloum came from Sine.Diouf, Chronique du royaume du Sine, pp. 712-33.
Historic battles involving this family This table lists some of the historic battles of Senegambia involving the kings or princes belonging to this family: