The Joos Maternal Dynasty (Serer: Joos Fadiou/Fadioudj, other variations: Dioss Fahou/Fadiou,Bulletin. Serie B: Sciences humaines / Institut fondamental d'Afrique noire, Volume 41. p 234, (1979) Dyoss,Institut français d'Afrique noire, Bulletin de l'Institut français d'Afrique noire: Sciences humaines, Volume 17. IFAN, (1955), p 317 Dieuss, Dihosou, Diouss,Monteil, p 36,Bulletin. Serie B: Sciences humaines / Institut fondamental d'Afrique noire, Volume 41. p 225 (1979) DyoosBarry, Boubacar, "Le Royaume du Waalo: le Sénégal avant la conquête", KARTHALA Editions (1985), p 73, or DjeusBrigaud, Félix, "Histoire du Sénégal: Des origines aux traités de protectorat", Clair-afrique (1964), p 16 ) was a Serer maternal dynasty which originated from the Serer pre-colonial Kingdom of Sine in the 14th century and spread to the Wolof Kingdom of Waalo.The reign of Caaka Mbaar (var. Tyaaka Mbar) [in] Barry (1985), p 328 . See page 327 for the most probable date of his son – Yerim Mbanyik Ndoye Demba's reign (var. Yérim Mbanyik Ndoy Demba) (Retrieved 21 July 2012) The matriarch or founder of this maternal dynasty was Lingeer Fatim Beye, a princess and queen originally from the Kingdom of Sine.Bulletin de l'Institut fondamental d'Afrique noire: Sciences humaines, Volume 41 (1979), p 225 In Waalo, it was founded by the princess Lingeer Ndoye Demba of Sine. Lingeer Ndoye Demba was the maternal granddaughter of Lingeer Fatim Beye. They both came from the Serer ethnic group. The pre-colonial Kingdoms of Sine and Waalo now forming a part of modern-day Senegal maintained good relations with other pre-colonial kingdoms.
From c. 1367, this maternal dynasty provided many kings of Waalo who rule by the royal title "Brak". The Braks were the successors of the Lamanes in Waalo,Boulègue, Jean, "Le Grand Jolof", (XVIIIe – XVIe Siècle). (Paris, Edition Façades), Karthala (1987), p 30 Dyao, Yoro, "Légendes et coutumes sénégalaises", Cahiers de Yoro Dyao: publiés et commentés par Henri Gaden. (E. Leroux, 1912) and ruled the country from the 14th century to 1855, the year Waalo fell to the French which resulted to the abolition of the monarchy.
Origins
The origins of the Joos as a matriclan is uncertain. What is known is that, it is just one of the many Serer matriclans which were in existence at the time of the Lamanes.BIFAN (1955), pp 313–326 The Lamanes were the old Serer kings. The exact period within the Serer calendar that this matriclan first acquired notoriety in Serer country is a matter of conjecture. Other than being in existence at the time of the Lamanes little is known about which part of the Lamanic period it first gained prominence. According to some sources, it was prominent by the first half of the 14th century. This corresponds to the collapse of the Lamanic Era (see also Lamane Jegan Joof, the Joof family and Guelowar).Diouf, "Chronique du Royaume du Sine", p 705 (p 3)Sarr, Alioune, Histoire du Sine-Saloum (Sénégal). Introduction, bibliographie et notes par Charles Becker. Version légèrement remaniée par rapport à celle qui est parue en 1986-87. p 19 The name of their clan (Joos Fadiou) means the Joos of Fadiou (Fadiouth).
History
The Joos Maternal Dynasty was one of the Serer and Senegalese dysnasties in pre-colonial Senegal. The princess Lingeer Ndoye Demba (founder of this dynasty in Waalo) descended from the maternal line of Lingeer Fatim Beye,Many variations: Fatimata Beye (see BIFAN, 1979, pp 225, 233), Fatim/Fatimata Beye (see BIFAN, 1979, p 234), Fatime Bey (BIFAN, 1979, p 234), etc. The Serer surname Beye or Bèye, following its French spelling in Senegal is also a Serer matriclan. Fatim (proper: Fa tim) in Serer language means "the maternal clan of..." For more on Serer matrilineality, see Jean-Marc Gastellu « 'Petit traité de matrilinarité. L'accumulation dans deux sociétés rurales d'Afrique de l'Ouest', Cahiers ORSTOM, série Sciences Humaines (1985) » , in Jean-Marc Gastellu, "Matrilineages, Economic Groups and Differentiation in West Africa": A Note (O.R.S.TO.M) the matriarch of this dynasty, both originally from the Kingdom of Sine and members of the Serer ethnic group. Lingeer Fatim Beye is the maternal grandmother of Ndoye Demba and ancestor of all the Joos that came after her. In some sources, she is cited as the founder of the Joos Dynasty.BIFAN (1979), p 234Dyao, Yoro (1912)
Lingeer Fatim Beye who was a contemporary of Ndiadiane Ndiaye the possibly mythical founder of the Jolof Empire, is also reported to have been married to Maad a Sinig Maysa Wali Jaxateh Manneh (var: Manyeasa Wali Dione) at one point. Maysa Wali was the first member of the Guelowar Dynasty to rule in Sine or any of the Serer kingdoms after a severe defeat inflicted on his family (the Guelowars) by the Ñaancos. The Ñaancos were for several centuries until 1865 (the Battle of Kansala) the reigning and powerful maternal dynasty of Kaabu (in present-day Guinea-Bissau). They defeated the Guelowars at the Battle of Troubang, an alleged dynastic war between the royal houses of Guelowar and Ñaancos. In fact there was no "Battle of Troubang". In reporting this tradition, Henry Gravrand did not notice that this is actually a description of the 1867 (or 1865) Battle of Kansala although the departure of the Guelowar can probably be explained by a war or a conflict of succession.Sarr, Alioune, Histoire du Sine-Saloum (Sénégal) Introduction, bibliographie et notes par Charles Becker. 1986–87, p 19 Having escaped Kaabu, the country of their birth, they were granted asylum by the Serer nobility« Babacar Sédikh Diouf » in Ngom, Biram La question Gelwaar et l’histoire du Siin, Dakar, Université de Dakar (1987), p 69 to which Lingeer Fatim Beye's family were a member of. The marriages between the upper echelons of Serer and Guelowar society sealed the union between Serer-Guelowar. In 1350, Maysa Wali was nominated and elected Maad a Sinig (king of Sine) by the people of Sine, having served as legal advisor to the nobles that granted him and his family asylum. He ruled from 1350 to 1370.
The penetration of the Joos matriclan of Sine in the Wolof Kingdom of Waalo came via Lingeer Ndoye Demba. The Kingdom of Waalo was ruled by the Mbooj paternal familyVariations: Mbodj, Mboj, etc. who went by the royal title Brak (title for the kings of Waalo). As well as this patrilineal mode of succession, a Brak had to belong to one of the main three royal matriclans before being eligible to succeed to the throne. These three maternal clans were the reigning maternal dynasties of Waalo and included: the Joos Maternal Dynasty (of Serer origin), TedyekMany variations: Tédiek (see Brigaud) or Teedyekk (see Barry) (of Fula origin although other sources suggests a Mende origin« Amadou Wade, Chronique, commenté par Vincent Monteil, 1966 » [in] Sall, Ibrahima Abou, Mauritanie du Sud: conquêtes et administration coloniales françaises, 1890-1945, KARTHALA Editions (2007), p 49, note 20. : "Logar (mot qui serait d'origine berbére), Joos (mot qui serait d'origine seereer) et Teejëk (mot qui serait d'origine mannde)" Translation: Logar (a word of Berber origin [i.e. the Moors]), Joos (a word of Serer origin) and Teejëk (a word of Mande origine). (Retrieved 9 July 2012) ) and Loggar (of Moor origin). In Wolof, matriclans are called meen or mène, in Serer, they are called tim. Succession was patrilineal (kurcala in Serer, meaning paternal inheritanceBecker, Charles: "Vestiges historiques, trémoins matériels du passé clans les pays sereer", Dakar (1993), CNRS – ORS TO M. (Retrieved 9 July 2012) or simanGol meaning paternal lineageKalis, Simone, "Médecine traditionnelle religion et divination chez les Seereer Sine du Senegal", La connaissance de la nuit, L'Harmattan (1997), p 299, ) as well as matrilineal (ƭeen yaay or den yaayDupire, Marguerite, Sagesse sereer: Essais sur la pensée sereer ndut, KARTHALA Editions (1994) . For tim and den yaay (see p. 116). The book also deals in depth about the Serer matriclans and means of succession through the matrilineal line. See also pages 38, 95-99, 104, 119–20, 123, 160, 172–4 (Retrieved 9 July 2012) in Serer). Lingeer Ndoye Demba (princess of Sine) was given in marriage to the king of Waalo (Brak Caaka Mbooj) when he visited the Sine. The royal wedding took place in Sine, and after the marriage, the princess accompanied her husband to his country (Waalo). The Joos Maternal Dynasty although long established in Sine, and just one of the many Serer matriclans, it was the newest addition to the medieval maternal dynasties of Waalo. The other maternal dynasties of Waalo (Tedyek and Loggar) were already established. The mother of Brak Caaka Mbodj was a Loggar and his first wife (Lingeer Isa Tanor) a Tedyek. Isa Tanor descended from the maternal line of Guet May Beut (the matriarch of the Tedyeks). For the next six hundred years since its foundation to the dissolution of Waalo in 1855, royal princes from these three maternal dynasties engaged in dynastic civil wars in order to secure their succession to the throne. In the 18th century, the prince Mö Mbôdy Kumba Khedy Mbooj (later – Brak Mö Mbôdy Kumba Khedy Mbooj, reigned c. 1734 – 1735, according to Amadou WadeAccording to Amadou Wade, Mö Mbôdy Kumba Khedy reigned from 1734 to 1735 and was assassinated on the day of his coronation. see « Amadou Wade, "Chronique du Walo", in Barry (1985), p 312), who was then the head of the Joos Dynasty galvanised the support of his maternal clan and led a massacre of the other maternal dynasties of Waalo, particularly the Tedyeks, the biggest rivals to the Joos. Many prominent members of the Tedyek clan were killed by the Joos including the reigning king at the time Brak Yerim Ndateh Boubou (Tedyek),Variations: Brak Yêrim Ndatè Bubu; also for Talaata-i-Ndeer see BIFAN 1964: "Institut fondamental d'Afrique noire", Bulletin, Volumes 26-27, IFAN (1964); & Monteil, Esquisses sénégalaises) as well as his family. This historical event precipitated the Battle of Nder more commonly referred to as Talaata-i-Ndeer . The phrase "Talaata-i-Ndeer" (or Talaata i Ndeer / Nder) means "Tuesday of Ndeer", signifying the fact the event took place on a Tuesday at the then capital of Waalo (Ndeer or Nder).