Persecution of Serers

The religious and ethnic persecution of the Serer people dates back to the 11th century, when King War Jabi usurped the throne of Tekrur (part of present-day Senegal) in 1030, and in 1035, introduced Sharia law and forced his subjects to submit to Islam. With the assistance of his son Leb, their Almoravid allies and other African ethnic groups who had embraced Islam, the Muslim coalition army launched jihads against the Serer people of Tekrur because they refused to abandon their Serer religion in favour of Islam. The Serer lamanic class, who also acted as the priestly class and guardians of Serer religion, are believed to have been at the forefront of resisting Islamization, partly to preserve their religion, and also their power and wealth as landowners. It was common for early Arab writers such as Al Bakri to refer to "non-believers" of Islam in their works as lamlam, lemlem, or damdam which may be a corruption of the Serer title lamaan. The persecution of the Serers in the 11th century led to their first generally accepted exodus from Tekrur, moving southwards. The number of Serers who were killed is unknown, and the defeat of the Serers at Tekrur triggered their exodus from Tekrur to the south, where they were granted asylum by the Serer lamanes in the south. In the 13th century, a civil war broke out in Tekrur. The descendants of the Serers who chose to remain in Tekrur during the first Serer Exodus decided to migrate southwest, first to the Ferlo, and then to Siin and Saloum rather than be converted to Islam. Ibrahima Thiaw advanced the claim that, this was the process by which a distinct 'Serer' identity first emerged, separate from the rest of the Takruri population. Professor Issa Laye Thiaw, Professor Cheikh Anta Diop, the 18th century French archaeologist Paul Pierret, and Professor Molefi Kete Asante et al. amongst other historians posits that the name 'Serer' is sacred and pre-Islamic, leading Asante et al. to conclude that, "they are an ancient people whose history reaches deep into the past..." and that would be consistent with their "strong connection to their ancient religious past". The persecution of the Serer people continued from the medieval era to the 19th century, resulting in the Battle of Fandane-Thiouthioune where the Serers defeated the ally Muslim forces of the 19th century Senegambian jihadist, Muslim cleric and slave trader, Maba Diakhou Bâ. Since the 20th century, the persecution of the Serers has been less visible though the object of "scorn and prejudice." ==By Christians==

The Serer people have a somewhat recent contact with Christianity compared to Islam which they vehemently and violently resisted for almost a thousand years, since the 11th century. Serer contact with Christianity came via the Atlantic slave trade and European colonialism. Thus, Christian persecution of Serers who adhere to Serer spirituality (A ƭat Roog), was multi-faceted, and mainly motivated by European colonialists' greed and attempts to dehumanise the Serer. Many early European writers (and some modern writers), some of whom never entered Serer country, relied on information received from their Wolof translators, have works filled with anti-Serer sentiments including, and not limited to, viewing the Serer people as wicked; "idolaters of great cruelty"; pagans; evil; people without kings; unwelcoming; uncivilised; always sticking together; hostile; and not open to other cultures; etc.. The earliest contact with European Christians was during the 15th century. In 1446, the Portuguese slave raider Nuno Tristão tried and failed to launch a slave raiding expedition with his Portuguese party in Serer territory. They all succumbed to Serer poisoned arrows except five young Portuguese (some sources say less). One of them was left to charter their caravel back to Portugal. Nuno was amongst those killed by the Serers for attempting slave raiding in Serer country. In 1455, the Venetian slave trader, chronicler, and navigator Alvise Cadamosto parked his caravel in the water and sent his Wolof translator to the Serer community on shore―who stood guard looking menacing, to negotiate slave buying terms. The Wolof interpreter was brutally killed on the spot by the Serer people on guard for bringing European slave traders into their community. Michał Tymowski said that: :"The Wolof were just as determined as the Portuguese to ensure smooth and efficient trade." Without ever setting foot in Serer country Cadamosto corrupted the name of the Kingdom of Sine (one of the Serer Kingdoms) by referring to it as the Kingdom of Barbaçim , and the Serer people of Sine as Barbacins among other names which many Europeans of that era referred to the Serer people as in their old maps. In 1678, the Serer communities of Sine and Baol (an old Serer kingdom prior to the Battle of Danki in 1549) refused to welcome the French merchants that had settled on the Petite Côte, and voiced their grievances to their respective kings (the Maad a Sinig, king of Sine; and the Teigne, king of Baol). The Maad a Sinig and Teigne with their respective armies sacked the French post. The French, under the command of Admiral Jean-Baptiste du Casse, launched a revenge attack the following year and defeated them. On 13 May 1859, the Serer people of Sine under Maad a Sinig Kumba Ndoffene fa Maak Joof declared war against the French, for France's attempts to revoke all previously agreed treaties which the French no longer viewed as to their advantage, especially in relation to land and building missions in brick, and tried to exercise their wishes without the authority of the Serer King, Kumba Ndoffene fa Maak Joof. At the Battle of Djilas (13 May 1859), the Serers defeated the French, and France suffered a humiliating defeat and lost many soldiers on the battlefield. As reprisals for their defeat at Djilas, France declared war against the Serers of Sine. The Serer people, a very small community, faced the French colonial empire at the Battle of Logandème that same year, also known as the "Battle of Fatick" in some French sources, when France brought in more army personnel from its empire, including soldiers from North Africa (Algeria), and the Wolof and Lebou ethnic group whom governor Louis Faidherbe of France recruited. In a letter sent to Paris, Faidherbe detailed how he managed to recruit Wolofs and the Lebous to join the French army against their Serer neighbours, as follows: :"I told them that they were French, and that for this reason they had to take arms to join us and had to participate in the expedition that we are going to make against their neighbours to obtain reparations for wrongs those people [the Serer people] had done to us." The Serer army, under the command of King Kumba Ndoffene fa Maak Joof (French variation: Coumba N'Doffène famack Diouf), put up a strong resistance against the French Empire. They were no match for the mighty French Empire and French weaponry, and suffered a severe defeat. It was at Logandème that France, for the first time, decided to employ cannonball on Senegambian soil, and possibly in Africa. According to French reports, 150 Serer-Sine men were "either killed or wounded, but that the French force had only five wounded." In 1861, the Serer elder and Chief of Gorom, Jogomay Tine (or Diogomay Tine) of Gorom was displeased when the Wolof King of Cayor, Damel Majojo Faal (the French-backed puppet king of Cayor) conceded his province to the French governor Louis Faidherbe. Damel-Teigne Lat Joor Ngoneh Latir Jobe who had now form good relations with the French was invited by the French to occupy the region including Jogomay Tine's province. Majojo was declared too incompetent by the French. The French claimed they never gave the order to assassinate the King, and laid the blame on a French drunkard merchant called Baccaria. None of the credible historians believe them, and the consensus is the assassination of the King was a French directive. The Serer King of Sine, Maad a Sinig Kumba Ndoffene fa Maak Joof, was however refused permission to buy arm, and blocked by the French from going through Joal, his only route to Gambia, to buy arms from the British in order to defend his people and country from the Muslim jihadists. ==Legacy==

The Senegambia region where the Serers are found includes the modern countries of Senegal, Gambia and Mauritania, all which are predominantly Muslim countries. Thus, scholars agree pretty much that the Islamic religion has more of an adverse impact on the Serer than any other religion. In that regard, Professor Klein, writing in 1968 notes that: "The most important factor dividing the peoples of Senegambia was the differential impact of Islam. In this, the Serer stood out as the one group that had undergone no conversion." This division is not just religious, but also has ethnic elements. On the subject of how Serer culture and traditions managed to survive throughout the centuries despite attempts by others to destroy it, historian Godfrey Mwakikagile writes: :"Today, the Serer retain much of their old culture, customs and traditions. In fact, it's not uncommon to hear how Serer culture has survived through the centuries in spite of all the forces which tried to destroy it." ==See also==