Lat-Dior
Encyclopedia
Damel
Damel was the title of the ruler of the Wolof kingdom of Cayor in what is now northwest Senegal, West Africa.The most well-known damel is probably Lat Dior Diop who died in battle during the final French drive to capture his territory, which was one of the strongest areas of resistance...
(king) of Cayor
Cayor
The Kingdom of Cayor was the largest and most powerful kingdom that split off from the Empire of Jolof , in what is now Senegal. Cayor was located in north and central Senegal, southeast of Waalo, west of the kingdom of Jolof and north of Baol and the Kingdom of Sine.In 1549, the king, or...
, a Wolof
Wolof people
The Wolof are an ethnic group found in Senegal, The Gambia, and Mauritania.In Senegal, the Wolof form an ethnic plurality with about 43.3% of the population are Wolofs...
state that is today in south central Sénégal
Senegal
Senegal , officially the Republic of Senegal , is a country in western Africa. It owes its name to the Sénégal River that borders it to the east and north...
.
Nationalist Hero
A great resistance hero of Senegalese history, famed for his defiance and battles against the French, Lat Dior was deposed twice, in 1869 and 1879.Conversion
He converted to Islam around 1861, and made common cause with other WolofWolof people
The Wolof are an ethnic group found in Senegal, The Gambia, and Mauritania.In Senegal, the Wolof form an ethnic plurality with about 43.3% of the population are Wolofs...
and Fulani states to resist French colonialism. Instrumental in his conversion was the Almamy
Almami
Almami is a title of West African Muslim rulers, used especially in the conquest states of the 19th century. It is a contraction of Amir al-Mu'minin , usually translated "Commander of the Faithful" or "Prince of the Faithful"...
of Saloum
Saloum
The Kingdom of Saloum in Senegal is a traditional kingdom which was renamed Saloum in the late 15th century by the son of a Serer and a Guelowar from the kingdom of Kaabu to the south. The ancient and present capital of the Kingdom of Saloum is the city of Kahone. Previous to that, it was known...
, Maba Diakhou Bâ
Maba Diakhou Bâ
Maba Diakhou Bâ was a marabout from Rip, and a disciple of the Tijaniyya sufi brotherhood...
. An ally of the Toucouleur empire
Toucouleur Empire
The Toucouleur Empire was founded in the nineteenth century by El Hadj Umar Tall of the Toucouleur people, in part of present-day Mali....
's El Hadj Umar Tall, Maba convinced Lat-Dior both to convert, and to aid non-Wolof Islamic states of the region against their common foes.
Conquests
Dior led his troops beside Maba in the battle of Rip on 30 November 1865, at the battle of Pathé Badiane in 1864 and Ngol Ngol in 1865. With Lat Dior, Maba took part in the conquests of the states of SineSine
In mathematics, the sine function is a function of an angle. In a right triangle, sine gives the ratio of the length of the side opposite to an angle to the length of the hypotenuse.Sine is usually listed first amongst the trigonometric functions....
, Baol
Baol
The Kingdom of Baol or Bawol in central Senegal was one of the ancient kingdoms of the Serer people pre-the Jolof Empire, an Empire it would later join voluntarily just like the other States. However it gained prominence after the split-up of the Empire in 1555...
and Djolof.
Facing the French
At KaolackKaolack
Kaolack is a town of 172,305 people on the north bank of the Saloum River and the N1 road in Senegal. It is the capital of the Kaolack Region, which borders The Gambia to the south. Kaolack is an important regional market town and is Senegal's main peanut trading and processing center...
in 1865, they combined forces with soldiers from Waalo
Waalo
The Kingdom of Waalo was a kingdom on the lower Senegal River in West Africa, in what are now Senegal and Mauritania. It included parts of the valley proper and areas north and south, extending to the Atlantic Ocean...
, Ndiambour and Ndiander to face the French fortifications of governor Émile Pinet-Laprade
Émile Pinet-Laprade
-Biography:Succeeding Bernard Jauréguiberry, Pinet-Laprade was governor of Senegal from May 13, 1863 until July 14, 1863. Louis Faidherbe then took over until May 1, 1865, when Pinet-Laprade assumed the position again until July 14, 1863. Ferdinand Charles Alexandre Tredos then succeeded him...
but were repulsed.
After the French conquered Waalo
Waalo
The Kingdom of Waalo was a kingdom on the lower Senegal River in West Africa, in what are now Senegal and Mauritania. It included parts of the valley proper and areas north and south, extending to the Atlantic Ocean...
, (re-appointed) governor Louis Faidherbe
Louis Faidherbe
Louis Léon César Faidherbe was a French general and colonial administrator. He created the Senegalese Tirailleurs when he was governor of Senegal.- Background :...
invaded Cayor in 1865 in order to stop the Damel's opposition to the construction of the Dakar
Dakar
Dakar is the capital city and largest city of Senegal. It is located on the Cap-Vert Peninsula on the Atlantic coast and is the westernmost city on the African mainland...
to Saint-Louis
Saint-Louis, Senegal
Saint-Louis, or Ndar as it is called in Wolof, is the capital of Senegal's Saint-Louis Region. Located in the northwest of Senegal, near the mouth of the Senegal River, and 320 km north of Senegal's capital city Dakar, it has a population officially estimated at 176,000 in 2005. Saint-Louis...
railway
Dakar-Niger Railway
The Dakar–Niger Railway connects Dakar, to Koulikoro, . It serves many cities in Senegal and Mali...
. Dior is reported to have told the later French Governor Servatius:
"As long as I live, be assured, I shall oppose, with all my might the construction of this railway."
But the French defeated Lat Dior's forces at the battle of Dekheule on 26 October 1886, after Faidherbe's retirement. Lat Dior struck a deal for limited autonomy and re-installment in 1871. In response to further French expansion, Cayor rose up again with Dior at their head, only to be defeated and be annexed again in 1879.
The Cayor kingdom was extinguished in its entirety October 6, 1886.
The Legend of Lat Dior
Faidherbe is reputed to have said of Dior's troops: "Ceux-là, on les tue on ne les déshonore pas." ("They can be killed but not dishonored"). This has been adapted as the motto of the Senegalese Army: "On nous tue, on ne nous déshonore pas".In Dakar there is a giant statue of Maalaw, the legendary horse of Lat Dior, near the great mosque.
Fiction
- Thierno Bâ, Lat-Dior - Le chemin de l'honneur, drame historique en huit tableaux, Dakar, Impr. Diop, 1970, 100 p.