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18 Facts About Ndiadiane Ndiaye

1.

The story of Ndiadiaye Ndiaye is recorded in the oral histories of the Wolof and Serer peoples.

2.

Ndiadiane Ndiaye's epic says he grew up In what is the Bakel Department of Senegal, as the son of Fatoumata Sall, the daughter of a local chief.

3.

Ndiadiane Ndiaye is called the ancestor of the peoples of Senegal and the term Ndiadiane Ndiaye is used as a colloquial term for the country.

4.

Ndiadiane Ndiaye's story is recorded in the oral histories of Wolof and Serer peoples as the founder of the Jolof Empire.

5.

The Rao archaeological site, near the ancient village of Mboyu-Gar where Ndiadiane Ndiaye first appeared in Waalo, dates to the period between 1300 and 1350, and could be linked to the foundation of Jolof.

6.

The epic of Ndiadiane Ndiaye begins with the story of his father, Bubakar Omar, and his Mandinka slave, Mbarik Bo, and their adventure as they travel from the Levant to the Senegal River.

7.

Ndiadiane Ndiaye's father is mortally injured in a fight with a rival king named Hamar.

8.

Ndiadiane Ndiaye initially refused to speak, but was eventually coaxed out of silence by a woman, Bate Boye.

9.

Ndiadiane Ndiaye ruled wisely for 16 years over Waalo when his half brother, Barka Bo or Mbodj, who had heard of his success, came to join him.

10.

Ndiadiane Ndiaye rejected his relation as a son of a slave, and so left for Jolof.

11.

Ndiadiane Ndiaye's fame preceded him, and so he was welcomed there, founding the Jolof Empire when the rulers of the region voluntarily submitted to him.

12.

Ndiadiane Ndiaye's empire consisted of a number of semi-autonomous states, each with their own ruler, as the existence of king lists from Cayor and Baol after his ascension attest.

13.

Ndiadiane Ndiaye was known as a peacemaker rather than as a conqueror who obtained his kingdom by force.

14.

Some say that Ndiadiane Ndiaye was a mysterious person of Fulani origin.

15.

Sereer traditions maintain that Ndiadiane Ndiaye's father was Lamane Boukar Ndiaye, a Serer from Waalo, and his mother Fatoumata Sall was the daughter of the Lamtoro Ambraham Sall of Takrur.

16.

Ndiadiane Ndiaye is seen as the founder of what is the nation of Senegal today, the ancestor of most of the Senegalese peoples and remains an important folk hero in the country today.

17.

Ndiadiane Ndiaye's name is used as a colloquial term to refer to all of Senegal.

18.

An important part of the coronation ceremonies in Waalo and Jolof was the royal bath, known as xulixuli taken as Ndaseew, where Ndiadiane Ndiaye first emerged from the river.