[[File:AmadouMakhtarMbayeBox.jpg | thumb | right | "Theatre in a box", a production by Senegalese artist Amadou Makhtar Mbaye, featuring the visit of the philosopher Kocc Barma Fall to the damel]]
'''Damel''' was the title of the ruler (or king) of the Wolof kingdom of Cayor in what is now northwest Senegal, West Africa.
The most well-known ''damel'' is probably Lat Dior Diop (1842–1886) who was killed by the French after decades of resisting their encroachment on Wolof territory.<ref>Hale, Johnson & Belcher, 1997, p. 211.</ref><ref>Harney, 2004, p. 282.</ref> Lat Dior is a Senegalese national hero.
The 30th and last Damel of Cayor, Samba Laobé Fall, was killed by the leader of a French delegation, Captain Spitzer, at Tivaouane, Senegal.<ref>Crowder, 1968, p. 79.</ref>
== Role == Among the social classes of Cayor, the Damel stood on the top of the hierarchy. The Damel were traditionally seen as great magicians and it was through female relatives that royal blood was transmitted.<ref>{{Cite book|last=Lewis|first=I. M.|url=https://books.google.com/books?id=slKuDAEACAAJ|title=Islam in Tropical Africa|publisher=Taylor & Francis|year=2017|isbn=978-1-138-23275-4|pages=167|language=en}}</ref> Every descendant of a Damel in the maternal line became a ''garmi'' or noble.<ref name = Fall>{{cite journal |last1=Fall |first1=Tanor Latsoukabe |title=Recueil sur la Vie des Damel |journal=Bulletin de l'Institut fondamental d'Afrique noire |date=1974 |volume=36 |issue=1 |url=https://archive.wikiwix.com/cache/index2.php?url=http%3A%2F%2Fwww.histoire-ucad.org%2Farchives%2Findex.php%2Fremository.html%3Ffunc%3Dstartdown%26id%3D38#federation=archive.wikiwix.com&tab=url |access-date=25 December 2023}}</ref>{{rp|6}}
==History==
The Damel began as the Great Lamane of Cayor, traditionally elected by the other Lamanes from the Fall family of Palene Ded, who claimed descend from Ousmane Boune Afal, a companion of Mohammed, by means of Wagadou.<ref name = Fall></ref>{{rp|6}} Lat Jor was the only Damel elected who was not part of the Fall paternal line.
The term "Damel" may derive from "breaker", coming from the Wolof verb "damma" meaning "to break," referring to the breaking of their vassalage to the Jolof Empire at the 1549 battle of Danki.<ref>Monteil, Vincent. “Lat Dior, Damel Du Kayor, (1842-1886) et l’islamisation Des Wolofs.” Archives de Sociologie Des Religions, vol. 8, no. 16, 1963, pp. 78. JSTOR, http://www.jstor.org/stable/30127542. Accessed 1 June 2023.</ref> Alvise Cadamosto, however, recorded the use of the title "Damel" for the ruler of Cayor much earlier, in the 1450s.<ref>{{cite book|author=Alvise Da Mosto|date=2003|isbn=978-2-906462-94-6|language=fr|location=Paris|page=10|publisher=Chandeigne|title=Voyages en Afrique noire, 1455-1456|url=https://books.google.com/books?id=z1GJJNtCx2oC&q=cadamosto}}</ref>
==List of damel== The following are the damel of Cayor, in order<ref>[http://www.worldstatesmen.org/Senegal_native.html World Statesmen.org list of the rulers of the precolonial kingdoms of Senegal]</ref><ref>{{cite book |last1=Sabatie |first1=Alexandre |title=Le Sénégal : sa conquête & son organisation (1364-1925) |date=1925 |publisher=Impr. du gouvernement |location=Saint-Louis |url=https://gallica.bnf.fr/ark:/12148/bpt6k5604118q/f411.item |access-date=4 September 2023 |language=French}}</ref>
*1549, Dece Fu Njogu *1549–1593, Amary Ngone Sobel Fall *1593–1600 Massamba Tako *??–c.1672 Biram Yacine Bubu<ref name = Thomas>{{cite journal |last1=Thomas |first1=Douglas H. |title=The Lingeer's Jihad: Challenging a Male-Normative Reading of African History |journal=History in Africa |date=2021 |volume=48 |pages=326-8 |doi=10.1017/hia.2021.10 |s2cid=246702643 |url=https://www.cambridge.org/core/services/aop-cambridge-core/content/view/6208D82C95DFEB0DA438F35EC235D7CA/S0361541321000103a.pdf/div-class-title-the-span-class-italic-lingeer-span-s-jihad-challenging-a-male-normative-reading-of-african-history-div.pdf |access-date=21 May 2026}}</ref> *c. 1672–1673 Decce Maram Ngalgu<ref name = Thomas/> *1673 Ma Faly Gueye<ref name = Thomas/> *1673–?? Makhourediah Jojo Juuf<ref name = Thomas/> *1697–1719, Lat Sukabe *1719–1748, Isa-Tende *1748–1749, Maissa Bigué Ngoné Fall (1st term)<ref name="Stewart">Stewart, John, ''African States and Rulers'', McFarland & Company (2006), pp. 131, 339, 371, {{ISBN|9780786425624}}</ref><ref name="IFAN"/> *1749–1757, Ma-Bathio Samb *1757–1758, Birima Kodu *1758–1759, Maissa Bigué Ngoné Fall (2nd term)<ref name="Stewart"/><ref name="IFAN">IFAN (1974), (cont. Institut fondamental d'Afrique noire), ''Bulletin de L'Institut Fondamental D'Afrique Noire: Sciences humaines. Série B'', pp. 119, 120, 144</ref>
*1759–1760, Birima Yamb *1760–1763, Isa Bige Nagone *1763–1766, Jor Yasin Isa *1766–1777, Kodu Kumba *1777–1790, Birima Fatim-Penda *1790–1809, Amari Ngone Ndèla Kumba Fal *1809–1832, Biram Fatma Cub Fal *1832–1855, Maysa Tènde Jor Samba Fal *1855–1860, Birima Ngone Latir Fal (d. 1860) *1860–1861, Ma-Kodu Kumba Yande Fal *1861 May – 1861 Dec 8, Ma-Jojo Jegeñ Kodu Fal (1st term) *1862 – 1864 Jan, Lat Jor Ngone Latir Jop (1st term) (b. c.1842, d. 1886) *1864 Jan – 1868, Ma-Jojo Jegeñ Kodu Fal (2nd term) *1871 Feb 12 – 1882, Lat Jor Ngone Latir Jop (2nd term) (s.a.) *1883 Jan – 1883 Aug 28, Amari Ngone Fal *1883 Aug 28 – 1886 Oct 6, Samba Laobe Fal *1883 Oct 6 – 1902, Meissa Tendi Dior Birima Demba War Sall
==See also== * Teign * Maad a Sinig * Maad Saloum * Lingeer * Buumi ==Notes== {{reflist}}
==References== *Crowder, Michael (1968). ''West Africa Under Colonial Rule''. Northwestern University Press. *Hale, Thomas A., Johnson, John William and Belcher, Stephen Paterson (1997). ''Oral Epics From Africa: Vibrant Voices From A Vast Continent''. Indiana University Press. {{ISBN|0-253-21110-7}} *Harney, Elizabeth, (2004). ''In Senghor's Shadow: Art, Politics, and the Avant-garde in Senegal, 1960-1995''. Duke University Press. {{ISBN|0-8223-3395-3}}
==External links== *[https://web.archive.org/web/20070616210025/http://senegalmaur.ifrance.com/lat-dior.html Lat Dior, Le Kayor, l'impossible defi] {{in lang|fr}}
Category:Senegalese royalty Category:Noble titles
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