Tenguella

Source: Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia.
For the mollusc genus, see Tenguella (gastropod).
Tenguella Ba
Futa Toro
Died1512
Diarra, Mali
ReligionTraditional African

Tenguella (also known as Temelá or Tenguella Ba) was a

Senegal river valley, a precursor of the Empire of Great Fulo
. He was referred to as the Great Fulo or Great king of the Fulos in Portuguese documents of the time.

Background and Early Life

The Fula are a West African nomadic people. They had been moving south within the

Bondu.[1]

Tenguella was originally from the western part of Futa Tooro outside the immediate

silatigi of the Yaalalbe clan, both a political and religious leader.[2]

Reign

Futa Kingui

Tenguella became chief of the Fula around 1464.

Mande domination.[4]

The roots of Tenguella's appeal may have lain partially in religion. Contemporary Muslim sources call him a false prophet, likely referring his syncreticization of Islam with the traditional Fula religion, as represented by his use of the title 'silatigi'. He himself, however, may have seen himself as fully Muslim and even a sort of Mahdi figure, fighting against both paganism and the traditional hierarchies of the region.[5]

Conflict with Mali and Songhai

Conflict with the Mali Empire started around 1480.

Bambuk gold fields.[6][7] In response, Mansa Mahmud II requested an alliance and firearms from John II of Portugal to fight the Fula. The Portuguese embassy visited the mansa somewhere between 1493 and 1495 but weapons were not forthcoming.[1] They also sent embassies to Tenguella to appease him and safeguard their trade interests.[8]

The rising

Askia Mohammad I, led a powerful force on a 2 month march through the desert, then in 1512 defeated and killed Tenguella in battle. After this, Diarra likely swore fealty to the Songhai.[1][10]

Succession and legacy

Tenguella was married to Nana Keita, said in oral histories to be a descendant of

Futa Toro
.

Historians such as Sirre Abbas Soh have confused some of the accomplishments of Tenguella with those of his son, making the chronology of events difficult to suss out. There was another migration from Futa Tooro at around the same time that went south, crossing the Gambia River, which further exacerbates the confusion.[10]

Bibliography

Sources

  • Kane, Oumar (2004). La première hégémonie peule. Le Fuuta Tooro de Koli Teηella à Almaami Abdul. Paris: Karthala. Retrieved 12 July 2023.
  • Kane, Oumar (2021). "La Formation du Royaume Jaalalo du Kingi par Tenghella". In Fall, Mamadou; Fall, Rokhaya; Mane, Mamadou (eds.). Bipolarisation du Senegal du XVIe - XVIIe siecle (in French). Dakar: HGS Editions. pp. 42–92.

References

  1. ^ a b c d Niane, Djibril Tamsir (2005). "Mali Empire: Decline, Fifteenth Century". In Shillington, Kevin (ed.). Encyclopedia of African History. New York: Fitzroy Dearborn. pp. 921–922.
  2. ^ Kane 2004, pp. 118.
  3. ^ Bowman, Joye (1997). Ominous Transition: Commerce and Colonial Expansion in the Senegambia and Guinea, 1857-1919. London: Taylor & Francis. p. 29.
  4. ^ Kane 2004, pp. 121–3.
  5. ^ Kane 2021, pp. 45.
  6. ^ a b Kane 2004, pp. 126.
  7. ^ Kane 2021, pp. 54.
  8. ^ Kane 2021, pp. 53.
  9. ^ Kane 2021, pp. 55.
  10. ^ a b Kane 2004, pp. 123.
  11. ^ Mohamed Bachir Diop, Koli Tenguella Ba, venu du Mali, crée le premier royaume Peul dans le Fouta Toro, Le Devoir, Coin d'histoire, June 11th 2023
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