Kingdom of Saloum
The Kingdom of Saloum in Senegal was a traditional kingdom founded at the end of the 15th century by the "Gelwaar" or the nobles of the Kingdom of Kaabu in the south. The old capital of the Kingdom of Saloum is the city of Kahone , which is still the residential city today.
Saloum includes the flat, swampy wetlands of the Saloum River . In recent years, however, large areas of the mangrove forest have been destroyed there. There was a thriving industry of salt mining on the salt flats along the river delta . Originally Saloum expanded in the south to the north banks of the Gambia River .
The original population was displaced in the 11th century by the Serer who came from the Kingdom of Tekrur to the north of the Senegal Valley. Over 100 kings were dethroned during the Gelwaar period from the 15th century to the present day. The Portuguese came into contact with the kingdom in 1590. The Kingdom of Saloum conquered and controlled the neighboring kingdom of Sine for a long period, while the area became known as "Sine-Saloum", but was later split up again. Saloum also had control over the kingdom of Baol for a time . Although the kingdom won some major battles against the French , it was finally conquered in 1850. The kings continued their traditional court in Kahone, but the place remained in the shadow of the commercially successful neighboring town of Kaolack .
The current King of Saloum (2002) is King Mbaye Badiane I. He is supported by various princes such as dam Djaaraf of Saloum (Fode Yacinthe NDour) and Farba (El Hadji Malick Sarr). The ruling house is located in the capital, Kahone. The king also has a subordinate king (or "Bour Gandiaye") in the city of Gandiaye in Saloum who maintains his own ruling house.
Saloum is known for its many ancient burial mounds or "tumuli" which contain the tombs of kings and others. The kingdom also has numerous mysterious stone circles whose functions and history are unknown.
Ethnically, the Saloum empire consisted of the Serians , but gradually the Wolof gained more influence, especially in the areas around Kaolack, where peanuts were grown. Serer-Sine and Wolof are the two languages spoken in the Saloum.
The Gambian districts of Lower Saloum and Upper Saloum in the Central River Region make reference to this empire.