Lingeer

Serer royal and religious titles

Royal titles

Lamane (also religious)

Maad a Sinig

Maad Saloum

Teigne

Lingeer

Line of succession

Buumi

Thilas

Loul Religious titles

Saltigue

Lingeer (also: Linger or Linguère) was the title given to the mother or sister of a king in the Serer kingdoms of Sine, Saloum and previously the Kingdom of Baol; and the Wolof kingdoms of Cayor, Jolof, Baol and Waalo in pre-colonial Senegal. The word "Lingeer" means "queen" or "princess" in Serer and Wolof language. Although the royal title Lingeer is generally given to the mother or sister of the king, and sometimes the first wife of the king (the "Lingeer-Awo"), the title can also mean a royal princess. In this case, it means a woman who can trace royal descent from both her paternal and maternal line. In Wolof and Serer tradition, a woman who can trace royal descent on both her paternal and maternal line automatically becomes a Lingeer. The male equivalent is Garmi (a man who can trace royal descent on both his paternal and maternal line). It is from these Lingeers (a woman of pure royal blood) that a king would seek to marry. The king himself is a member of the Garmi class.

List of Lingeers

• Lingeer Fatim Beye (c. 1335), matriarch / founder of the Joos Maternal Dynasty, originally from Sine. She is an early ancestor of all the Joos who went on to rule Waalo. A Serer Princess and Queen of Sine. Once married to Maad a Sinig Maysa Wali.
• Lingeer Fatoumata Sall, mother of the possibly mythical Ndiadiane Ndiaye (Emperor of Jolof, 1360).
• Lingeer Ndoye Demba (c. 1367), she was the founder of the Serer maternal dynasty of Joos in Waalo. Queen of Waalo, Princess of Sine. Grand-daughter of Lingeer Fatim Beye.
• Lingeer Ndieumbeutt Mbodj, Queen of Waalo (died September 1846).
• Lingeer Ndaté Yalla Mbodj, sister of Ndieumbeutt Mbodj and Queen of Waalo. She succeeded her sister in 1846.

See also

• Maad a Sinig
• Maad Saloum
• Damel
• Teigne (title)
• Brak (African kings)
• Buumi
• Thilas
• Loul

Bibliography

• Sarr, Alioune, "Histoire du Sine-Saloum" (Sénégal), (Introduction, bibliographie et notes par Charles Becker), Version légèrement remaniée par rapport à celle qui est parue en 1986–87.
• Sheldon, Kathleen E., "Historical dictionary of women in Sub-Saharan Africa", vol. 1, Scarecrow Press, 2005, p 148 ISBN 0-8108-5331-0
• Klein, Martin A. "Islam and Imperialism in Senegal Sine-Saloum, 1847–1914." Edinburgh University Press (1968) pp 11–15 & 262, ISBN 0-85224-029-5
• Glinga, Werner, Diop, Papa Samba, "Sénégal-Forum. IKO-Verlag für Interkulturelle Kommunikation, 1996. p 110, ISBN 3-88939-431-0
• Anyidoho, Kofi, "Cross rhythms", Volume 1, Occasional papers in African folklore, p 118, Trickster Press (1983)
• Sheldon, Kathleen E., "Historical dictionary of women in Sub-Saharan Africa, vol. 1, Scarecrow Press, 2005, p. 148 ISBN 0-8108-5331-0
• Adande, Alexis B.A., & Arinze, Emmanuel, "The place of Women in the Museum of Saint-Louis, [in] Museums & urban culture in West Africa, Institut africain international, Oxford, 2002, p. 145-146 ISBN 0-85255-276-9
• Fage, John D., Oliver, Roland, "The Cambridge history of Africa: From c. 1600 to c. 1790", p 486, ISBN 0-521-20981-1

External links

• « linguère, linguer » in Geneviève N'Diaye Corréard (dir.), Les mots du patrimoine : le Sénégal, Éd. des Archives contemporaines, Paris ; Agence universitaire de la francophonie, Paris, Montréal, 2006, pp. 327–328 ISBN 2-914610-33-5