Oumar Tall

El Hadj Oumar Tall (Umar Al-Fûtî or Omar Seydou Tall) is a conqueror and sovereign Toucouleur, born with Halwar, close to Podor, in the Fouta-Toro (in current the Senegal) in 1797 and deceased with Deguembéré (close to Bandiagara, current Mali) in 1864. He is the founder of the Empire toucoulor.

Voyages

Born in 1797 in Halwar close to Podor, it started to look further into its knowledge of Islam thanks to Abd el-Karim, a Moslem well-read man originating in the Fouta-Djalon, member of the brotherhood Tidjaniya. Starting from 1827 and during eighteen years, Omar Seydou tall undertakes several voyages. It goes to Hamdallaye on the Niger where it meets Amadou Cheikhou, then remains several months with Sokoto at the court of Mohammed Bello. It crosses then the Fezzan and goes to the Cairo before reaching Mecque where it receives the titles of El Hadj and Caliph of the Confrérie soufi Tidjane for Sudan (1828). It remains then at the University Al-Azhar of Cairo, then at the sultan of the Bornou of which it marries a girl, at the court of Mohammed Bello of which it also marries a girl, finally to Hamdallaye at Amadou Cheikhou, which this time accommodates it much less favorably. Then he is imprisoned by the king Animiste will bambara of Ségou. When it is slackened, it goes in the Fouta-Djalon where the almami authorizes it to create a zaouïa (1841). During thirteen years, he initially preaches the doctrines of Tidjaniya to the Fouta-Djalon, then with Dinguiraye (current Guinea) in 1848

The Djihad

With Dinguiraye, it prepares the Djihad (holy war). It acquires a reputation of saint and gathers many disciples who will form the executives of his army. Its army, equipped with received European light weapons British traffickers of Sierra Leone, attacks several malinkées areas starting from 1850. It occupies without difficulty the territories of the Mandingue and the Bambouk (1853), then attacks the Bambara Massassi of which it takes the capital Nioro (1854). In 1856, it annexes the kingdom Bambara Kaarta and represses the revolts severely.

Fighting against the French colonial army, it makes build a Tata (fortification) with Koniakary (77 km in the west of Kayes). In April 1857, it declares the war against the Royaume of Khasso and extremely besieges the of Médine, which will be released by the troops of Louis Faidherbe the July 18th 1857.

Between 1858 and 1861, El Hadj Oumar Tall attacks the kingdoms Bambaras of Kaarta and Ségou. The March 10th 1861, it conquers Ségou which it entrusts one year later to his Ahmadou son to leave to the conquest Hamdallaye, capital of the Empire peul of Macina which will fall the March 16th 1862 after three battles making more 70 000 dead. Obliged to take refuge in the caves of Deguembéré, close to Bandiagara, it disappears in a cave the February 12th 1864. Its nephew Tidiani Tall will be his successor and will install the capital of the Toucouleur Empire in Bandiagara. His/her son Ahmadou Tall reign in Ségou, until the French occupation in 1893.

Theocracy

Mû by the ideology universalist of Islam and a levelling renovation project of the company, El Hadj Oumar encourages the liberalism of the Tidjaniya brotherhood, of which he is the representative, and is promised to impose a “transcendent fraternity” to the people of Western Sudan.

El Hadj Oumar controls its States like a Théocratie, assisted by a council including/understanding some large marabouts, some of his/her brothers and the companions of pilgrimage. The Koranic law is the basic principle of the government. On the administrative level, El Hadj Oumar takes as a starting point the model égypto-Turkish with the division of the capacity in of a civil governor (pasha) and a military governor (Bey). Each province has a powerful fortress (touched) ordered by a military chief directing an important garrison.

The legend

El Hadj Oumar is also a character of legend, which seized popular imagination: several marvellous accounts circulated and circulate still about it. With the Senegal, El Hadj Oumar Tall is perceived like resistant, in Mali, according to David Robinson it would be lived as the invader who made the bed of the European conquest. In any case its memory remains sharp in medium haalpular (northern of Senegal) where to bear the name of Tall remains prestigious, especially if one can say his descendant.

Random links: