That Buh Kunta attracted relatively few Wolof
taalibes is striking, considering that his mother belonged to the old Wolof aristocracy and that Ndiassane is located in the Wolof heartland. It also stands out in light of the fact that the large majority of Amadu Bamba’s and El Hajj Malik Sy’s followers were of Wolof background. Some have suggested that Buh Kunta remained an outsider for the local population because of his father’s Moorish ethnic heritage and the connections the family maintained with its Saharan cultural traditions. Historian Adriana Piga (2002) has argued that the Qadiriyya order more broadly has not been as successful among the Wolof population as the Muridiyya and Tijaniyya because Qadiri identity has been closely associated with Moorish ethnic identity. Rather than focus on Buh Kunta’s lack of success in attracting significant numbers of Wolof disciples, one might ask how he gained so many taalibes from the territories to the east without ever traveling there himself. What historical developments prompted people to leave their homes to come west?
France’s colonial expansion into the West African interior during the second half of the nineteenth century and its promotion of peanut production precipitated new population movements. In his extensive study of seasonal migration to the peanut fields of Senegal, Philippe David (1980) found that there were Soninke from eastern Senegambia in the Sine region beginning in 1876. Bamana from the territory of today’s Mali who came to Dakar in search of work as early as 1897 were reportedly attracted by the opportunity to cultivate peanuts. Historian Marie Rodet (2010) has pointed out that turn-of-the century migrants to Senegal included recently emancipated slaves who wanted to make a new life away from their former masters. Rather than looking for seasonal work, they sought access to land where they could settle permanently. Buh Kunta was able to direct them to cultivable land he had acquired or which he subsequently endeavored to register. In addition to helping them settle, he offered them a new sense of belonging through integration in his community of followers. Some of these immigrants had heard of Buh Kunta before setting out for Senegal. The early immigrants were augmented by others who came in the wake of the large-scale exodus of slaves that followed the 1905 anti-slave holding proclamation. The 1910 report of French West Africa shows a direct relationship between liberation and an increase in movement toward Senegambia (David 1980: 123).
Completed in 1885, the Dakar – Saint-Louis railroad had a train station in Tivaouane, only five kilometers from Ndiassane, that greatly facilitated the exportation of peanuts. The French needed additional labor in Senegal when France made Dakar the capital of French West Africa in 1902 and began developing its infrastructure. Seeking to expand peanut production as well as link Dakar with Bamako, the colonial government initiated construction of the Thiès – Kayes railroad in 1907 (completed in 1924). Located only about 80 kilometers from Dakar and just 15 kilometers north of Thies, Ndiassane found itself in close proximity to the axis of west-east movement. In addition to recruiting labor locally, the French administration relied on the Soudan (now Mali) and on Haute-Volta (Burkina Faso) for manpower. There are no good statistics on the number of recruits provided by the different colonies or the numbers at different work sites, but requisitioning played a role as it had in the construction of the Kayes – Niger part of the line from 1881-1904 (Fall, 1993). Many who initially came as recruits for the quasi-military labor service (
deuxième portion) later became migrant workers in the peanut fields (David, 1980). Finally, the imposition of taxes in coin prompted many men in the Soudan to leave for the peanut fields in order to earn the necessary cash.
David’s study (1980) demonstrates that considerable ethnic diversity had developed in the peanut producing areas by the 1920s. This is corroborated by Rodet’s recent research (2010) in Sine. Immigrants included Soninke from the area of Kayes, Maraka from Beledougou, Bamana from as far as Segou and Koutiala, and Wasulunke from Bougouni. They all belong to the Mande culture / linguistic group but are frequently referred to simply as “Bambara” in Senegal. Villages such as Kamatane, Malikounda, and Nguekhokh mentioned by David were settled or augmented by Buh Kunta followers of Mande background. Some of the immigrants retained their Mande family names but others assumed Wolof equivalents. Within this system, a Kulubali would become a Faal and a Traore would become Diop. The equivalency of names and progressive ‘Wolofization’ has facilitated absorption into Wolof society, especially in urban areas.
The political economy of late 19
th and early 20
th century Senegambia and adjoining regions helps to explain how the ancestors of so many of Buh Kunta’s disciples came into his geographical sphere of influence. By the time El Haj Malik Sy settled in nearby Tivaouane in 1902, Buh Kunta had already built a community of followers who originated in the Mande-speaking areas to the east. Newcomers tended to join settlers with whom they could communicate in their mother tongue, as migrants in many contexts continue to do today. However, the historical and economic reasons outlined do not fully explain why early migrants were more drawn to Buh Kunta as a spiritual leader, and further research is necessary. Contemporary disciples do not discount social or politico-economic factors as explanations but point to his mystical powers and to divine will as the ultimate reasons.