Shaykh Buh Kunta was succeeded by five of his sons before leadership passed to the generation of his grandsons. His successors, like those in other Senegalese orders, are known as “Khalif”. If the Khalif of Ndiassane is older than the Khalif of Ndankh, Shaykh Buh's birthplace, then he is the "Khalif General" of Ndiassane and Ndankh. Succession is determined by order of birth. In principle, the Khalif should be the eldest surviving descendant in the male line.
Buh Kunta designated his eldest son
al-Bekkai as his successor prior to his death and communicated this choice to the Governor General of French West Africa. Al-Bekkai Kunta led the order as the first khalif from 1914-1929. He had studied with several religious leaders in southwestern Mauritania, progressing from the Koran to theology, law, and literature. He was assisted by his younger brother Abdurahman, who also directed a Koranic school in Ndiassane.
Sidi Lamin Kunta succeeded his brother al-Bekkai. He remains the longest reigning khalif to date. Like his elder brothers, Sidi Lamin received an extensive religious education in Mauritania but returned home at the death of his father in 1914. Paul Marty, head of the Bureau of Muslim Affairs in the French colonial administration from 1912 to about 1921, describes him as a very learned man with a regal demeanor. He moved to Saint-Louis and engaged in commerce there until he became khalif in 1929. Only about 42 years old at the time of his installation, Khalif Sidi Lamin marked the life of the order for a period of 44 years: he established the annual pilgrimage (
gammu) as a regular practice; encouraged the creation of associations of disciples (
daaira); constructed a spectacular multi-story building of intricate design with an
interior courtyard in order to house followers during the pilgrimage and other visits; constructed a water retention basin and worked to improve the water supply for the town.
Sidi Lamin continued his business operations through intermediaries after he became khalif but did not engage with the state. He kept his distance from political authorities even during the period of decolonization and the early years of independence when Senegalese politicians actively sought the support of religious leaders. Several followers explained in interviews that Khalif Sidi Lamin was a man of truth: he was not hostile to the state and encouraged followers to do their civic duties, but he did not believe in compromises with politicians in order to curry favor and material advantages. It has been suggested that this lack of political involvement and associated media attention impeded the growth of the order.
Shaykh Mamadu Mbodj of Bargny, a disciple who played the drum (
tabala) and sang at religious gatherings, recalled in an
interview that Khalif Sidi Lamin did not want him to sing the praises of anyone other than the Prophet Mohammed. The Khalif gave him religious poems (
qasa’id) that he himself had written, along with poems by Sidi Mukhtar al-Kabir, to sing at religious events. In contrast with his stance toward secular authorities, Sidi Lamin cultivated good relations with his Murid and Tijani counterparts in Touba and Tivaouane respectively. He also encouraged followers to show their respect to these spiritual leaders. For example, when disciples took the train to Tivaouane on their way to and from Ndiassane, he insisted that they stop to greet Serigne Babacar Sy, the Khalif of Tivaouane, and seek his blessings before returning home.
El Haj Mamadu Kunta followed his brother Sidi Lamin as khalif in 1973. Already ill when he assumed the leadership, he passed away in 1976. Although he did not have the opportunity to realize many of his projects, he oversaw the division of Ndiassane into residential lots (
lotissement) to facilitate urban planning. During an
interview his grandson Muhammed Kunta remembers him fondly from his early years when the family made a living from agriculture, pastoralism, and trade in the village of Kamatane near Kaolack. He describes him as a man of foresight and credits him with his secular schooling. It was El Haj who asked that young Muhammed be enrolled in a French school instead of being sent to Mauritania for a Koranic education.
Sidi Yakhya Kunta lived in the Sine region before becoming Khalif in 1976. He had a modern mosque constructed in Ndiassane as well as a mausoleum to house the tomb of his father Shaykh Buh Kunta. (See
video footage of mosque and mausoleum.) Up until then, the founder’s tomb had been sheltered by a simple structure with a straw roof that had to be renewed every year.
Shaykh Buh Mohamed Kunta was the last of Buh Kunta’s sons to lead the order. After receiving an extensive religious education in Mauritania, he lived in the Saloum village of Thariack and served as its village chief before replacing his elder brother Sidi Yakhya as khalif in 1987. He improved the infrastructure of Ndiassane and strengthened the authority of the shaykhs. He also wrote about various aspects of family history. His death in 2006 was extensively covered in the
Senegalese press.
El Haj Mame Buh Mamadu Kunta was the first of Shaykh Buh Kunta's grandsons to assume leadership of the
tarikha when he became khalif on April 29, 2006. Son of El Haj Mamadu, the third khalif, he had lived and worked in Kamatane. Business also took him to Mali and to other countries in West Africa, as he explains in an
interview. The practice of having candidates for the khalifat live away from Ndiassane was instituted during the period of the first Khalif to forestall conflict among brothers and to encourage them to become autonomous and self-reliant. It has also brought them into close contact with their followers. All of the villages where the khalifs after Sidi Lamin have lived are villages with significant communities of disciples. Although El Haj Mame Buh was over 80 years old when he became khalif, he quickly began visiting communities of followers. Assisted by his eldest son Muhammed Kunta, a professor in the School of Education at the University Cheikh Anta Diop in Dakar
(see interview), he has set an ambitious agenda for himself: establish a modern Koranic school (
daara), for Muslims of any denomination, that teaches pupils practical skills; open a middle school in Ndiassane to facilitate the schooling of girls; and complete the construction of a large mosque, among other things.
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Like their father and grandfather, the Khalifs of Ndiassane have lived modestly. They continued to send some of their sons and disciples to Mauritania for a period of years, often to religious leaders with whom they themselves had studied. In addition to a religious education, they learn the Arabic language and Moorish cultural traditions. The khalif assumes the costs for those he sends. Family members who do not study in Mauritania pursue an education or professional training and work in various capacities. To cite only a few examples: Professor Muhammed Kunta has already been mentioned above. His younger sister Soxna Astuh Kunta serves as an assistant to her father, El Haj Mame Buh, since he became the sixth khalif in 2006. She discussed her responsibilities in an
interview . Sidi Omar Kunta, a grandson of the first Khalif, Shaykh al-Bekkai Kunta, succeded his father as the main imam of Ndiassane
(see interview) . Former family spokesperson Ahmed Bashir Kunta is well known as a journalist for RTS, the national radio and television station. Shaykh Sidi Yakhya Kunta, a great grandson of Buh Kunta, works in the port of Dakar; he
spoke about his activities as a family member and his efforts to learn more about family history. Buh Muhamed Kunta, known as
Buh Khalifa, teaches Arabic in a middle school (CEM) of the Dakar suburb Guédiawaye. Son of Serigne Muhammed Buna Kunta of Ndankh and of Soxna Astuh Kunta, daughter of the first Khalif Al-Bekkai Kunta, he received religious and secular schooling in Senegal, attended high school and university in Morocco, and obtained an education degree from the University Cheikh Anta Diop in Dakar. He and some of his brothers research family history, write, and give lectures about the Buh Kunta Way. Other family members have studied elsewhere in the Maghreb or in Egypt.