.png)
Futa Toro (Wolof andFula:Fuuta Tooro,فُوتَ تࣷورࣷ,𞤆𞤵𞥄𞤼𞤢 𞤚𞤮𞥄𞤪𞤮;Arabic:فوتا تورو), often simply theFuta, is a semidesert region around the middle run of theSenegal River. This region, along the border ofSenegal andMauritania, is historically significant as the center of severalFulani states, and a source of jihad armies and migrants to theFouta Djallon.[1][2]
The word Futa is a general name the Fulbe gave to any area they lived in, while Toro was the actual identity of the region for its inhabitants, likely derived from the ancient kingdom ofTakrur.[3] The people of the area mostly speakPulaar, a dialect of theFula language that spans West Africa fromSenegal toCameroon. They identified themselves by the language giving rise to the name Haalpulaar'en meaning those who speak Pulaar. The Haalpulaar'en are also known asToucouleurs (var.Tukolor), a name also derived from ofTakrur.
The Futa Toro stretches for about 400 kilometers, but only a narrow band of up to 20 kilometers on either side of the Senegal River is well watered and fertile.[4] The interior, away from the river, is porous, dry and infertile.[5] Historically, each of the Futa Toro geographical provinces were fertile pockets of thewaalo flood plains, and this resource was controlled by kin groups. The long stretch meant the region was divided among many families, and the transmission of property rights from one generation to the next led to many family disputes, political crises and conflicts.[4]
The Fula first arrived in what is now Futa Toro during the reign of theWagadu Empire, fleeing the increasingly aridAdrar andHodh regions. Nomadic pastoralists, they mixed with the earlier proto-Serer andWolof fishing and farming populations.[6]: 58
Futa Toro was one of the first regions in West Africa to becomeIslamized, by the 11th century.[7] Known asTakrur at the time, it became wealthy on the trans-Saharan trade, particularly after theAlmoravid capture ofAoudaghost stifled competing commercial centers. A target for conquerors, however, Futa Toro was conquered or vassalized sequentially by the Wagadu, theSosso Empire, theMali Empire, and theJolof Empire.[6]: 72
Koli Tenguella founded the state ofDenanke in the early 16th century, breaking this cycle. The rise of theAlmamyate of Futa Toro in 1776, which ended Denanke rule, inspired a series of Islamic reform movements and jihads around the region, led by groups of educated Fula Muslims known as theTorodbe.[8][1] In the 1780s Abdul Kader became almaami (religious leader or imam) of Futa Toro but his forces were unable to establish their control over the surrounding states.[9]
The Almamyate of Futa Toro later became the prime recruiting ground for thejihads ofToucouleur conqueror al-HajjUmar Tall and anti-colonial rebel al-HajjMahmadu Lamine. Despite resistance, the Futa Toro was firmly in the hands ofFrench Colonial forces moving from modernSenegal by 1900. Upon independence, the region's heart, the southern bank of the Senegal River, was retained by Senegal; in modern parlance, 'Futa Toro' generally means the left bank. The north bank is calledChemama and is a part ofMauritania.
Historically the western part was called Toro, and the central portion includes Bosea, Yirlabe Hebbyabe, Law and Hailabe provinces. The eastern Futa includes Ngenar and Damga provinces.[4][6]: 27 During the height of Fula power in the region from the 11th to the 17th centuries, Futa Toro included the plains up to theTagant andAssaba plateaus.[6]: 27, 33 The valley of theGorgol river on the north bank, with the royal capital of Takrur, was the heartland.[6]: 38 Beginning in the 17th century, however, Futa Toro shrank as the Sahara dried andBerber andHassani attacks intensified.[6]: 30
Media related toFuta Tooro at Wikimedia Commons