Aline Sitoe Diatta | |
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| Born | c. 1920 (1920) Kabrousse, Basse Casamance, French Senegal |
| Died | (aged approx. 24) Timbuktu, French Sudan |
| Occupation(s) | Spiritual leader,rainmaker |
Aline Sitoe Diatta[a] (c. 1920 – 22 May 1944) was aJola[b] spiritual leader andrainmaker who lived inFrench Senegal. Often compared toJoan of Arc, Aline Sitoe was born inKabrousse, Basse Casamance, where she was orphaned. She moved toDakar around 1935 to work as a domestic servant but returned to Kabrousse after receiving a vision, which she stated was from Emitai, the supreme being inJola religious belief.
Upon her return to Kabrousse, Aline Sitoe gained renown as a spiritual leader. She acted in opposition to French colonial authorities, rejecting colonialcash crops,head taxes, and conscription. She also promoted cattle sacrifice, undermining French efforts to secure food for urban centers in northern Senegal. The many pilgrims who traveled from nearby villages to visit her alarmed French colonial authorities, and in 1943, after violent clashes in villages throughout theBasse Casamance region, French forces arrested her. Her role in these clashes is debated, with scholars such as Wilmetta J. Toliver-Diallo and Meghan O'Donoghue arguing that French authorities used her as ascapegoat for the unrest in the region. After her arrest, Aline Sitoe was convicted of inciting a rebellion and died in aconcentration camp inTimbuktu, then part ofFrench Sudan. Her death was not made public until 1983.
In Senegal, Aline Sitoe is often celebrated as a heroine who resisted colonial rule. After Senegal gained its independence, her legacy grew in prominence through the proliferation of cultural and scholarly works. Some scholars, such as Toliver-Diallo and Robert M. Baum, argue that nationalist narratives have co-opted and simplified Aline Sitoe Diatta's legacy, downplaying her role as a religious figure andprophet. Baum credits Aline Sitoe with transforming Jola religious traditions by emphasizing a direct connection to Emitai and challenging traditional Jola religious hierarchies.
Aline Sitoe Diatta was born inKabrousse, Basse Casamance, then part ofFrench Senegal,c. 1920.[3] After being orphaned, Aline Sitoe was adopted by her uncle, Elubaliin.[4] Suffering from a form of paralysis that left her with a limp,[c] Aline Sitoe's ability to contribute to the agricultural activities of the town was limited.[6] According to writer Aline Rolis, Aline Sitoe left Kabrousse to move toZiguinchor, where she may have worked as a dockworker. However, according to researcher Wilmetta J. Toliver-Diallo, she remained in Kabrousse until roughly 1935, when she moved toDakar to work as a domestic servant.[7] She settled in theMédina neighborhood, where she lived with her partner, a dockworker named Thomas Diatta.[d][8] The couple had one daughter, Seynabou.[6]
In 1941 or 1942,[e] while working as a domestic servant in Dakar, Aline Sitoe began having visions.[10] These visions, which Aline Sitoe claimed were sent by Emitai, the supreme being inJola religious belief, ordered her to return to Kabrousse and establish a spirit shrine.[11] She left Dakar without her partner—who was hospitalized there and died soon after she left—but with her daughter.[8] When she returned to Kabrousse, she did not initially tell anyone about her visions.[12] However, in May 1942, she summoned the town elders and performed the Kasila ritual,[f] during which she instructed the elders to sacrifice a black bull. After this, it began to rain.[14] This was followed by a six-week period of communal feasts and singing, with Aline Sitoe performing rituals at her personal spirit shrine, Houssahara.[g][15] Many pilgrims from throughout the region traveled to Kabrousse to learn the Kasila ritual. Aline Sitoe also married Alou Gaye Diatta, a local religious leader, during this period—becoming his second wife in apolygamous union and sealing a contract between them.[16] The region saw record rainfalls, ending several years of severe drought, and the subsequent harvest was plentiful.[17]
As her influence grew, Aline Sitoe's teachings increasingly conflicted withVichy France's agricultural policy. While French administrators had previously relied on imports fromFrench Indochina to satisfy demand for rice in the Dakar region, they were unable to do so after theJapanese invasion. As a result, they began a compulsory rice-purchasing campaign inCasamance.[18] Amidst this campaign, Aline Sitoe advocated for the cultivation of local rice over high-yield strains and rejected the cultivation ofcash crops such as peanuts and groundnuts.[19] Linking regional droughts to French colonial labor and tax policies, she prophesied the collapse ofconscription, the French use ofhead taxes, and French rule in general.[20] Her promotion of cattle sacrifice further undermined French efforts to requisition Casamance's cattle reserves to feed urban centers in northern Senegal, and the surge of pilgrims visiting her prompted alarm on the part of French authorities.[21] Local leaders who had benefited from colonial rule were also alarmed by her growing influence.[22] In June 1942,Georges Rey [fr], the colonial governor of Senegal, ordered the region'scercle commander to monitor her activities, authorizing her arrest and expulsion from the region if necessary.[23]
In January 1943, French authorities sent military detachments into Casamance to execute their rice-purchasing scheme.[24] Residents of several villages in theOussouye region refused to relinquish their rice.[25] In the village of Ayoune, a group of hundreds of armed Jola from the nearby villages of Efok andYoutou [fr] fired shots at one of the detachments.[24] That same day, a group of men from Efok attacked a French medical unit, convinced that they were covertly gathering information for colonial tax enforcement.[25] Soon after these incidents, a detachment set out to arrest Aline Sitoe. After reaching the area at night, one of their guides thought he saw Aline Sitoe attempting to escape, leading them to shoot and kill a woman who turned out to be her co-wife.[26] To prevent further violence, Aline Sitoe, who had been in seclusion while menstruating, appeared the next morning.[27] She was struck to the ground, then arrested alongside seventeen others, including Alou Gaye.[28] Kabrousse was forced to relinquish all of its rice reserves, which were likely sent to Dakar.[29]
Aline Sitoe was taken to Ziguinchor and placed insolitary confinement. Several of the other arrestees were taken to the village ofOussouye, where they were questioned about Aline Sitoe's activities. One arrestee claimed that Aline Sitoe had told him to not relinquish his rice, to not allow his children to be conscripted, and to not pay taxes. Alou Gaye claimed that he had been forced to marry Aline Sitoe due to her stature as a religious leader and her spirit shrine. This account was contradicted by people in Kabrousse, who stated that Alou Gaye had married Aline Sitoe willingly. During Aline Sitoe's interrogation, she stated that she was "sent by God who appeared to me several times", and that she "only transmitted the directives that he dictated to me". She promised that, if freed, she would "no longer say one word against the whites". Meanwhile, French administrators traveled throughoutBasse Casamance seeking evidence that Aline Sitoe was responsible for inciting the rebellions in Ayoune and Efok.[30]
Aline Sitoe was tried under the FrenchNative code. She was accused of leading a campaign to make the people of the Oussouye region disobey colonial authorities, in the process destabilizing the colony and inciting a rebellion against the colonial government. In her defense, she stated that she was a divine messenger transmitting directives from God, denying any role in instigating the revolt. She further stated that her mission was apolitical and not aimed at fomenting resistance—a claim that was corroborated by Catholic missionaries in Ziguinchor. Despite this, she was sentenced to exile and imprisonment in the city ofKayes, then part ofFrench Sudan.[31] Many of her associates received lesser sentences after claiming that they were only following the teachings of Aline Sitoe, whom they considered a divine messenger. After being sent to Kayes, Aline Sitoe was transferred to aconcentration camp inTimbuktu (present dayMali), where, as a result of the lack of fruit or vegetables provided to prisoners, she died ofscurvy on 22 May 1944.[32] Her death was not reported by French authorities.[h][33]
Casamancais priestAugustin Diamacoune Senghor began calling for an inquiry into Aline Sitoe's death in 1980.[34] In 1983, soon after the beginning of theCasamance conflict,Abdou Diouf, who wascampaigning to become president of Senegal, began speaking publicly about Aline Sitoe's legacy, hoping to deepen the connection between Casamance and northern Senegal. That year, he sent an official delegation to Mali in collaboration with theNational Archives of Senegal, including Jola researcher Fulgence Sagna.[35] The team traveled to Timbuktu, where they found Aline Sitoe's unmarked grave and her birth certificate.[35] After her death was made public, Diouf declared her a "heroine of Senegal".[36] Residents of Kabrousse stated that none of Aline Sitoe's family members were consulted about the trip or asked to participate.[37]
Aline Sitoe is a well-known historical, religious, and political figure in Senegal, where she is often considered a heroic figure who resisted French colonial rule.[38] She is frequently compared to French folk heroineJoan of Arc.[39] In Dakar, she is often called "the woman who was more than a man".[40] Interest in Aline Sitoe expanded beyond the Basse Casamance region in the late 1960s, corresponding with the cultural revival that took place in Senegal post-independence.[41] This interest intensified during the 1970s, with Augustin Diamacoune Senghor calling Aline Sitoe the "Diola Joan of Arc" on state radio, discussing her opposition to French agricultural policies, and linking her to the 1943 rebellions.[2] The 1971 filmEmitaï, directed byOusmane Sembène, prominently features Aline Sitoe, portraying her as the rebellions' instigator.[42]
In 1980, Senghor organized a conference in Dakar to discuss Aline Sitoe's life and work and published a pamphlet titled "Aliin Sitooye Jaata: Vie et Oeuvre" (transl. 'Aliin Sitooye Jaata: Life and Work'), in which he portrays Aline Sitoe as an anti-colonial hero struggling for the independence of Casamance from Senegal.[43] The pamphlet was widely distributed in Jola communities.[2] TheStade Aline Sitoe Diatta, a stadium in Ziguinchor, was named after her in 1986.[44] The passenger ferryMVAline Sitoe Diatta, which connects Dakar to Ziguinchor, is also named for her, as is adormitory building atCheikh Anta Diop University in Dakar.[45] A documentary about her life was aired on Senegalese television in 1988.[35]
The character Johanna Simetho of Wissombo from the 1990 historical novelLes Tambours de la Mémoire (transl. 'The Drums of Memory'), written by Senegalese novelistBoubacar Boris Diop, is loosely based on Aline Sitoe. A song dedicated to her, titled "Aline Sitoé Diatta", was released in 1992 by musicianAlioune Kassé [fr]. Senegalese writerMarouba Fall [fr] stagedAliin Sitooye Jatta or The Lady of Kabrus at theDaniel Sorano National Theater in 1993.[46] In 2008, a coin was minted in Senegal featuring Aline Sitoe's face and the inscription "The woman who was more than a man".[47]
In 1969, Jean Girard publishedGenèse du pouvoir charismatique en Basse Casamance (transl. 'Genesis of charismatic power in Bass Casamance'), an anthropological study that discusses Aline Sitoe's activities, particularly her claims that she received revelations from Emitai. He argues that Aline Sitoe helped transform the religious activity in the Jola region from a primarilyfetishist framework to a moretheistic one.[2] Robert M. Baum also discusses the ways that Aline Sitoe transformed Jola religious traditions. He argues that she emphasized direct connection to Emitai, challenging traditional hierarchies of age, gender, and wealth associated with Jola religious practice and promoting communal solidarity.[48] He also argues that she inspired a lineage of Jolaprophets who continue to assert their connections with Emitai, among them Alandisso Bassène and Sibeth Diedhiou.[49]
Some scholars argue that Aline Sitoe was not strongly linked to the 1943 rebellions in Basse Casamance. Toliver-Diallo contends that Aline Sitoe was ascapegoat for French colonial authorities and local leaders, who were frightened of her growing influence, supplying information to the colonial authorities leading to her arrest.[50] Analyzing French colonial archives, researcher Meghan O'Donoghue argues that French colonial administrators fabricated an official narrative that exaggerated Aline Sitoe's individual role in the 1943 rebellions to justify her punishment and obscure the collective nature of resistance against French rule.[51]
Toliver-Diallo argues that artists from outside Casamance, such as Kassé and Fall, have manipulated public memory by imposing nationalist intentions on Aline Sitoe, simplifying Jola beliefs, reinforcing government-approved nationalist narratives, and downplaying her religious significance to the people of Kabrousse.[52] Baum similarly argues that both Senegalese nationalist and Casamance separatist narratives surrounding Aline Sitoe downplay her religious significance and that she is best understood as a prophet who opposed "early forms of theGreen Revolution".[53]
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