Kénédougou Kingdom Fǎngi Kenedugu | |||||||||
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| c. 1650–1898 | |||||||||
 West Africa in 1875 | |||||||||
| Status | Kingdom | ||||||||
| Capital | Bougoula (?–1877) Sikasso (1877–1898) | ||||||||
| Government | Monarchy | ||||||||
| Faama | |||||||||
• (first) | Nanka Traoré | ||||||||
• (1876–1893) | Tieba Traoré | ||||||||
• (1893–1898) | Babemba Traoré | ||||||||
| Historical era | Early modern period | ||||||||
• Established | c. 1650 | ||||||||
• Established independence fromKong Empire | 1825 | ||||||||
• Fall ofSikasso | 1 May 1898 | ||||||||
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| Today part of | Mali Côte d'Ivoire Burkina Faso | ||||||||
TheKénédougou Kingdom, (Cebaara Senufo:Fǎngi Kenedugu), (c. 1650–1898) was a pre-colonialWest African state established in the southeastern portion of present-dayMali, as well as parts of northernCôte d'Ivoire and westernBurkina Faso.
Kénédougou, meaning 'country of the plain', was first established in the 17th century by theDioula Traore clan.[1]: 62–3 The new kingdom, mostly inhabited by theSenufo people, was conveniently located to dominate the exchange of desert and forest goods. However, the Senoufo traditionalist practices put them at odds with the Muslims to their north. Kenedougou adopted some Mandé practices such as the royal title offaama.
According to legend, the Traoré family originated in Gbotola nearKankan in what is now Guinea. A local seer predicted that, were they to sacrifice their aunt and go east, they would establish a powerful dynasty. They refused to kill their relative for ambition, even as other passing seers repeated the same prophecy. One day the aunt in question was told about the prophecy. In order to benefit her family, she prepared herself for sacrifice and committed suicide. When the family heard the news they buried the aunt and traveled east.[2]
Nanka Traoré became Kénédougou's first ruler and began the Traoré dynasty, which would last into the late 19th century. There is little information about the kingdom's formative years, and approximately five to seven famas ruled between the foundation of the dynasty and FamaDouala Ba. Kénédougou's existence was marked by relative peace compared to neighboring states of the period.
In the 18th century, Kénédougou was a far-flung extension of theKong Empire. By 1825, Kong power had declined in the region and the kingdom, under the rule of Doaula Ba Traoré, was able to establish independence.[3]
During much of the 19th century, Kenedougou was a war withBobo-Dioulasso and their former overlords inKong.Faama Daoula Traore (r. 1840-1877) expanded his holdings at their expense and consolidated administrative control. He died in 1877, and was succeeded by his sonTieba.[1]: 63
During this period, Kenedougou faced a double threat as French colonial forces andSamori Toure began swallowing up commercial partners in the south, west and east. FaamaTieba moved the capital of the kingdom from Bougoula to his mother's home city ofSikasso in 1877. There he built a new palace on a strategic hill called theMamelon and a massive city wall, theTata of Sikasso, which remains a tourist attraction today.[4]
Kenedougou's conflict with Toure'sWassoulou Empire began in 1884 when Tieba sent his brother Siaka to reinforce the frontier between the two kingdoms at theBagoe River. The region soon became a depopulated battleground.[5]: 270 Tieba also conquered theMinianka region.[1]: 63
Samori attacked Sikasso with an army of 12,000 men in April 1887, and laid siege to the city for 15 months, but failed to take it before a French column rescued the city.[1]: 99 In the aftermath, Tieba signed a treaty of alliance with the French.[1]: 63 He continued to campaign to the east, but was poisoned and died nearBama in January 1893.[1]: 99
Following Tieba's death, his brotherBabemba Traoré assumed the throne, later expanding Kenedougou territory into modern-day Burkina Faso and Ivory Coast. He maintained the relationship with France, but in 1898 stopped sending the annual tribute and expelled and attacked the French ambassador.[1]: 63
The French launched an artillery assault against Sikasso's tata on April 15th 1898, and the city fell on May 1. Rather than see the French take control of his city, Faama Babemba ordered his guards to kill him.
Kénédougou was one of the last major hold-outs against French ambitions in West Africa. The territory of the kingdom was assimilated into thecolony ofFrench Sudan, and later into the country ofMali.
The memory of Tieba and Babemba are still revered to this day in Mali as symbols of African resistance to the French.
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