Brak (or Braque) was the title of the kings of the kingdoms of Waalo (or Oualo) and

Biffeche Biffeche or Bifeche is an area of Senegal centred on the town of Savoigne, around 30 kilometres north-east of the major coastal city of Saint-Louis. Low-lying and largely flat, the region is populated by Fula,, Serer-Ndut, Wolof and Moor et ...

on the Senegal River in

Senegal Senegal, officially the Republic of Senegal, is the westernmost country in West Africa, situated on the Atlantic Ocean coastline. It borders Mauritania to Mauritania–Senegal border, the north, Mali to Mali–Senegal border, the east, Guinea t ...

and

Mauritania Mauritania, officially the Islamic Republic of Mauritania, is a sovereign country in Maghreb, Northwest Africa. It is bordered by the Atlantic Ocean to the west, Western Sahara to Mauritania–Western Sahara border, the north and northwest, ...

in West Africa until the 19th century. The word ''brak'' possibly derive from

Arabic Arabic (, , or , ) is a Central Semitic languages, Central Semitic language of the Afroasiatic languages, Afroasiatic language family spoken primarily in the Arab world. The International Organization for Standardization (ISO) assigns lang ...

and mean "high," or from the Arabic word ''baraka'' (divine blessing)Amadou Wade, « Chronique du Wâlo sénégalais », ''Bulletin de l'IFAN'', Série B, tome 26, n° 3-4, juillet-octobre 1964, p. 451–452) The main Brak was the king of the Kingdom of Waalo with capital at Ndiourbel north of the river, and later at Nder on the west shore of Lac de Guiers. The 'Petit Brak' was the king or seigneur of the Kingdom of Biffeche, with his capital compound at on the Senegal River, near Saint-Louis. The kingdoms of Waalo and Biffeche were labelled as 'Brak' or 'Braque' on some French maps of the area, not to be confused with the moorish realm of Brakna north of the Senegal River. Waalo was conquered by the French in the mid-19th century. The Braks of Waalo were chosen from three leading families of Dyoos, Teedyo and Logar, and ruled through a council consisting of various officials with specific delegated functions. It has been claimed that the Brak of Waalo ruled through a local kind of African traditional democracy, but the rulership had definite patrilineal and matrilineal hereditary restrictions. They claimed descent from the legendary first Brak of Waalo and Jolof, Ndiadiane Ndiaye.

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