Kaolack (; ) is a town with a population of 298,904 (2023 census) on the north bank of the
Saloum River
The Saloum River (French: ''Fleuve Saloum'') rises about 105 kilometers east of Kaolack, Senegal, and flows into the Atlantic Ocean. The Saloum Delta is located at its mouth, in the protected Saloum Delta National Park. The river basin lies with ...
about from its mouth and the
N1 road 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 ...
. It is the capital of the
Kaolack Region, which borders
The Gambia
The Gambia, officially the Republic of The Gambia, is a country in West Africa. Geographically, The Gambia is the List of African countries by area, smallest country in continental Africa; it is surrounded by Senegal on all sides except for ...
to the south.
Kaolack is an important regional
market town
A market town is a settlement most common in Europe that obtained by custom or royal charter, in the Middle Ages, a market right, which allowed it to host a regular market; this distinguished it from a village or city. In Britain, small rura ...
and is Senegal's main
peanut
The peanut (''Arachis hypogaea''), also known as the groundnut, goober (US), goober pea, pindar (US) or monkey nut (UK), is a legume crop grown mainly for its edible seeds. It is widely grown in the tropics and subtropics by small and large ...
trading and processing center. As the center of the Ibrahimiyya branch of the
Tijaniyyah
The Tijjani order () is a Sufi Tariqa, order of Sunni Islam named after Ahmad al-Tijani. It originated in Algeria but now more widespread in Maghreb, West Africa, particularly in Senegal, The Gambia, Gambia, Mauritania, Mali, Guinea, Niger, ...
Sufi
Sufism ( or ) is a mysticism, mystic body of religious practice found within Islam which is characterized by a focus on Islamic Tazkiyah, purification, spirituality, ritualism, and Asceticism#Islam, asceticism.
Practitioners of Sufism are r ...
order founded by
Ibrayima Ñas, it is also a major center of
Islam
Islam is an Abrahamic religions, Abrahamic monotheistic religion based on the Quran, and the teachings of Muhammad. Adherents of Islam are called Muslims, who are estimated to number Islam by country, 2 billion worldwide and are the world ...
ic education. The
Leona Niassene mosque (right) in Kaolack is one of the largest and best known in Senegal.
History
Kaolack is the successor city to
Kahone, historic capital of the kingdom of
Saloum
The Kingdom of Saloum ( Serer: ''Saluum'' or ''Saalum'') was a Serer kingdom in present-day Senegal and parts of Gambia. The precolonial capital was the city of Kahone. Re-established in 2017, Saloum is now a non-sovereign traditional monarch ...
. Originally marked by a sacred tree on the right bank of the Saloum River facing the island of Kouyong, Kahone consisted of a number of distinct neighborhoods separated by open fields, each under the jurisdiction of a different dignitary or official. Kaolack, downriver, was one of these.
One legend holds that it was founded by Sega and Massar, two brothers of
Fulani
The Fula, Fulani, or Fulɓe people are an ethnic group in Sahara, Sahel and West Africa, widely dispersed across the region. Inhabiting many countries, they live mainly in West Africa and northern parts of Central Africa, South Sudan, Darfur, ...
origin from
Macina in today's Mali. Sega’s son, Alioune Mboutou Sow, later served as the Chef de Canton of Kaolack. The Mboutou family house still stands in the middle of the town centre. Mboutou Sow's daughter Ramatoulaye (Rahmat'oullah) was given in marriage to the son of
Amadou Bamba
Sheikh Amadou Bamba (1853–1927), also known to followers as the Servant of Muhammad, the Messenger () and Serigne Touba or "Sheikh of Touba", was a wali, Sufi saint and religious leader in Senegal and the founder of the Mouride Brotherh ...
, hence the saying ''Kaolack worrou Mboutou'' (Kaolack, Mboutou's fiefdom). An alternative telling is that Kaolack was founded by a princess of
Baol
Baol or Bawol was a kingdom in what is now central Senegal. Founded in the 11th century, it was a vassal of the Jolof Empire before becoming independent in the mid-16th century. The ruler bore the title of Teigne (title), Teigne (or Teeň) and re ...
who took shelter there under the protection of the
Maad Saloum
Maad Saloum (variations :Maad a Saloum, Mad Saloum, Maat Saloum, Bour Saloum, Bur Saloum, etc.) means king of Saloum, in the Serer language.
The ancient Kingdom of Saloum now part of present-day Senegal was a pre-colonial Serer kingdom. Their ...
Mbegan Ndour, whom she later married, and founded the traditional cult of the
West African Nile monitor, known as ''mbossé'' in
Wolof
Wolof or Wollof may refer to:
* Wolof people, an ethnic group found in Senegal, Gambia, and Mauritania
* Wolof language, a language spoken in Senegal, Gambia, and Mauritania
* The Wolof or Jolof Empire, a medieval West African successor of the Mal ...
, the
totem
A totem (from or ''doodem'') is a spirit being, sacred object, or symbol that serves as an emblem of a group of people, such as a family, clan, lineage (anthropology), lineage, or tribe, such as in the Anishinaabe clan system.
While the word ...
of the city. Mboutou Sow arrived later, and became chief through his erudition.
French interests in the Saloum River increased in the early 19th century as legitimate articles of trade were sought to replace trade in slaves. By mid-century, peanut production had been introduced to the kingdom of Saloum and, with the permission of its king, a fortified factory was established by the French on the riverfront at Kaolack, more favorably placed for shipping than Kahone. They laid out a first grid of lots in 1860, in what would become the city center or "Escale" neighborhood. The construction of a rail spur from the port to the
Dakar-Niger line in 1911 caused the town to boom as a peanut processing and export center. Its population grew rapidly, rising from 5,600 in 1925 to 44,000 in 1934.
It is at this time that Kaolack became an important center for the
Tijaniyyah
The Tijjani order () is a Sufi Tariqa, order of Sunni Islam named after Ahmad al-Tijani. It originated in Algeria but now more widespread in Maghreb, West Africa, particularly in Senegal, The Gambia, Gambia, Mauritania, Mali, Guinea, Niger, ...
Sufi order, with opening a first major zâwiyah, or “lodge”, in the Leona neighborhood in 1910. His son
Ibrahim Niass
Ibrāhīm Niasse (1900–1975)—or , , ''Shaykh al-'Islām al-Ḥājj Ibrāhīm ibn al-Ḥājj ʿAbd Allāh at-Tijānī al-Kawlakhī'' —was a Senegalese major leader (wolof) of the Tijānī Sufi order of Islam in West Africa. His followers ...
moved the community, known as the Jamāʿat al-fayḍa (), to a new suburb of Kaolack called Madina Baye in the early 1930s, now a part of the city itself.
Today, there is a peanut oil processing plant with its own port facilities in the downstream suburb of Lyndiane, while salt pans across the Saloum river constitute the city’s only other major industrial activity.
Climate
Kaolack has a
hot semi-arid climate
A semi-arid climate, semi-desert climate, or steppe climate is a dry climate sub-type. It is located on regions that receive precipitation below potential evapotranspiration, but not as low as a desert climate. There are different kinds of sem ...
(
Köppen climate classification
The Köppen climate classification divides Earth climates into five main climate groups, with each group being divided based on patterns of seasonal precipitation and temperature. The five main groups are ''A'' (tropical), ''B'' (arid), ''C'' (te ...
: ''BSh''), with a short rainy season and a lengthy dry season.
Neighbourhoods
Among Kaolack's many neighbourhoods are:
*Lewna (Léona in French), which includes much of the city center. It includes Lewna Ñaseen (Léona Niassène in French), the headquarters of the branch of the Tijānī Islamic order founded in 1910 by after his exile in
Gambia
The Gambia, officially the Republic of The Gambia, is a country in West Africa. Geographically, The Gambia is the List of African countries by area, smallest country in continental Africa; it is surrounded by Senegal on all sides except for ...
. But now the Tijānī Islamic Order is held by the eldest son of Mame Khalifa who was the oldest son of Allaji Abdoulaye Niass .
*Jaleñ (Dialègne in French), between Lewna Ñaseen and Medina Mbàbba.
*Medina Mbàbba (Médina Mbaba in French), also called "Medina I", named after Baabakar Njaay, nicknamed "Mbàbba Njaay," who was the
Serer chief of the village when it was incorporated into Kaolack.
*Medina Baay (Médina Baye in French), also called "Medina II", on the northeast edge of the city. It is the center of the Ibrāhīmiiya branch of the Tijānī order founded in 1930 by Allaaji Abdulaay Ñas's son,
Ibrayima Ñas, known to his followers as "Baay" ("Father" in Wolof). The name in
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 ...
means "The City of Baay."
*Saam (Sam in French), west of Medina Baay in the north of Kaolack, also founded by Ibrayima Ñas. Saam was originally designated as the fields and orchards of Ibrayima Ñas's disciples, but since the 1970s the trees have been replaced by houses.
* Ndoorong (Ndorong in French), west of Saam, founded by Bashiru Mbàkke and his
Murid
In Sufism, a (Arabic ) is a novice committed to spiritual enlightenment by (traversing a path) under a spiritual guide, who may take the title , or . A or Sufi follower only becomes a when he makes a pledge () to a . The equivalent Pers ...
disciples.
* Coofog (Thiofoke in French), north of Saam, which existed before Kaolack as a Serer village ruled by the
Guelowar
Guelowar (or Gelwaar in Serer language, Serer), also spelled Gelwar, Guelwar, Guelware, Gueleware or Gueloware, was a maternal dynasty in the pre-colonial Serer people, Serer kingdoms of Kingdom of Sine, Sine and Kingdom of Saloum, Saloum (in the ...
dynasty.
International relations
Twin towns — Sister cities
Kaolack is
twinned with:
*
Aosta
Aosta ( , , ; ; , or ; or ) is the principal city of the Aosta Valley, a bilingual Regions of Italy, region in the Italy, Italian Alps, north-northwest of Turin. It is situated near the Italian entrance of the Mont Blanc Tunnel and the G ...
,
Italy
Italy, officially the Italian Republic, is a country in Southern Europe, Southern and Western Europe, Western Europe. It consists of Italian Peninsula, a peninsula that extends into the Mediterranean Sea, with the Alps on its northern land b ...
*
Mérignac,
France
France, officially the French Republic, is a country located primarily in Western Europe. Overseas France, Its overseas regions and territories include French Guiana in South America, Saint Pierre and Miquelon in the Atlantic Ocean#North Atlan ...
*
Memphis,
United States
The United States of America (USA), also known as the United States (U.S.) or America, is a country primarily located in North America. It is a federal republic of 50 U.S. state, states and a federal capital district, Washington, D.C. The 48 ...
Notable people
*
Adji Bousso Dieng
Adji Bousso Dieng is a Senegalese computer scientist and statistician working in the field of Artificial Intelligence. Her research bridges probabilistic graphical models and deep learning to discover meaningful structure from unlabelled data. She ...
, computer scientist and statistician
*
Jamal Thiaré, footballer
See also
*
Railway stations in Senegal
References
External links
Peace Corps Senegal, Kaolack Page
{{Authority control
Populated places in Kaolack region
Kaolack region
Regional capitals in Senegal
Communes of Senegal