The title Loul (or Lul) is an ancient royal title used in the pre-colonial Serer kingdoms, such as the

Kingdom of Sine The Kingdom of Sine (or Siin in Serer, variations: ''Sin'' or ''Siine'') was a post-classical Serer kingdom along the north bank of the Saloum River delta in modern Senegal. Toponymy and Demonym During the Guelowar Era the region was named a ...

, the

Kingdom of Saloum The Kingdom of Saloum (Serer language, Serer: ''Saluum'' or ''Saalum'') was a Serer people, Serer monarchy, kingdom in present-day Senegal and parts of Gambia. The precolonial capital was the city of Kahone. Re-established in 2017, Saloum is now ...

and formerly the Kingdom of Baol. These three pre-colonial kingdoms are now part of independent

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 ...

. The ''Loul'' was the third in line to the

throne A throne is the seat of state of a potentate or dignitary, especially the seat occupied by a sovereign (or viceroy A viceroy () is an official who reigns over a polity in the name of and as the representative of the monarch of the territory ...

after the

Buumi Buumi (many variations : Buumy, Bumy, Bumi, etc.) was a royal title in the pre-colonial Serer Kingdoms of Sine, Saloum and Baol, as well as in the Jolof Empire. Among the Serer In the Serer kingdoms, the Buumi was the first in line to inherit ...

and Thilas. Diouf, Niokhobaye, « ''Chronique du royaume du Sine''. Suivie de notes sur les traditions orales et les sources écrites concernant le royaume du Sine par Charles Becker et Victor Martin », in ''Bulletin de l' Institut Fondamental d'Afrique Noire'' (IFAN), tome 34, série B, numéro 4, 1972, p. 777 In old

Serer language Serer, often broken into differing regional dialects such as Serer-Sine and Serer-Saloum, is a language of the Senegambian branch of the Niger–Congo family spoken by 1.2 million people in Senegal and 30,000 in the Gambia as of 2009. It is the ...

, ''Loul'' means ''"envoyer"'' (to send). Sarr, Alioune, « ''Histoire du Sine-Saloum''. Introduction, bibliographie et Notes par Charles Becker », ''Bulletin de l'IFAN'', tome 46, série B, numéros 3-4, 1986–1987, p. 23 Some have advanced the claim that the title itself derived from the Lamanic era - (ancient kings and

landed gentry The landed gentry, or the gentry (sometimes collectively known as the squirearchy), is a largely historical Irish and British social class of landowners who could live entirely from rental income, or at least had a country estate. It is t ...

of the

Serer people The Serer people (''Serer language, Serer proper'': Seereer or Sereer) are a West African ethnoreligious groupGastellu, Jean-Marc, ''Petit traité de matrilinarité. L'accumulation dans deux sociétés rurales d'Afrique de l'Ouest'', Cahiers ORST ...

) and was generally reserved for the lamane Sène, the head of the Sène family (or ''Sene''). In the pre-colonial period, the Loul took residence at Loul Sessène, now part of the Fatick Region, founded by the Sène family.

Notes

Bibliography

*Diouf, Niokhobaye, « ''Chronique du royaume du Sine''. Suivie de notes sur les traditions orales et les sources écrites concernant le royaume du Sine par Charles Becker et Victor Martin », ''Bulletin de l'IFAN'', tome 34, série B, numéro 4, 1972 * Sarr, Alioune, ''Histoire du Sine-Saloum''. Introduction, bibliographie et Notes par Charles Becker, ''Bulletin de l'IFAN'', tome 46, série B, numéros 3–4, 1986–1987 *Klein, Martin A., ''Islam and Imperialism in Senegal Sine-Saloum, 1847–1914'', Edinburgh University Press, 1968 *Diop, Papa Samba, ''Glossaire du roman sénégalais'', L'Harmattan, 2010, p. 92, {{Serer topics, state=collapsed Serer royalty Serer history