Tambacounda (;

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 ...

: Tambaakundaa ) is the largest city in eastern

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 ...

, southeast of

Dakar Dakar ( ; ; ) is the capital city, capital and List of cities in Senegal, largest city of Senegal. The Departments of Senegal, department of Dakar has a population of 1,278,469, and the population of the Dakar metropolitan area was at 4.0 mill ...

, and is the regional capital of the

province A province is an administrative division within a country or sovereign state, state. The term derives from the ancient Roman , which was the major territorial and administrative unit of the Roman Empire, Roman Empire's territorial possessions ou ...

of the same name. Its population in 2023 was 149,071.

Geography

Tambacounda is situated on the sparsely populated sahélien plains of eastern Senegal. Nearby towns include Madina Maboule, Koukari, Yoro Sankoule, Sambadian, Djidje Kounda, Afia Seno, Saare Boylii and Kanderi Niana.

Climate

Tambacounda 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 ...

(''BSh''). Like most of

West Africa West Africa, also known as Western Africa, is the westernmost region of Africa. The United Nations geoscheme for Africa#Western Africa, United Nations defines Western Africa as the 16 countries of Benin, Burkina Faso, Cape Verde, The Gambia, Gha ...

, the area has two seasons, the rainy season from June to October, characterized by heat, humidity and storms, and the sweltering, rainless dry season from November to May. The average precipitation is .

History

Tambacounda was founded by Mandinka settlers of the Jatta (Diatta) family who had been driven out of the valley of the Faleme river by an expanding Bundu in the 18th century. When they arrived at the future side of Tambacounda they found a single hut, inhabited by a slave named Tamba, who welcomed them, and named the community after him. The town, a center of the

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 ...

trade with the English, was attacked by Bundu in 1863. The Kingdom of Wuli became a French protectorate in 1888. The Dakar–Bamako railway reached Tambacounda in 1913. In 1919, it became the administrative capital of a new eponymous ''cercle''. With access to the railroad, in the 1920s came more intensive cultivation of grains, peanuts and cotton. French colonial authorities made the town a major

transport hub A transport hub is a place where passengers and cargo are exchanged between vehicles and/or between mode of transport, transport modes. Public transport hubs include train station, railway stations, metro station, rapid transit stations, bus ...

, and a number of buildings, including the rail station retain the colonial flavor. The train ran until 2018, when it was forced out of service due to a lack of maintenance of the rails. As of January 2024, however, major upgrades are being done, with plans to relaunch passenger and freight service between Tambacounda and

Population and culture

Between the censuses of 1988 and 2002, Tambacounda grew from 41,885 to 67,543 inhabitants. In 2007, according to official estimates, the population reached 78,800 persons. Settled first by

Mandinka people The Mandinka or Malinke are a West African ethnic group primarily found in southern Mali, The Gambia, southern Senegal and eastern Guinea. Numbering about 11 million, they are the largest subgroup of the Mandé peoples and one of the List of ethn ...

, on the regular

transhumance Transhumance is a type of pastoralism or Nomad, nomadism, a seasonal movement of livestock between fixed summer and winter pastures. In montane regions (''vertical transhumance''), it implies movement between higher pastures in summer and low ...

routes of Fula cattle herders, and settled again by

farmers in the early 20th century, Tambacounda has a mix of most of the

ethnic groups in Senegal There are various ethnic groups in Senegal. According to "CIA World Factbook: Senegal" (2019 estimates), the ethnic groups are Wolof (39%); Fula (probably including the Halpulaar speaking Toucouleur) (27.5%)); Serer group (probably includin ...

. The Tambacounda region is famous for its rich

djembe A djembe or jembe ( ; from Maninka language, Malinke ''jembe'' , N'Ko script, N'Ko: ) is a rope-tuned skin-covered goblet drum played with bare hands, originally from West Africa. According to the Bambara people in Mali, the name of the djembe ...

and dance culture and heritage with some of the greatest djembe masters from Segu, Mali coming to Tambacounda in the mid 1900s, and brought with them their history, knowledge, and secrets of the djembe. Among the famous musicians from Tambacounda was drummer

Abdoulaye Diakité Abdoulaye Diakité (December 15, 1950 – January 8, 2018) was an influential djembe master drummer and teacher from Tambacounda, Senegal. He was the lead djembe player of the National Ballet of Senegal for 18 years before emigrating to the Uni ...

Religion

As with most of Senegal, the population is overwhelmingly

Muslim Muslims () are people who adhere to Islam, a Monotheism, monotheistic religion belonging to the Abrahamic religions, Abrahamic tradition. They consider the Quran, the foundational religious text of Islam, to be the verbatim word of the God ...

, with much of the Wolof population in the region tracing their roots to

Mouride The Mouride brotherhood (, ''aṭ-Ṭarīqat al-Murīdiyyah'' or simply , ''al-Murīdiyyah'') is a large ''tariqa'' (Sufism, Sufi order) most prominent in Senegal and The Gambia with headquarters in the city of Touba, which is a holy city for t ...

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 ...

adherents who were given wild grassland by the brotherhood to clear and settle at the beginning of the 20th century. There is a Roman Catholic Diocese of Tambacounda, but only 1.8% of the population of the region is

Roman Catholic The Catholic Church (), also known as the Roman Catholic Church, is the largest Christian church, with 1.27 to 1.41 billion baptized Catholics worldwide as of 2025. It is among the world's oldest and largest international institut ...

Transport

Besides the Dakar–Bamako railway, historically the city's major engine of growth, Tambacounda lies on the N1 and N7 roads. As a part of the Trans-Sahelian Highway system, these are critical for traffic going between the

Kayes Region Kayes Region ( Bambara: ߞߊߦߌ ߘߌߣߋߖߊ tr. Kayi Dineja, ) is one of ten first level national subdivisions in Mali called Regions. It is the first administrative area of Mali and covers an area of . Its capital is the town of Kayes. The ...

Mali Mali, officially the Republic of Mali, is a landlocked country in West Africa. It is the List of African countries by area, eighth-largest country in Africa, with an area of over . The country is bordered to the north by Algeria, to the east b ...

and the coastal regions of

Sénégal Senegal, officially the Republic of Senegal, is the westernmost country in West Africa, situated on the Atlantic Ocean coastline. It borders Mauritania to the north, Mali to the east, Guinea to the southeast and Guinea-Bissau to the southwe ...

(

Thiès Thiès (; ; Noon language, Noon: ''Chess'') is the third largest city in Senegal with a population of 391,253 in 2023. It lies east of Dakar on the N2 road (Senegal), N2 road and at the junction of railway lines to Dakar, Bamako and Saint-Louis, ...

, Saint-Louis), the most densely populated parts of both these nations. This east–west travel intersects with Senegal's most important route from

to the

Casamance Casamance is the area of Senegal south of the Gambia, including the Casamance River. It consists of the Lower Casamance (, —i.e. Ziguinchor Region) and the Upper Casamance (, —i.e. Kolda and Sédhiou Regions). The largest city of Casamance ...

region, which is cut off by

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 ...

. The road through Tambacounda is the only internal route between the two parts of the country that does not cross the Gambian border. The town also has an airport, Tambacounda Airport, serviced by national and international flights.

Agriculture

Tambacounda is also a center for agricultural processing, with millet, sorgum, maize and cotton grown in the dry plains of the region. Sodefitex operates a large cotton processing plant in the town.

Administration

Tambacounda is the capital of Tambacounda Department (which includes three administrative regions) and the large Tambacounda Region.

Sites of interest

The

Niokolo-Koba National Park The Niokolo-Koba National Park (, PNNK) is a World Heritage Site and natural protected area in southeastern Senegal, near the Guinea border. It is served by Niokolo-Koba Airport, an unpaved airstrip. National park Established as a reserve in 1 ...

lies just to the south of the town, and is famed for its wildlife. In 2003, the iron-framed rail station, the ''Hôtel de la Gare,'' and the colonial Préfecture building were placed on Senegal's list of ''Monuments historiques''.Arrêté du 27 mars 2003

Sister cities

Bondy Bondy () is a commune in the northeastern suburbs of Paris, France. It is located from the centre of Paris, in the Seine-Saint-Denis department. Name The name Bondy was recorded for the first time around AD 600 as ''Bonitiacum'', meaning " ...

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 ...

. * La Roche sur Yon in

(local development project) *

Sint-Niklaas Sint-Niklaas (; , ) is a Belgium, Belgian City status in Belgium, city and Municipalities in Belgium, municipality located in the Flemish Region, Flemish Provinces of Belgium, province of East Flanders. The municipality comprises the city of Sin ...

Belgium Belgium, officially the Kingdom of Belgium, is a country in Northwestern Europe. Situated in a coastal lowland region known as the Low Countries, it is bordered by the Netherlands to the north, Germany to the east, Luxembourg to the southeas ...

since 2003

References

* Translation of :fr:Tambacounda (January 2008).

External links

*
Site officiel de la commune
*
Tambacounda sur Planète Sénégal
*
tambacounda.info
Tambacounda based news and web portal.

Bibliography

* Sekna Cissé, ''Évolution de la population de Tambacounda 1915-1976. Essai d’interprétation'', Université de Dakar, 1981, 85 p. (Mémoire de Maîtrise de géographie) * Mamadou Issa Diallo, ''Étude du vent d’une station synoptique, Tambacounda (1946-1975)'', Université de Dakar : 1983, 141 p. (Mémoire de Maîtrise de géographie) * Astou Diène, ''L’évolution économique du cercle de Tambacounda de 1919 à 1946'', Université de Dakar : 1986, 99 p. (Mémoire de Maîtrise) * Pascal Handschuhmacher, « Tambacounda, une ville historique sans histoire ? » in Jean-Luc Piermay et Cheikh Sarr (dir.), ''La ville sénégalaise. Une invention aux frontières du monde'', Paris, Karthala, 2007, p. 200-203 * Abou Ndour, ''Monographie de la ville de Tambacounda des origines à l’indépendance (1960)'', Dakar, Université Cheikh Anta Diop, 1993, 63 p. (Mémoire de Maîtrise) * {{Authority control Tambacounda region Regional capitals in Senegal Populated places in Tambacounda region Communes of Senegal