The Two Banks of the Senegal River: A Shared History and Social Bonds That Defy Borders

Mohamed Abderrahmane Ould Abdallah
Social Journalist and Writer
Nouakchott – Mauritania

Along the Senegal River, the two banks have never been merely a geographical line separating two opposing worlds. Throughout history, they have formed a single space of social, cultural, and political interaction. Since the nineteenth century, the destinies of the Bidân (Moors) and the southern populations have become deeply intertwined through relationships forged by resistance, exile, and marital alliances, before colonial policies attempted to tear them apart through administrative decisions and artificial borders.
The Fall of Walo and the Beginning of a Historical Turning Point
The year 1854 marked a decisive turning point in the region’s history with the fall of the Kingdom of Walo, following the French attack led by Colonel Louis Faidherbe. The king was killed, while the queen refused to surrender; her palace was burned with all those inside it, and only a few members of the royal family and their close companions survived the massacre.
Among them was Princess Samboli, who was forced to flee northward into Bidân territory.
Oral traditions widespread in the Dar El Barka region indicate that a significant part of today’s population traces its origins to the children and relatives of Princess Samboli, who rebuilt their lives on the right bank of the river after losing their political homeland in Walo.
The Emirate of Trarza: Protection Beyond Politics
The reception of these refugees was not merely an act of political courtesy, but a sovereign and deliberate choice by Emir Mohamed El Habib, then ruler of Trarza. After Faidherbe issued a decree forbidding Black populations from crossing to the right bank—considered “land of the Bidân”—the emir responded with an opposing decree guaranteeing protection to anyone who crossed the river in search of safety.
This stance was reinforced by direct family ties: Princess Samboli was the sister of Djembeut, wife of Emir Mohamed El Habib, mother of Emir A‘al, and grandmother of Emir Biyâda. Political protection thus became a deep social bond, permanently integrating the refugees into the Bidân tribal and social structure.
A Sociological Reading: The River as a Bridge, Not a Border
From a sociological perspective, this episode reveals the nature of societies in the Senegal River basin before colonization: identity was not built on rigid racial categories or narrow territorial belonging, but on networks of alliances, marriages, and political loyalties. The river was a bridge of communication, not a barrier of separation.
Colonial administration, by contrast, sought to redefine social space by dividing populations into “Blacks” and “Bidân” and restricting movement between the two banks, in order to produce opposing and conflictual identities. The reaction of the Emirate of Trarza illustrates local resistance to this imposed classification and a determination to preserve the historical model of coexistence.
From Past to Present: An Unfinished Memory
More than a century and a half later, the traces of these events remain vivid in the collective memory of the people on both banks. In regions such as Dar El Barka, historical narrative merges with social reality, where genealogies and shared cultural practices testify to the depth of ties between communities.
Yet this memory remains marginalized in official national narratives, which often focus on the modern state and its borders, at the expense of the shared social history that preceded them.
Conclusion
The history of relations between the two banks of the Senegal River shows that what unites their peoples is far stronger than what later came to divide them. Before colonial maps drew their lines, the region formed a single space governed by values of solidarity, protection, and common belonging. Revisiting this past today from a journalistic and analytical perspective is not merely a return to history, but a key to understanding current tensions and imagining ways to overcome them through recognition of shared social and cultural roots.