Migration, marriage, and ethnicity: The early development of islam in precolonial middle casamance

Abstract

Historical narratives have consistently overlooked the role of marriage in the process leading to the Islamization of the Casamance, the southwestern part of Sénégal.1 This negligence is a clear reflection of the minor role played by this region in the historiography of Senegambia as a whole. Instead of exploring the early development of Islam throughout the Casamance, this chapter focuses on the interwoven relationships between migration, marriage, and ethnic identity transformation in the Middle Casamance. Its chronological focus is the period between the first half of the seventeenth century, when the original Muslim settlements began to emerge, and the mid-nineteenth century, when the balance of religious power was dramatically shifting in favor of Muslims.