Mari de la reine du Walo, Wolof
"Husband of the Queen of Walo, Wolof" (caption translation). According to Boilat, "the Marosso or the Queen's husband, who was also the head general of the Walo army. He is in full regalia or formal attire, holding his rifle of honor and wearing various ornaments, including a bead necklace, earrings, anklets, and, on his left arm, an enormous silver bracelet, the emblem of his office" (Boilat, p. 9). Walo was a pre-colonial Wolof state. David Boilat (1814-1901) was one of the first Catholic priests in the Senegambia region. His father was French and his mother a Signare, which was a term from the eighteenth and nineteenth centuries used to describe a mixed-race, French-African woman. Boilat spoke Wolof and Serer; and made his drawings from life. The 24 plates based on these drawings are explained in an accompanying text. Boilat left Senegal around the age of 13, was educated in France and he returned to Senegal in 1842 where he lived for ten years working as a teacher. He returned to France where he completed his Esquisses sénégalaises in 1853. He also published a Wolof dictionary in 1858.
Image Title
Mari de la reine du Walo, Wolof
RegID
SI-OB-986
Date
1850s
Title
Mari de la reine du Walo, Wolof
Source
David Boilat, Esquisses sénégalaises: physionomie du pays, peuplades, commerce, religions, passé et avenir, récits et légendes (Paris: P. Bertrand, 1853), plate 4.
Language
French
Item sets
Pre-Colonial Africa: Society, Polity, Culture
Spatial Coverage
Africa--Western Savanna
Reproduced In
David Boilat, Esquisses sénégalaises: physionomie du pays, peuplades, commerce, religions, passé et avenir, récits et légendes (Paris: P. Bertrand, 1853).
Researchers
Jerome Handler; Michael Tuite; Henry B. Lovejoy Graduate Research Assistants: Tiffany Beebe; Travis May
Last Updated
5-Apr-16
Identifier
Boilat02