Editing Saloum (section)

===Early History===
{{see|Serer ancient history|Timeline of Serer history}}
Saloum and the surrounding region is known for its many ancient burial mounds or "[[tumuli]]" (''podoom'' in [[Serer language|Serer]]) containing the graves of kings and others. The kingdom also has numerous mysterious stone circles whose function and history are still debated by scholars, most of which pre-date the formation of the kingdom.<ref name="Becker"/> The [[Serer people]] who are very diverse, are noted by scholars as one of the oldest inhabitants of the [[Senegambia region]]<ref>[[Henry Gravrand|Gravrand, Henry]], ''La Civilisation Sérère - Pangool'', Les Nouvelles éditions africaines du Sénégal, 1990, p. 77 {{ISBN|2-7236-1055-1}}</ref><ref>''Bulletin de la Société de géographie, Volume 26.'' Société de Géographie (1855), pp. 35 - 36. [https://books.google.co.uk/books?id=hJ9bQf7f-RoC&pg=PA35] (7 mars 2025). Quote:
:« La nation sérère, aujourd'hui dispersée en plusieurs petits États sur la côte ou refoulée dans les bois de l'intérieur, doit être une des plus anciennes de la Sénégambie ».</ref> who saw the entire region as their home.<ref>Mwakikagile, Godfrey, "Ethnic Diversity and Integration in the Gambia: The Land, the People and the Culture", (2010), p. 97, {{ISBN|9987932223}}</ref><ref>Mwakikagile, Godfrey, "The Gambia and Its People: Ethnic Identities and Cultural Integration in Africa", (2010), p. 11, {{ISBN|9987160239}}</ref> In the 11th century, the Serers of [[Takrur]] [[Religious persecution#Persecution of Serers|were persecuted for their]] [[Serer religion|Serer religious beliefs]] by the new Muslim convert and usurper, king [[War Jabi]] and his Muslim ally forces - resulting in the [[Takrur#Serer Exodus|Serer exodus from Takrur]]. Those Serers headed south including Saloum - joining their distant Serer relatives. For more on that, see [[Serer medieval history]].<ref>Chavane, Bruno A., "Villages de l’ancien Tekrour", Vol. 2, Hommes et sociétés. Archéologies africaines, KARTHALA Editions (1985), p. 38, {{ISBN|2-86537-143-3}}</ref><ref>Mwakikagile, Godfrey, "Ethnic Diversity and Integration in The Gambia: The Land, The People and The Culture," (2010), p. 11, {{ISBN|9987-9322-2-3}}</ref><ref>Diop, Abdoulaye Bara, "Le tenure foncière en milieu rural Wolof (Sénégal): Historique et actualité." Notes Africaines, no. 118, (April 1968), IFAN, Dakar, pp. 48–52 </ref><ref>{{cite book |last1=Thiaw |first1=Ibrahima |editor1-last=Bosma |editor1-first=Ulbe |editor2-last=Kessler |editor2-first=Gijs |editor3-last=Lucassen |editor3-first=Leo |title=Migration and Membership Regimes in Global and Historical Perspective: An Introduction Studies in Global Migration History |date=2013 |publisher=Brill |isbn=978-9004241831 |chapter=From the Senegal River to Siin: The Archaeology of Sereer Migrations in North-Western Senegambia.}}</ref>

Fall has advanced the claim that, the first inhabitants of the region, according to oral tradition{{which|date=March 2025}}, were a [[Mande people]] who immigrated from the [[Wagadu Empire]] to flee a drought, likely towards the end of the first millennium CE.{{sfn|Fall|2022|p=144-5}} The princess of Wagadou would marry into the Serer noble families such as the Joof, Njie, etc., giving birth to a Wagadou maternal dynasty in much of Serer country.  For more on that, see [[Joof family]], [[Teigne]], and [[Serer maternal clans]].

Before [[Maad Saloum ]] [[Mbegan Ndour]], Saloum existed in some form, but it is unclear what form it took.{{sfn|Boulegue|2013|p=161}} The area was composed a series of chiefdoms and independent villages, many of which led by Serer [[Lamane]]s and/or part of the [[Jolof Empire]]'s sphere of influence.{{sfn|Boulegue|2013|p=158}}{{sfn|Fall|2022|p=221}} The core of what would become the Kingdom of Saloum was a Lamanic state called Mbey, with the capital at [[Njop]].<ref>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. (1972). Bulletin de l'Ifan, Tome 34, Série B, n° 4, (1972), p 707 (p 5)</ref><ref name = Ba/>{{sfn|Fall|2022|p=288}} The king/chief of Mbey using the Serer noble title '' [[Maad]]'' -referred to as ''Maada Mbey/Maad a Mbey'' (as in [[Maad a Sinig]] and [[Maad Saloum]], titles of the kings of Sine and Saloum respectively).