Boukar Djillakh Faye
Boukar Djillakh Faye was a 14th-century Serer wrestler from the post-classical Kingdom of Sine which lies within present-day Senegal.
Life
Originally from Djillakh, he was given the niece of [Maad a Sinig Maad a Sinig Maysa Wali Jaxateh Manneh|Maysa Wali Jaxateh Manneh|Maysa Wali] in marriage after demonstrating his prowess in the wrestling arena. According to oral tradition Maysa Wali, later a Maad a Sinig, was the first member of the Guelowar Dynasty to rule in Sine after his family's defeat by the Ñaancos at the so-called Battle of Troubang in 1335. In reporting this tradition, Henry Gravrand did not notice that this is actually a description of the 1867 Battle of Kansala. Boukar Djillakh Faye is linked to early Guelowar dynastic history in Senegambia as well as Serer medieval and dynastic history. His marriage to Lingeer Tening Jom provided many heirs to the throne of Sine, including his sons Tasse Faye and Waagaan Tening Jom Faye, who all succeeded to the throne of Sine as Maad a Sinigs and established the Faye dynasty in Sine. Other sources suggest that he was married to Lingeer Siin o Mew Manneh, not Tening Jom, and it is from that marriage the Faye dynasty of Sine derived from. However, the general consensus is that the former narrative provided in Niokhobaye Diouf's Chronique du royaume du Sine - regarding Boukar Djillakh's marriage to Tening Jom, their children and descendants is much richer and probably more historically accurate albeit the disputed dates of reign for the earlier Maad a Sinigs, unlike Alioune Sarr's Histoire du Sine-Saloum, whose dates are the prevailing view. The variations between the historical narratives are however minute.
Legacy
In all narratives, Boukar Djillakh Faye is regarded as one of the patriarchs of the Faye family, the father and direct ancestor of all the members of Faye patrilineage that ruled in Sine from the 14th to the 19th century. As one of the Senegambian royal families, many of his descendants went on to shape Senegambian history during these periods.