Senegal has a very varied cultural landscape and a history of kingdoms, empires, brotherhoods and colonial struggles (between and against colonizing powers).

The ethnic groups of Senegal today live in relative peace and harmony, despite their diversity and differences in economic advancement. The main ethnic groups are the Wolof, the Serer, the Fulfulde (Peulh or Fula), the Diola (Jola), the Tukulor, the Lebou, the Niominka, the Bassari and the Bambara. Other cultures include the Moors (Maures or Naar), the Lebanese, and the French. Linguistically, the Wolof have become dominant, and the Wolof is the most widely spoken language in Senegal, as a first or second language; French is the second-most-widely spoken second language. The Wolof are an ethnic group living in Senegal, the Gambia and Mauritania. ... The Serer (also spelled Serreer, Sereer, Sèrèr, Sérér, Seréer, Sèréer, Séréer, etc. ... Categories: Africa-related stubs | Burkina Faso | Cameroon | Ethnic groups of Africa | Fulani Empire | Mali | Nigeria ... The Diola are a people living in The Gambia, Senegal (Casamance), and Guinea-Bissau. ... The Toucouleurs (or Haalpulaaren) are an ethnicity of West Africa. ... The Lebou (Lébou) are an ethnic group of Senegal, West Africa, living on the peninsula of Cap-Vert. ... The Bambara (sometimes Banmana) are a group of people living in west Africa, primarily in Mali but also in Guinea, Burkina Faso and Senegal. ... The Moors were the medieval Muslim inhabitants of al-Andalus (the Iberian Peninsula including the present day Spain and Portugal) and the Maghreb, whose culture is often called Moorish. Juba II king of Mauretania // Origins of the name The name derives from the old tribe of the Mauri and their... Wolof is a language spoken in Senegal, The Gambia, and Mauritania. ...

Various kingdoms and empires have ruled various parts of Senegal. Eastern Senegal was once part of the Empire of Ghana. The Kingdom of Tekrur was founded by the Tukulor in the middle valley of the Senegal River. The Senegalese Empire of Jolof (Diolof) at one time included the Kingdoms of Waalo, Biffeche, Bethio, Cayor, Baol, and parts of Sine and Saloum. All of these later split from Jolof, which remained as a kingdom until conquered by the French. The kingdoms of Saloum, Sine and Biffeche continue today along with tributary monarchies like Gandiaye, and the hereditary Princes of Bethio and Jolof (whose kingdoms no longer exist) are still locally revered. The Layene today is a small theocracy of the Lebou people, at Yoff near Dakar, ruled by a Grand-Khalifa. Waalo, Cayor, Beetyo were ethnic Wolof kingdoms, while Sine, Saloum and sometimes Baol were ethnic Serer kingdoms. The Biffeche kingdom has passed among different ethnic groups. The empire of Jolof was of course dominated by the Wolof ethnic group (derived from that word). Waalo, followed by Jolof, Cayor, Baol, Sine and Saloum were all conquered by the French in the 19th Century. The Ghana Empire (existed c. ... Takrur was one of the minor Iron Age states of West Africa, which flourished roughly parallel to the Kingdom of Ghana. ... The Toucouleurs (or Haalpulaaren) are an ethnicity of West Africa. ... The Senegal River, in West Africa, forms the border between Senegal and Mauritania. ... The Kingdom of Biffeche is a small kingdom located on the lower Senegal River in West Africa, on the border between Mauritania and Senegal near Saint-Louis, Senegal. ... The Principality of Bethio (also spelled Bequio, Bekio, Bitio, Bétio or Beetyo) was a small monarchy located for centuries along the lower Senegal River valley, on the border between modern Mauritania and Senegal, in the northeast of Biffeche. ... The Kingdom of Cayor was the largest and most powerful kingdom that split off from the Empire of Jolof (Diolof), in what is now Senegal, West Africa. ... The Kingdom of Baol in central Senegal was one of the kingdoms that arose from the split-up of the Empire of Jolof (Diolof) in about 1549. ... The Kingdom of Saloum in Senegal is a traditional kingdom which was founded in the late 15th century by the Gelwaar or nobles from the Kingdom of Gaabu to the south. ... -1... The Layene are a politically autonomous religious community of the Lebou people, who live in fishing communities on the Cap-Vert peninsula, north of Dakar, Senegal. ... Yoff is a town (commune darrondissement) part of the city (commune) of Dakar. ... (City of Dakar, divided into 19 communes darrondissement) City proper (commune) Région Dakar Département Dakar Mayor Pape Diop (PDS) (since 2002) Area 82. ... The Serer (also spelled Serreer, Sereer, Sèrèr, Sérér, Seréer, Sèréer, Séréer, etc. ...

A noteworthy feature of the Wolof, Serer and other ethnic groups is a somewhat rigid "caste" system with complicated classes. The Diola are more egalitarian. There is a paradox in that the modern, democratic Senegal state has abolished most official caste distinctions, yet most Senegalese cling to, and many often enjoy, their inegalitarian traditions.

Separate from the institutions of the state, and from the kingdoms, is the important system of Muslim brotherhoods of Senegal, including the Xaadir (Qadriyya), the Tijanes (Tidianes) and the Mourides. These are a powerful influence in Senegalese life and politics. This is a list of Muslim groups in Senegal (and also The Gambia). ... Qadiriyyah, one of the oldest Sufi tariqa, derives its name from Abd al-Qadir al-Djilani (or Abd al-Qadir al-Jilani some spell it Kaylani) (1077-1166), a native of the Iranian province of Gilan. ... The Mouride brotherhood is a large Islamic brotherhood organization in Senegal and The Gambia, with headquarters at the holy city of Touba, Senegal. ...

The two main recent exceptions to the ethnic harmony described above are an ongoing, low-level violent struggle for autonomy, mostly by Diola, in Casamance in the South (south of The Gambia), and, in 1989-1993, a series of violent black attacks on the Moors in retaliation for violent attacks on blacks in Mauritania, which erupted from a single dispute over a grazing camel. Most Moors left Senegal after hundreds were killed. The Diola are a people living in The Gambia, Senegal (Casamance), and Guinea-Bissau. ... Flag of Casamance Casamance is the area of Senegal south of The Gambia including the Casamance River. ... The Moors were the medieval Muslim inhabitants of al-Andalus (the Iberian Peninsula including the present day Spain and Portugal) and the Maghreb, whose culture is often called Moorish. Juba II king of Mauretania // Origins of the name The name derives from the old tribe of the Mauri and their...