In the Soninke community, it seems to be a real problem for a slave descendant to become an elected politician, imam or village chief. Indeed, slavery as such does not exist any longer in the community but its consequences still poison ambitions of slave descendants.
The Soninke families are forbidden to access political and societal levels because of their origin. Their names would disclose a servile origin. And that, even if the rule does not seem to be always applied. This is the case for «Sanokho», «Bakhayoko», «Sakhanokho», «Coulibaly», «Traoré», «Camara », «Diarra», «Sidibé», «Keita». These names are sometimes considered either as «nobles» or « slave » in the Mauritania towns of Guidimakha, Djeol or Kaédi while they could be considered as true nobility in Mali.
Nourou Ibrahima Sanokho, president of the Mauritanian league of the Voiceless (LMSV) is a direct victim of that feudalism. He is one of the founding members of the party in power. He is also a member of its section in Sebkha (Nouakchott). However, his origin as the progeny of a slave is blocking his political ambitions. He is not succeeding to access an important position in the party at the level of his region. «There is a hidden hand, an internal lobbying with the complicity of the State. With the advent of independence, the aristocrats kept in the ruling class. This privilege still continues to weigh on us all » claims the president of LMSV. «We form 70% of these people between Beidanes (the Moors) and the Harratines (the former Moor’s slaves). This has never been taken into account!» he said.
Samba Coulibaly, transporter, is also a victim of his slave origins. He fell in love with a noble girl of the name M. D., in the Sélibaby region. They had a flirt in hiding for about one year. But one day, her parents got MD married to her cousin. Samba will remain prostrated for days before he recovered. Since then, the transporter curses this feudalism which is destroying society. « All persons are equals. There is no superiority, no inferiority» he hammers in. « This is totally amoral to consider slave descendants as animals » he adds.
Abolished in 1981, slavery has remained a vivid practice in Mauritania. To put an end to this, a law which criminalises slavery practices has been promulgated on December 13, 2007. In 2013, Mauritanian law requalifies as «crime against humanity» all slavery practice.
Ladji Traore, General Secretary of the People’s Progressive Alliance (APP) and adviser of the Organisation for the Eradication of Slavery in Soninke Milieu (AMES), thinks that « the structuration of the beïdane society is somehow inspired from the Soninke community because in no other Arab country, you will find such a social stratification ».
According to him, there has been since 1961 only one Soninke member of parliament who has come from former slave background. He answered the name of Coulibaly. His daughter is currently senator of the Tawas soul party for Nouakchott. She would be the single Soninke senator with a name once born by slaves.
The adviser says : «One must ban from this country this despicable system, this outdated conception is shameful for the whole Mauritanian people. The Soninke society is even more conservative than any other society » he notes.
«Former slave-driving families or holding chiefdom are owners of most lands in and around villages. A slave descendant in the Soninke society cannot have any land as the space is in most cases monopolised by the former feudal families» explains Balla Touré, in charge of external relations at the Abolitionist movement (IRA),a member of the FLERE-Mauritania movement (Movement fighting slavery, racism, discrimination in all the communities forming Mauritania). Touré thinks that «in the Republic, there should not be any place for discrimination, segregation and feudalism ».
For Abdoulaye Sarr aka Imam Sarr, General Secretary of the Organisation Main dans la Main (hand in hand), «there is no Koranic text which incites, encourages or recommends anyone to own slaves. Whenever slavery is mentioned in Koranic texts, next come a way how to eradicate it ».
According to the imam, « it is inconceivable that any Muslims would still refer to the issue of slavery ». He goes on: «The majority of Imams of the second generation, after the Prophet (PBH), are former slaves. In all Islamic societies, they were the Imams. Navae comes from a family of former slaves. We owe to him the common version of the Koran in Mauritania. Bilal, who was freed as a slaves aged 25, has been appointed governor. A t the time, the Imam was the most important of all, except the Calif.”
According to Imam Sarr, when one reads the texts of Islam, one would realise that all this interpretation « has been forged by use, we hold tight to this for undisclosable self-interests. To become Imam is an issue of knowledge. This status is given to whoever among us knows best the Koran » he says.
« In the Soninke society, one does not imagine to see a Mahadara (Koranic School) held by a slave descendant. There are many big Muslim intellectuals of former slave origins who are moving from one place to the next to preach Islam an even sometimes a rigorist Islam, an extremist Islam. But back in their home town, they do not have the right to direct a prayer , in a mosque, or even to own a Mahadara » claims the Councillor Traoré.
« slavery practices : a cancer for society»
Professor Sow Samba, social scientist, anthropologist and philosopher, thinks that if one wants to speak about slavery practices to a public who is not aware, one should use keys which will help decipher the society of slavery and its expression. « One must start with social stratification», he suggests.
According to him, we live in a society – that of the Soninkes – where the social ranking of the individual being, his status, his position within society, his profession is decided upon birth. This is a traditional hierarchy in which one finds three categories of social statuses : Horrés (the aristocrats), Niakhamalas (the craftsmen) and Komous (the slaves).
«We are in feudal-slave driving societies where the slaves is marked from birth to death, all his life and this has not much to do with social condition » he notes. «By birth, the individual is already classified» thinks the anthropologist.
Professor Sow notes that «levers of charges are in the hands of the aristocratic families ». He recalls that «since there was no democracy at the level of the school, the issue was never mentioned. During the 60ies, the Mauritanian government hosted many people coming from Boutilimit and few from Kaédi, because the people from Boutilimit were the first ones to have gone to colonial schools. But today, in 2015, how many sons of slaves are teaching at the University or are officers in the Army or in the police ?» he asks. Then he adds: « as soon as this is about sacred or prestigious positions such as in the Army, administration, to direct a prayer or to become a minister, there is someone to say that these people are not born to govern or direct a prayer!».
According to him «it is a breach of ethics, an attempt against democracy, a flagrant violation of human rights. Slave practices are a cancer for the Mauritanian society» concludes M. Sow.
