Kahone

Kahone was the royal centre of Saloum in the Serer country of present-day Senegal. Traditions place the rise of Mbegane Ndour and the naming of Saloum in the later fifteenth century. Kahone became the capital from which the dynasty exercised political and religious authority over the kingdom. Its court belonged to the wider Senegambian world that took shape as Jolof's unity broke apart during the sixteenth century.

Royal authority was attached to particular places as well as to a ruling lineage. The sacred baobab called Gouy Ndiouli served as a place where kings of Saloum swore their oaths. It was also associated with the training of boys undergoing initiation. Such uses linked the succession of rulers with the formation of community members, making the capital a ceremonial centre as well as a seat of government. Kahone's importance through the early modern centuries rested on these royal and sacred functions. Its history preserves the geography of an inland court that preceded the later ascendancy of nearby Kaolack.

The later city of Kaolack lies here.