Tuba

Tuba, or Touba, lies on the routes between the Futa Jalon highlands and the country of Kaabu. It became a celebrated centre of Islamic learning associated with the Jakhanke clerical tradition. Its scholars taught students from a wide area, and the settlement acquired a reputation that extended well beyond the hills around it. The scholar al-Hajj Salimu Gassama, known as Karamokho Ba, founded a community and school here in the early nineteenth century. His learning and his independence from secular rulers made him an influential figure among Jakhanke clerics. Other settlements bearing the name Touba were subsequently established in West Africa, but this centre in Futa Jalon remained closely associated with his teaching.