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Biography

Marème Diarra

A brightly colored mural wall with a few faces, including Marème Diarra. A quote is to left of Marème Diarra.

Footsteps to Freedom

From the mid-19th century through World War I, European colonization—and African resistance to it—caused great cultural and demographic displacement, most notably in the capture and sale of people across western Africa. Marème Diarra was swept up in the wake of that instability.

Who Was Marème Diarra?

Commissioned portrait of Marème Diarra by Akonga, 2023

Marème Diarra was a Bambara woman from Segou, Mali. At age 20 she was deported to Mauritania for disagreeing with the enslavement of war captives. She eventually fled Mauritania to prevent her daughter, Rokhaya, and two sons, Bilal and Ahmad, from being enslaved. They walked over 200 kilometers (124 miles) to French colonial Senegal, where slavery had been legally abolished. Diarra and her children settled in Diel Mbam outside of the colonial capital of Saint-Louis. Diel Mbam was a haven for newcomers from Saint-Louis and was home to other escapees of Mali’s Bambara community.

Diarra knew that enslaved people who set foot in colonial Senegal became free, as the settlements in the French colonies had abolished slavery. However, the rights of these newcomers remained restricted. Marème Diarra rejected the presence of French colonists who came to Diel Mbam to trade and recruit for the colonial army.

Commissioned portrait of Marème Diarra by Akonga, 2023

Remembering Marème Diarra

Mouhamadou Bah, 2022

Marème Diarra’s great-grandson Mouhamadou Bah recounted Diarra’s story and shared memories of his great-grandmother as part of the Unfinished Conversations series. Unfinished Conversations is an oral history and public engagement initiative connected to the In Slavery’s Wake exhibition. The exhibition team filmed interviews in northern Senegal, learning about Marème Diarra and other historical figures.

Mouhamadou Bah, 2022

Marème Diarra’s Life and Legacy in Diel Mbam

When she arrived, she was welcomed by a certain Biarama Sankhare (nicknamed Ndiasse); Sankhare, a very well-known and respected person. He welcomed all those who came from Segou as he was the representative of all the Bambaras. . . . He offered to each newcomer, according to the need, plots of cultivable land . . . she continued her technical work activities, as was the case in Mauritania. She worked in agriculture, fishing, and animal husbandry with the help of her children.

Mouhamadou Bah, 2022

When the colonists left to Doune Baba Dieye [a coastal fishing village], they certainly had a trading post here [Diel Mbam], which was their stopping point. But when they arrived here, they had problems with her and the whole village. Marème Ndiaye always said no. She did not like them. Maybe that's why the village is far from the road. She never accepted the whites. She never did because they martyred the population. Even my grandmother Fatou hated the whites. My grandfather Sheikhou, as soon as he saw the whites, turned his back on them since he already knew what they represented. They always refused to be colonized.

Mouhamadou Bah, 2022

Excavating Marème Diarra’s Home

Archaeological excavation of Diarra’s dwelling

The location of Marème Diarra’s home was identified during Unfinished Conversations interviews. Several artifacts were recovered at the excavation site, including fragments of an axe that may have been used by Diarra and her husband in their work as charcoal makers. The buttons recovered point to military service, as many of the Tirailleurs Sénégalais—Senegalese riflemen in the French colonial army—were recruited among newcomers like those in Diarra’s community.

Archaeological excavation of Diarra’s dwelling

Mouhamadou Bah Remembers His Great-Grandmother Marème Diarra

Marème Ndiaye [born Diarra] was a very kind and brave woman who was fearless in her actions and gestures. She was completely committed to everything that improved human living conditions. During our childhood, she used to tell us tales. . . . She used to advise us to be devoted to our work, to our faith, to the strengthening of our family ties, and finally to our traditions.

Mouhamadou Bah, 2022

Marème Ndiaye [born Diarra] has always been brave, energetic, and a lady who loves to work. She had always kept this energy even when she was 100 years old. . . . Even at that age, we used to race with her in the coconut field after the rain to pick up the coconut branches that had fallen off because of the wind, which she used to make brooms. . . . Her eyes were sharp, and she never stopped saying what she thought was right, no matter what.

Mouhamadou Bah, 2022

A Community Festival

Marème Diarra festival, 2023

Marème Diarra festival, 2023

Since 2004, an annual festival honoring Marème Diarra has been held in Diel Mbam, Saint-Louis. Community members and descendants gather on Easter or Pentecost weekend to offer prayers and celebrate her memory.

Marème Diarra festival, 2023

Marème Diarra festival, 2023

That's Marème Ndiaye, who represents for us a figure of defiance who doesn't accept in any way to be dominated despite her generosity.

Mouhamadou Bah, 2022

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