FARMA TAMI(ca. 1540)GREAT MANE CONQUEROR Farma Tami was a great warrior and is regarded by the Temne people as their founder. He is said to have organized the Temne into strong kingdoms and established their importance in the country. According to tradition, Farma Tami came from the east with a great army, conquering and destroying all opposition in his advance, until he reached the estuary of the Rokel River. He established his capital in what is now Koya Chiefdom at the town of Robaga, near modern Freetown. Temne elders say that Farma Tami ruled when there were still no guns or swords - only spears, shields, knives and bows and arrows. Historians tell us that Farma Tami was one of the leaders of the Mane invaders, probably ancestors of the modern Mandinka, who came in the early 1500s with advanced concepts of government, elaborate chiefly rituals, and improved methods of weaving and iron manufacture. The Mande soldiers wore fearsome war shirts covered with feathers and fetishes. They carried spears, bows and arrows, knives strapped to their upper arms, and shields made from tight bundles of reeds. The Temne elders still recall that Farma "taught people the art of war", and they still regard the town of Robaga as a sacred place. Indeed, every paramount chief in Koya must make a pilgrimage to Robaga and the shrine of Great Farma Tami. |
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Message from The New People Management Team
We envision an Africa where the tribal affiliations of everyone of us is seen as adding value to the development of Africa instead of being used to marginalize people from fully taking part in the development of our motherland. |
