Porokhane
town in Kaolack, Senegal
Porokhane (also spelled Prokhane) is a town and commune near Nioro du Rip in Paoskoto Arrondissement, Kaolack Region, Senegal. It is a major pilgrimage site for the Mourides of Senegal.
Pilgrimage
Porokhane is a place of annual pilgrimage known as the Grand Magal, where hundreds of thousands of pilgrims, especially women, pay homage to Mame Diarra Bousso, who is the mother of Sheikh Amadou Bamba, the founder of Mouridism. She had died in Porokhane in 1866 at the age of 33. The mausoleum and the well of Mame Diarra Bousso are on the official list of historic sites and monuments in Senegal.
Mame Diarra Bousso's family came from Golléré, a village near Fouta and Mbacké. Today, she is celebrated annually by hundreds of thousands of pilgrims at Porokhane, where she remains buried.
Notable people
Serigne Moustapha Mbacke Bassirou is the grandson of Amadou Bamba and the eldest son of Sheikh Mouhamadoul Bachir. He modernized Porokhane village, founded the Maam Diaara foundation, and set up a girls' boarding school in Porokhane that can accommodate 400 students.
Villages
Porokhane rural community consists of the main capital Porokhane, and villages such as Prokhane Ouolof, Prokhane Peuhl and Prokhane Toucouleur.
This brief starts where responsible research should: with the source description of “Porokhane” as town in Kaolack, Senegal. Everything that follows is an evidence route, not borrowed authority.
Why this record matters
The subject matters to the places & architecture register because the source frames it as town in Kaolack, Senegal. Its deeper value depends on whether names, dates, institutions and citations support that framing.
Place names and jurisdictional language are key evidence: both can reveal earlier catalogue descriptions and overlooked record series. The source revision retrieved here is dated Jan 2, 2025. The linked authority identifier is Q3398214. Authority coordinates are 13.696, -15.827. None of the 1 selected statements returned an explicit reference. The first chronological checks are 1866.
Modern boundaries and familiar names can conceal earlier jurisdictions or structures that do not align with the present site. The lead is largely declarative, so disagreement and counter-evidence require a deliberate search beyond the opening account. Authority statements aid reconciliation but still require their own references, qualifiers and ranks to be checked.
How to read it
Treat names, boundaries and functions as historically changeable. Maps, plans, inventories and administrative records can clarify what the place meant at different dates.
- Historic place names
- Jurisdictional context
- Routes into maps and plans
Contemporary maps, plans, listed-building records, estate papers and the responsible local or national archive.
Three-step research path
- Establish the record: confirm the title “Porokhane”, its source revision and the description used here.
- Expand the search: follow Porokhane primary sources, Porokhane archive and Porokhane research across catalogues and specialist indexes.
- Test the account: compare the strongest cited source with the responsible institution’s current record and note any disagreement.
Questions for further research
- Which source most directly establishes the central claim about “Porokhane”?
- What physical evidence or contemporary plan supports the description?
- Which authority defined the place, boundary or structure at the relevant date?
Search terms from this dossier
This entry incorporates text from “Porokhane” on English Wikipedia. Contributors are listed in the page history. Text is available under the Creative Commons Attribution-ShareAlike 4.0 License. Selected authority identifiers and statements are retrieved from Wikidata under CC0; their references and qualifiers remain part of the verification path.