Editing Cayor (section)

== Culture ==
Cayor society was highly stratified. The damel and nobles (''Garmi'') were at the top of the hierarchy followed by free men (including villagers and [[Marabout|marabouts]]) who were known as ''Jambur''. Below the ''Jambur'' were the ''Nyenoo'', members of hereditary and endogamous castes such as metalworkers, tailors, [[Griot|griots]], woodcarvers, etc. The lowest group of the hierarchy consisted of ''Dyaam'', or slaves. Slaves were generally treated well and those that were owned by the kingdom often exercised military and political power.{{sfn|Lewis|2017|p=167-8}}

The ''Tyeddo'' class were warriors generally recruited among the slaves of the ''damel''. Fiercely opposed to the strict practice of Islam advocated by the marabouts, they were renowned drinkers, brave fighters, and inveterate raiders, including within Cayor. Their depredations went a long way to creating unrest and promoting Islam among the population.{{sfn|Monteil 1963|p=78}} Cayor peasants tended to deliberately produce less food than they could, as wealth was an invitation to raiders; when colonial rule ended the raiding, food production and exports rose dramatically.<ref name = Webb>{{cite book |last1=Webb |first1=James |title=Desert frontier : ecological and economic change along the Western Sahel, 1600-1850 |date=1995 |publisher=University of Wisconsin Press |location=Madison |isbn=0299143309 |page=29 |url=https://archive.org/details/desertfrontierec0000webb/page/28/mode/2up |access-date=25 December 2023}}</ref>{{rp|39}}