Aline Sitoe Diatta

Aline Sitoe Diatta (c. 1920 – 22 May 1944) was a Jola spiritual leader and rainmaker who lived in French Senegal. Often compared to Joan of Arc, Aline Sitoe was born in Kabrousse, Basse Casamance, where she was orphaned. She moved to Dakar around 1935 to work as a domestic servant but returned to Kabrousse after receiving a vision, which she stated was from Emitai, the supreme being in Jola religious belief.

Upon her return to Kabrousse, Aline Sitoe gained renown as a spiritual leader. She acted in opposition to French colonial authorities, rejecting colonial cash crops, head taxes, and conscription. She also promoted cattle sacrifice, undermining French efforts to secure food for urban centers in northern Senegal. The many pilgrims who traveled from nearby villages to visit her alarmed French colonial authorities, and in 1943, after violent clashes in villages throughout the Basse Casamance region, French forces arrested her. Her role in these clashes is debated, with scholars such as Wilmetta J. Toliver-Diallo and Meghan O'Donoghue arguing that French authorities used her as a scapegoat for the unrest in the region. After her arrest, Aline Sitoe was convicted of inciting a rebellion and died in a concentration camp in Timbuktu, then part of French Sudan. Her death was not made public until 1983.

In Senegal, Aline Sitoe is often celebrated as a heroine who resisted colonial rule. After Senegal gained its independence, her legacy grew in prominence through the proliferation of cultural and scholarly works. Some scholars, such as Toliver-Diallo and Robert M. Baum, argue that nationalist narratives have co-opted and simplified Aline Sitoe Diatta's legacy, downplaying her role as a religious figure and prophet. Baum credits Aline Sitoe with transforming Jola religious traditions by emphasizing a direct connection to Emitai and challenging traditional Jola religious hierarchies.