He was a member the Serer tribe, from the pre-colonial Kingdom of Sine now part of independent Senegal.

[7][8] Boureh Gnilane Joof was a royal prince and a Jaraff (var : Diaraf), a Serer title of nobility with the powers of a prime minister.

His name was adopted in his honour to refer to the first royal house founded by the Joof family during this dynastic period.

[8] The following is a list of kings from the Royal House of Boureh Gnilane Joof that reigned in the Serer kingdoms of Sine and Saloum.

The proper spelling is Juuf or Juf in Serer which reflects the actual pronunciation (see Joof family) :