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91-630: The Fulani people call the region Fuuta-Jaloo ( ࢻُوتَ جَلࣾو ‎) in the Pular language . 'Futa' is a Fula word for any region inhabited by the Fulɓe . 'Djallon' means 'mountain' in old Jallonke . The name in Pular, and in the Fula (macro)language of which it is a part, is also sometimes spelled Fuuta-Jalon . French is the official language of Guinea, and Fouta-Djallon or sometimes Foûta Djallon

182-431: A "natural method" of animal husbandry . Recent research in the field of traditional ecological knowledge finds that for over one hundred centuries, Native American tribes worked the land in strikingly similar ways to today's natural farmers. Author and researcher M. Kat Anderson writes that "According to contemporary Native Americans, it is only through interaction and relationships with native plants that mutual respect

273-457: A barrier to keep out people, wild animals, and domestic livestock. In the permaculture vocabulary, the fence is a vegetative berm , and is instrumental in the process of nutrient cycling and nutrient retention within the suntuure. In other words, the cuntuuje represent a sustainable biointensive polyculture farm system and landscape architecture , housing one or more microclimate ecosystems and are examples of what we know today to be

364-572: A federal state of nine provinces: Timbo, Fugumbaa, Ɓuuriya, Koyin, Kollaaɗe, Keebaali, Labe, Fode-Hajji, and Timbi. After the Muslim Fulɓe victory, other ethnic groups who had resisted the jihad were deprived of their rights to land except for a small piece for their subsistence and were reduced to servitude. The nomad Pulli Fulɓe lost all freedom of movement, and thus, began to settle en-masse. The Jalonke lost their noble status and became slaves ( maccuɓe ). Later, due to strife between two branches of

455-645: A federation divided into nine provinces. Several succession crises weakened the central power located in Timbo until 1896, when the last Almamy , Bubakar Biro , was defeated by the French army in the Battle of Porédaka . The Fulɓe of Fouta Djallonke spearheaded the expansion of Islam in the region. Fulɓe Muslim scholars developed indigenous literature using the Arabic alphabet . Known as Ajamiyya , this literary achievement

546-807: A fixed or settled homestead not too far away, they are basically "in-betweeners". Settled Fulani live in villages, towns, and cities permanently and have given up nomadic life completely, in favor of an urban one. These processes of settlement, concentration, and military conquest led to the existence of organized and long-established communities of Fulani, varying in size from small villages to towns. Today, some major Fulani towns include: Labé , Pita , Mamou , and Dalaba in Guinea; Kaedi , Matam and Podor , Kolda in Senegal and Mauritania; Bandiagara , Mopti , Dori , Gorom-Gorom , and Djibo in Mali and Burkina Faso, on

637-400: A form of natural farming that can be recognized today as biointensive agriculture . The region's main cash crops are bananas and other fruits . The main field crop is fonio , although rice is grown in richer soils. Most soils degrade quickly and are highly acidic with aluminum toxicity, which limits the range of crops that can be grown without significant soil management . Sometime in

728-566: A living fence or hedgerow ) and piled it each day on their garden beds and trees to decompose and become nutritious humus . In the 20th century, livestock among the Fulɓe shifted from large animals to smaller types. Horses, perhaps due to the tsetse fly , decreased, while goats , sheep, pigs, and poultry increased, and n'dama cattle remain an integral asset. The tapade gardens of Fouta Djallon have been highly researched by international scholars from various disciplines. This research has revealed that

819-579: A major ethnic boundary marker" between them and other African ethnic groups in the Sahel and West Africa. Armed with horses and weapons from the north and inspired by Fula, Berber and Arab clerics, Fulani political units would play a central role in promoting Islam in West Africa through peaceful and violent means. These jihads targeted other ethnic groups but also other Fulani who had not yet adopted Islam or who follows it too loosely. These wars helped

910-490: A nomadic herding people, they have moved through and among many cultures, making it difficult to trace their relationships and history with other peoples. Speculations about their origins started in the era of European conquest and colonization because of their oftentimes fair skin, wavy long hair and facial features. Fulani oral histories suggest that their origins lie in North Africa. Their ethnogenesis likely arose as

1001-471: A permaculture design. The graphic in this section is a mind map of the internal zones and sectors found typically in a suntuure environment. The interior of the suntuure, Zones 1-3 (internal gate, entryway, privacy screen, and residence) are reserved primarily for family members. It is in Zones 4 and 5 (the hoggo and suntuure living fence) where most activities of daily life occur. Here, visitors are greeted at

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1092-616: A precedent for later, larger, and more disruptive Fula jihads . The Emirate / Imamate of Timbo in the Fuuta Jallon developed from a revolt by Islamic Fulɓe against their oppression by the pagan Pulli (فُلِی or 𞤆𞤵𞤤𞥆𞤭, non-Islamic Fulɓe), and the Jallonke (the original Mande inhabitants of the Fuuta-Jallon), during the first half of the 18th century. The first ruler took the title of Almaami and resided in Timbo , near

1183-512: A result of interactions between an ancient West African population and North African populations such as Berbers or Egyptians. The earliest mention of the Fula in history may go back to the Bible. Maurice Delafosse speculated that they may correspond to the descendants of Put , son of Ham . Josephus wrote of the Phutites, ancient inhabitants of what is now Libya . The precursors of

1274-911: A secondary shelter or pavilion , work on gardens (hoggos) is organized, children spend the day in play and work if of age, and afternoon prayers, naps, conversations, and meals occur until dark. Zone 6 is the outside world. In 2003, the cuntuuje of Fuuta-Jalon were recognized by the United Nations Food and Agriculture Organization ( UNFAO ) as one of the Globally Important Agricultural Heritage Systems . 11°19′03″N 12°17′23″W  /  11.31750°N 12.28972°W  / 11.31750; -12.28972 Fulani people The Fula , Fulani , or Fulɓe people are an ethnic group in Sahara , Sahel and West Africa , widely dispersed across

1365-561: A small number of farmers in Madhya Pradesh, Punjab, Maharashtra and Andhra Pradesh, Tamil Nadu use this farming method in India. Zero Budget Farming is a variation on natural farming developed in, and primarily practiced in southern India. It is also called spiritual farming. The method involves mulching , intercropping , and the use of several preparations which include cow dung . These preparations, generated on-site, are central to

1456-461: A tiny minority being Christians and Animists. Many West African leaders are of Fulani descent, including the former President of Nigeria, Muhammadu Buhari ; the first president of Cameroon Ahmadou Ahidjo ; the former President of Senegal, Macky Sall ; the President and the vice president of Gambia, Adama Barrow and Muhammad B.S.Jallow; the President of Guinea-Bissau, Umaro Sissoco Embaló ;

1547-497: Is a closed system, one that demands no human-supplied inputs and mimics nature. Fukuoka's natural farming practice rejected the use of modern technology, and after twenty-five years, his farm demonstrated consistently comparable yields to that of the most technologically advanced farms in Japan, doing so without the pollution, soil loss, energy consumption, and environmental degradation inherent in these modern types of farming. One of

1638-495: Is about 1-hectare (2.5 acres) on average, so referring to them as gardens is not accurate, neither for their size nor complexity. The cuntuuje represents a systems approach to food production, and is distinguished by their agrodiversity, as well as the way the people intensively use and maximize a limited amount of land. Today, the cuntuuje gardens continue to produce a significant quantity and variety of agricultural products. The living fences that surround each suntuure are not just

1729-546: Is an ecological farming approach established by Masanobu Fukuoka (1913–2008). Fukuoka, a Japanese farmer and philosopher, introduced the term in his 1975 book The One-Straw Revolution . The title refers not to lack of effort, but to the avoidance of manufactured inputs and equipment. Natural farming is related to fertility farming, organic farming , sustainable agriculture , agroecology , agroforestry , ecoagriculture and permaculture , but should be distinguished from biodynamic agriculture . The system works along with

1820-497: Is based on Fukuoka's principles, his methods differ notably from those of Fukuoka. He re-states the core values of natural farming as: Kawaguchi's recognition outside of Japan has become wider after his appearance as the central character in the documentary Final Straw: Food, Earth, Happiness , through which his interviews were translated into several languages. He is the author of several books in Japan, though none have been officially translated into English. Since 2016, Kawaguchi

1911-504: Is called Pular or Pulaar. The broader language area bears the name Fula/Fulfulde , and it is spoken in numerous countries in West and Central Africa . The Fulani (French: Peul ) population represents between 32.1% and 40% of the population in Guinea. The largest town in the region is Labé . Mainly rural the economy covers animal husbandry (cattle, sheep, goats), agriculture, gathering, trading, and marginal tourism. The Fulbe practice

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2002-409: Is established." Japanese farmer and philosopher Mokichi Okada , conceived of a "no fertilizer" farming system in the 1930s that predated Fukuoka. Okada used the same Chinese characters as Fukuoka's "natural farming" however, they are translated into English slightly differently, as nature farming . Agriculture researcher Hu-lian Xu claims that "nature farming" is the correct literal translation of

2093-478: Is harvested by broadcasting the seed among the standing crop. Later, this method was reduced to a single direct seeding of clover, barley and rice over the standing heads of rice. The result is a denser crop of smaller, but highly productive and stronger plants. Fukuoka's practice and philosophy emphasised small scale operation and challenged the need for mechanised farming techniques for high productivity, efficiency and economies of scale . While his family's farm

2184-521: Is no longer directly instructing at the Akame school which he founded. He is still actively teaching however, holding open farm days at his own natural farm in Nara prefecture. Natural farming recognizes soils as a fundamental natural asset. Ancient soils possess physical and chemical attributes that render them capable of generating and supporting life abundance. It can be argued that tilling actually degrades

2275-494: Is not a technique but a view , or a way of seeing ourselves as a part of nature , rather than separate from or above it. Accordingly, the methods themselves vary widely depending on culture and local conditions. Rather than offering a structured method, Fukuoka distilled the natural farming mindset into five principles: Though many of his plant varieties and practices relate specifically to Japan and even to local conditions in subtropical western Shikoku , his philosophy and

2366-504: Is now eastern Senegal, from his home near Podor . Sy settled the lands with relatives from his native Futa Toro and Muslim immigrants from as far west as the Djolof Empire and as far east as Nioro du Sahel . Under Sy, Bundu became a refuge for Muslims and Islamic scholars persecuted by traditional rulers in other kingdoms. Sy was killed in 1699 caught in an ambush by the army of Gajaaga . Still, Bundu's growth that would set

2457-670: Is now illegal, memories of the past relationship between Fulɓbe and Rimayɓe are still very much alive in both groups. Paul Riesman, an American ethnographer who resided among the Jelgooji Fulɓbe of Burkina Faso in the 1980s, states that the Fulɓe are tall, slim, and light-skinned; they have thin straight noses, and their hair tends to be long and curly. In contrast, the Rimayɓe are stocky, tending towards corpulence, dark-skinned with flat 'squashed' noses, and short kinky hair. The first Fulani people who were forcibly expatriated to America during

2548-590: Is represented by such great poet-theologians as Tierno Muhammadu Samba Mombeya  [ fr ] , Tierno Saadu Dalen, Tierno Aliou Boubha Ndyan , Tierno Jaawo Pellel etc. In its heyday, it was said that Fuuta-Jaloo was a magnet of learning, attracting students from Kankan to the Gambia, and featuring Jakhanke clerics at Tuba as well as Fulɓe teachers. It acted as the nerve centre for trading caravans heading in every direction. The more enterprising commercial lineages, of whatever ethnic origin, established colonies in

2639-645: Is the French spelling. Common English spellings include Futa Jallon and Futa Jalon . The Jallonke people were the earliest inhabitants of the Futa Djallon. The region was a province of both the Sosso Empire and Mali Empire under the name 'Dialonkadugu', meaning 'home of the mountain people'. Since the 17th century, the Fouta Djallon region has been a stronghold of Islam . Early revolutionaries led by Karamokho Alfa and Ibrahim Sori set up

2730-557: The Atlantic slave trade came from several parts of West and Central Africa . Many Fulani slaves came from places such as Guinea, Senegal, Guinea-Bissau, Sierra Leone, Nigeria and Cameroon. Most of the slaves who came from Senegal belonged to Fula and Mandinga peoples. Some of the most common names found on the Registry of Liberated Africans were Fulani in origin. Many of the captors and perpetrators of raids providing sources for

2821-717: The Faro River , to the foot of the Mambilla Plateau , which they would later ascend in subsequent years. The heaviest concentrations of their settlements were at Gurin, Chamba territory, Cheboa, Turua and Bundang. Today, Fula oral historians recognize three different Fuuta , or Fula lands: Fuuta Kingi , meaning 'Old Fuuta', encompassing the Tagant Plateau , the Assaba Region , the Hodh , Futa Toro and

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2912-684: The Fulfulde word Ballo meaning “helper or assistant”, this name is spread across several ethnic groups in Nigeria), Tukur (from Takrur ), Gidado, Barkindo, Jallo, Ahidjo and Dikko. In Mali , the most common Fulani family names are Diallo, Diakité, Dia, Sow, Sidibé, Sangaré, Bah, Dicko, Tall, etc. These names can be found among the Fulani populations of the following Malian regions and areas of Mopti , Macina , Nioro , Kidal , Tomboctou , Gao , Sikasso , and others. These names are also found among

3003-580: The Fulɓe Wuro . Fulani towns were a direct result of nomadic heritage and were often founded by individuals who had simply chosen to settle in a given area instead of continuing on their way. Evidence of Fulani migration as a whole, from the Western to Eastern Sudan is very fragmentary. Delafosse, one of the earliest enquirers into Fulani history and customs, principally relying on oral tradition, estimated that Fulani migrants left Fuuta-Tooro heading east between

3094-533: The Fulɓe ladde . While the initial expansionist groups were small, they soon increased in size due to the availability of grazing lands in the Sahel and the lands that bordered it to the immediate south. Agricultural expansions led to a division among the Fulani, where individuals were classified as belonging either to the group of expansionist nomadic agriculturalists or the group of Fulani who found it more comfortable to abandon traditional nomadic ways and settle in towns or

3185-932: The Maccuɗo , Rimmayɓe , Dimaajo , and less often Ɓaleeɓe , the Fulani equivalent of the Tuareg Ikelan known as Bouzou ( Buzu ) or Bella in the Hausa and Songhay languages respectively. The Fulani rulers and merchants were, like many other ruling ethnic groups of Africa, also involved in the trans-Atlantic slave trade, sourcing the enslaved people through raids and from captives they took by waging war. Many Fulani were enslaved and raided by ethnic groups who adhered to traditional African religions . The Fulani castes are endogamous in nature, meaning individuals marry only within their caste. This caste system, however, wasn't as elaborate in places like northern Nigeria , Eastern Niger or Cameroon . According to some estimates, by

3276-684: The Ouaddaï highlands of Eastern Chad, the areas around Kordofan , Darfur and the Blue Nile , Sennar , Kassala regions of Sudan, as well as the Red Sea coastal city of Port Sudan . The Fulani on their way to or back from the pilgrimage to Mecca , Saudi Arabia, settled in many parts of eastern Sudan, today representing a distinct community of over two million people referred to as the Fellata . While their early settlements in West Africa were in

3367-582: The Sahel from the Atlantic coast to the Red Sea , particularly in West Africa . In addition, many also speak other languages of the countries they inhabit, making many Fulani bilingual or even trilingual. Such languages include French , Hausa , Bambara , Wolof , Soninke , and Arabic . Major concentrations of Fulani people exist in the Fouta Djallon highlands of central Guinea and south into

3458-552: The Wolof term Pël , which is variously spelled: Peul , Peulh , and even Peuhl . More recently the Fulfulde / Pulaar term Fulɓe , which is a plural noun (singular, Pullo ) has been Anglicised as Fulbe , which is gaining popularity in use. In Portuguese, the terms Fula or Futafula are used. The terms Fallata , Fallatah , or Fellata are of Arabic origins, and are often the ethnonyms by which Fulani people are identified by in parts of Chad and Sudan. The Toucouleur people of

3549-775: The African Commission on Human and Peoples' Rights, the Fulani people have held on to "a strict caste system". There are the Fulani proper, also referred to as the Fulɓe , including the Pullo (also called the Rimɓe (singular)) and the Dimo , meaning "noble". There is the artisan caste, including blacksmiths, potters, griots , genealogists, woodworkers, and dressmakers. They belong to castes but are considered free people . Then there are those castes of captive, slave or serf ancestry:

3640-618: The European slave merchants were also Fulani. Fula society features the caste divisions typical of the West African region. The fairly rigid caste system of the Fula people has medieval roots, had become well established by the 15th-century, and has survived into modern age. The four major castes, states Martin Kich, in their order of status are "nobility, traders, tradesmen (such as blacksmith) and descendants of slaves". According to

3731-510: The Fula dominate much of the Sahel region of West Africa during the medieval and pre-colonial era, establishing them not only as a religious group but also as a political and economic force. From the 18th century onwards, the frequency of jihads increased and the Fulani became politically dominant in many areas. While establishing their hegemony, the Fulbe defined a strict social hierarchy and imposed limitations on economic and trading activities,

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3822-561: The Fula population of Burkina Faso , along with other names like Barry and Sankara (derived from Sangaré). Bocoum, Niangadou, Bassoum, Daff, Djigué, and Lah are some family names that can be found among the Diawambe/Jawambe (Singular: Dianwando/Jawando and Diokoramé/Jokorameh in Bambara ) of Mali. The Jawambe are a sub-group of Fulanis in Mali who are primarily known for trading. In some parts of Mali, like Mopti, apart from

3913-490: The Fulani likely migrated out of the Sahara desert , at the time much wetter than today, as it progressively dried beginning in the 7th century BC. They migrated into the Senegal river valley from the east, pushed by Berber raids and desertification. The kingdom of Tekrur in what is now Futa Toro was formed through the interaction of the Fula (and perhaps Berber) migrants with the native "Negro agricultural peoples" of

4004-563: The Fula–a third, or an estimated 7 to 10 million –are pastoralists , and their ethnic group has the largest nomadic pastoral community in the world. The majority of the Fula ethnic group consisted of semi-sedentary people, as well as sedentary settled farmers, scholars, artisans, merchants, and nobility. As an ethnic group, they are bound together by the Fula language , their history and their culture. The Fula are almost completely Muslims with

4095-867: The Futanke hills and along the principal routes. It served their interests to send their sons to Futanke schools, to support the graduates who came out to teach, and in general to extend the vast pattern of influence that radiated from Futa Jalon. Amadou Hampâté Bâ has called Fuuta-Jaloo "the Tibet of West Africa" in homage to the spiritual and mystic (Sufi) tradition of its clerics. Fouta-Djallon consists mainly of rolling grasslands , at an average elevation of about 900 m (3,000 ft). The highest point, Mount Loura , rises to 1,515 m (4,970 ft). The plateau consists of thick sandstone formations that overlie granitic basement rock. Erosion by rain and rivers has carved deep jungle canyons and valleys into

4186-463: The Hausa and other surrounding groups of the region. This Hausa–Fulani interaction is uncommon outside the eastern subregion of West Africa. In Mali , Burkina Faso and Senegal for instance, those within the Fulɓe cultural sphere, but who are not ethnically Fula, are referred to as yimɓe pulaaku ( 𞤴𞤭𞤥𞤩𞤫 𞤆𞤵𞤤𞤢𞥄𞤳𞤵 , "people of the Fula culture"). As such, Fulani culture includes people who may or may not be ethnic Fulani. Although slavery

4277-773: The Inland Delta. Despite its power and omnipresence, the hegemony of the emirate was constantly threatened. During the reign of Aamadu Aamadu, the grandson of Sheeku Aamadu, internal contradictions weakened the emirate until it fell to the Toucouleur in 1862. The founder of the Toucouleur Empire, El Hadj Umar Tall , was an Islamic reformer originating from Fuuta Tooro . Beginning in Futa Jallon , he led an army that conquered Massina, Segou, and Kaarta , but he died fighting against rebels in 1864. At that point

4368-508: The Japanese term. In India , natural farming of Masanobu Fukuoka was called "Rishi Kheti" by practitioners like Partap Aggarwal. The Rishi Kheti use cow products like buttermilk, milk, curd and its waste urine for preparing growth promoters. The Rishi Kheti is considered to be non-violent farming without any usage of chemical fertilizer and pesticides. They obtain high quality natural or organic produce having medicinal values. Today still

4459-637: The Secretary-General of OPEC , Mohammed Sanusi Barkindo . There are many names (and spellings of the names) used in other languages to refer to the Fulɓe . Fulani in English is borrowed from the Hausa term. Fula , from Manding languages , is also used in English, and sometimes spelled Fulah or Fullah . Fula and Fulani are commonly used in English, including within Africa. The French borrowed

4550-674: The Seediayanke royal lineage, (the Soriya and the Alphaya ), a system for the rotation of office between these branches was set up. This led to an almost permanent state of civil strife since none of the parties was inclined to respect the system, which considerably weakened the power of the political centre. A jihad in Futa Toro between 1769 and 1776 led by Sulayman Bal threw out the ruling Denianke Dynasty. Sulayman died in 1776 and

4641-853: The Vice President of Sierra Leone, Mohamed Juldeh Jalloh ; the prime minister of Guinea conakry, Bah Oury; the Prime Minister of Mali, Boubou Cisse and the Wife of Vice President of Ghana Samira Bawumia . They also occupy positions in major international institutions, such as the Deputy Secretary-General of the United Nations , Amina J. Mohammed ; the 74th President of the United Nations General Assembly , Tijjani Muhammad-Bande ; and

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4732-581: The area around Nioro du Sahel ; Fuuta Keyri , 'New Fuuta', includes Futa Djallon , Massina , Sokoto , and the Adamawa Region ; Fuuta Jula is the diaspora of Fula traders and emigrants in other regions. The Fula, living on the edge of the Sahara, were among the first sub-Saharan groups to adopt Islam. According to David Levison, adopting Islam made the Fulani feel a "cultural and religious superiority to surrounding peoples, and that adoption became

4823-447: The areas occupied by the Sokoto Caliphate , which includes what is now southern Niger and northern Nigeria (such as Adamawa , Tahoua , Katsina , Sokoto , Kebbi , Zinder , Bauchi , Diffa , Yobe , Gombe , and further east, into the Benue River valley systems of north eastern Nigeria and northern Cameroon). This is the area known as the Fombina/Hombina , literally meaning 'the south' in Adamawa Fulfulde , because it represented

4914-463: The areas they occupy. Although within each region, there are even further divisions and sub-groupings as well. Below is a list of the main Fulɓe groups. Fuua Tooro -Massinakoore transitional Fuuta Tooro – Fuuta Jallon transitional Typically, Fulɓe belonging to the same affinity bloc tend to cluster together in culture, customs, and dialectal variety with the Eastern Fulɓe sub-groups tending to be more similar to each other than to other sub-groups, and

5005-414: The bend of the Niger; and Birnin Kebbi , Katsina , Gombe , Yola , Digil , Jalingo , Bauchi, Misau, Jama'are, Mayo Belwa , Mubi , Maroua , Ngaoundere , Azare , Dukku , Kumo, Girei , Damaturu, Bertoua, and Garoua in the countries of Cameroon and Nigeria. In most of these communities, the Fulani are usually perceived as a ruling class . Fulani communities are sometimes grouped and named based on

5096-402: The central Senegal River valley speak Fulfulde / Pulaar and refer to themselves as Haalpulaaren , or those who speak Pulaar. The supposed distinction between them was invented by French ethnographers in the 19th century who differentiated between supposedly sedentary, agricultural, fanatical, and anti-European Toucouleurs on one hand and nomadic, pastoralist, docile and cooperative Peulhs on

5187-461: The common Fula surnames like those previously mentioned, you will find surnames like Cissé and Touré. Though these names are commonly associated with the Manding tribes, some in Mali have adopted the Fula culture and language through centuries of coexistence, and thus now consider themselves as part of the Fula ethnic group. A notable example of this is Amadou Toumani Touré , the former president of Mali. The Fula people are widely distributed, across

5278-405: The creation of terraces in his farm, even though terraces were common in China and Japan in his time. Instead, he prevented soil erosion by simply growing trees and shrubs on slopes. Although the term "natural farming" came into common use in the English language during the 1980s with the translation of the book One Straw Revolution , the natural farming mindset itself has a long history throughout

5369-608: The cuntuuje system has a higher soil nutrient level than any other soil in the region. Almost all labor, except for the initial preparation, is performed and managed by women and children, in the past and now, within each family group. The gardens are important for both food and cash crops for their families. PLEC, a project of the United Nations University , measured yields on 6.5 ha from tapade fields at Misiide Heyre, Fouta Djallon and found that maize yielded up to 7 t/ha, cassava 21 t/ha, sweet potatoes 19 t/ha, and groundnuts (peanuts) about 8 t/ha. Each suntuure

5460-404: The delicate balance of a climax soil: Fukuoka advocated avoiding any change in the natural landscape . This idea differs significantly from some recent permaculture practice that focuses on permaculture design, which may involve the change in landscape. For example, Sepp Holzer , an Austrian permaculture farmer, advocates the creation of terraces on slopes to control soil erosion. Fukuoka avoided

5551-411: The eleventh and the fourteenth centuries. By the 15th century, there was a steady flow of Fulɓe immigrants into Hausaland and, later on, Bornu . Their presence in Baghirmi was recorded early in the 16th century. By the end of the 18th century, Fulani settlements were dotted all along the Benue River valley and its tributaries. They spread eastwards towards Garoua and Rey Bouba , and southwards towards

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5642-475: The emirate was divided into three states, each ruled by one of his sons. These three states had their capitals respectively in the towns of Nioro , Segou and Bandiagara . Within 30 years, all three had been conquered and colonized by the French. The Fulani, migrant Arabs and Hausa people have taken some influences from each other's cultures. Upon the success recorded in the 1804 Fulani War of Usman dan Fodio , many formerly nomadic Fulɓe subsequently joined

5733-433: The governing principles of his farming systems have been applied widely around the world, from Africa to the temperate northern hemisphere. Principally, natural farming minimises human labour and adopts, as closely as practical, nature's production of foods such as rice , barley , daikon or citrus in biodiverse agricultural ecosystems . Without plowing , seeds germinate well on the surface if site conditions meet

5824-478: The indigenous farmers were accustomed. Since the livestock had to be protected from wildlife at night, they were brought into the family compound, referred to by the French as a tapade , and locally as cuntuuje (sing. suntuure ) in the Pular language . Today, livestock graze in open areas during the day but are sheltered in corrals during the night, except for goats, which are permitted to manage on their own within limits. A similar pattern must have developed by

5915-504: The late 18th century, the Fulɓe in Fouta Djallonke developed a type of biointensive agriculture , probably out of necessity, since the conquered indigenous women were taken into the households of their Islamic overlords whose livestock became their responsibility. Combining animal husbandry and sedentary agriculture into an efficient system of agropastoralism required a new way of organizing daily life. Livestock, which included horses and cattle, ate more and produced more waste than what

6006-660: The late 19th century, slaves constituted about 50% of the population of the Fulɓe-ruled Adamawa Emirate , where they were referred to as jeyaɓe (singular jeyado ). Though very high, these figures are representative of many other emirates of the Sokoto Caliphate , of which Adamawa formed a part. The castes-based social stratification among the Fula people was widespread and seen across the Sahel, such as Burkina Faso, Niger, Senegal, Guinea, Mali, Nigeria, Sudan, and others. Natural farming Natural farming ( 自然農法 , shizen nōhō), also referred to as "the Fukuoka Method", "the natural way of farming", or "do-nothing farming",

6097-456: The latter part of the 18th into the 19th century. Nonetheless, the disposal of livestock waste, which became woman's work, required a systematic way of disposing of it. And, over time, the women worked out a method for doing so. In organic gardening , their solution is called sheet composting or mulching. Over time, the women mixed a variety of other organic matter with the manure (kitchen scraps, harvest residues, and vegetative materials from

6188-592: The local environment. Although natural farming is sometimes considered a subset of organic farming, it differs greatly from conventional organic farming , which Fukuoka considered to be another modern technique that disturbs nature. Fukuoka claimed that his approach prevents water pollution , biodiversity loss and soil erosion , while providing ample amounts of food, and there is a growing body of scientific work in fields like agroecology and regenerative agriculture , that lend support to these claims. In principle, practitioners of natural farming maintain that it

6279-418: The main prompts of natural farming, is to ask why we should apply modern technology to the process of growing food, if nature is capable of achieving similar yields without the negative side-effects of these technologies. Such ideas radically challenged conventions that are core to modern agro-industries; instead of promoting importation of nutrients and chemicals, he suggested an approach that takes advantage of

6370-453: The modern-day town of Mamou . The town became the political capital of the newly formed Imamate, with the religious capital was located in Fugumba . The Council of Elders of the Futa Jallon state were also based in Fugumba, acting as a brake on the Almami's powers. The newly formed imamate was mostly located mainly in present-day Guinea, but also spanned parts of modern-day Guinea Bissau, Senegal, and Sierra Leone. This emirate was, in fact,

6461-419: The most southern and eastern reaches of Fulɓe hegemonic dominance in West Africa . In this area, Fulfulde is the local lingua franca, and language of cross cultural communication. Further east of this area, Fulani communities become predominantly nomadic, and exist at less organized social systems. These are the areas of the Chari-Baguirmi Region and its river systems, in Chad and the Central African Republic,

6552-473: The natural biodiversity of each farmed area, encouraging the complexity of living organisms—both plant and animal—that shape each particular ecosystem to thrive along with food plants. Fukuoka saw farming both as a means of producing food and as an aesthetic or spiritual approach to life, the ultimate goal of which was, "the cultivation and perfection of human beings". He suggested that farmers could benefit from closely observing local conditions. Natural farming

6643-537: The needs of the seeds placed there. Fukuoka used the presence of spiders in his fields as a key performance indicator of sustainability . Fukuoka specifies that the ground remain covered by weeds , white clover , alfalfa , herbaceous legumes , and sometimes deliberately sown herbaceous plants . Ground cover is present along with grain, vegetable crops and orchards . Chickens run free in orchards and ducks and carp populate rice fields. Periodically ground layer plants including weeds may be cut and left on

6734-521: The nomadic-pastoral or Mbororo , the semi-nomadic, and the settled or "town" Fulani. The pastoral Fulani move around with their cattle throughout the year. Typically, they do not stay around for long stretches (not more than 2–4 months at a time). The semi-nomadic Fulani can either be Fulɓe families who happen to settle down temporarily at particular times of the year or Fulɓe families who do not "browse" around past their immediate surroundings, and even though they possess livestock, they do not wander away from

6825-720: The northernmost reaches of Sierra Leone; the Futa Tooro savannah grasslands of Senegal and southern Mauritania; the Macina inland Niger river delta system around Central Mali; and especially in the regions around Mopti and the Nioro Du Sahel in the Kayes region; the Borgu settlements of Benin, Togo, and west-central Nigeria; the northern parts of Burkina Faso in the Sahel region 's provinces of Seno , Wadalan , and Soum ; and

6916-675: The other, but the dichotomy is false. Common Fulani family names in Guinea , Sierra Leone , Liberia , Gambia , Guinea Bissau and Southern Senegal are: Diallo (French speaking regions), Jallow or Jalloh (English speaking regions), Djalo (Cap Verde and Guinea Bissau), Sow, Barry, Bah or Ba, Baldé, and Diouldé. Other Fulani (Toucouleur) family names in Guinea and northern Senegal are: Tall, Sall, Diengue, Sy, Anne, Ly, Wann, Dia and others. Although most Fulbe of Nigeria , Niger and Cameroon use their father's given name as surnames, there are some common Fulani last names such as Bello (likely from

7007-707: The purpose of which was to ensure a constant flow of tax revenue and commodities to the state apparatus and the standing army, especially for the cavalry. The freedom for pastoralists to move around was curtailed to ensure the smooth functioning of other production activities, such as cereal cultivation and, in the case of Maasina, of fishing activities. There was considerable resistance to the forced acceptance of Islam. Conversion to Islam meant not only changing one's religion but also submitting to rules dealing with every aspect of social, political and cultural life, intrusions with which many nomadic Fulbe were not comfortable. In 1690, Torodbe cleric Malick Sy came to Bundu, in what

7098-452: The region. Inhabiting many countries, they live mainly in West Africa and northern parts of Central Africa , South Sudan , Darfur , and regions near the Red Sea coast in Sudan . The approximate number of Fula people is unknown, due to clashing definitions regarding Fula ethnicity. Various estimates put the figure between 25 and 40 million people worldwide. A significant proportion of

7189-637: The ruling classes of the many emirates of the Sokoto Caliphate . The Fulɓe of Hausaland dress in the clothing and speak the language of their Hausa neighbours (see Hausa–Fulani ). Because they became the dominant ethnic group in these lands, the Fulɓe in the emirates outside Hausaland , like parts of Kanem-Bornu , Adamawa and Gombe , still retain much of their Fulani culture even still speaking Fulfulde as their first language. The Fulɓe who didn't settle during this period and their descendants, however, still keep an obvious distinct identity from that of

7280-531: The same applies to most western groups. Culturally speaking, the central Fulɓe sub-groups are roughly in between the western and eastern Fulani cultural niches. For example, the Massina Fulɓe share similarities both dialectally and culturally to Nigerian or Cameroonian (Eastern) (both of which end interrogative questions with " na ?"), as well as Senegalese and Guinean (western) Fulɓe cultures (who do not end interrogative questions with such mannerism). Accordingly,

7371-495: The sandstone. It receives a great deal of rainfall, and is the headwaters of four major rivers and other medium ones: It is, thus, sometimes called the watertower ( chateau d'eau in French literature) of West Africa. Some authors also refer to Fouta Jallon as the "Switzerland of West Africa." This is a common expression whose origin may be unknown. The population consists predominantly of Fulɓe [sing. Pullo ], also known as Fula or Fulani. In Fouta Djallon, their language

7462-514: The state. Abdul Kader defeated the emirates of Trarza and Brakna to the north, but was defeated and captured when he attacked the Wolof states of Cayor and Waalo around 1797. After his release the jihad impetus had been lost. By the time of Abdul Kader's death in 1806 the state was dominated by a few elite Torodbe families. The Sokoto Caliphate was by far the largest and most successful legacy of Fulani power in Western Africa. It

7553-412: The surface, returning their nutrients to the soil, while suppressing weed growth. This also facilitates the sowing of seeds in the same area because the dense ground layer hides the seeds from animals such as birds. For summer rice and winter barley grain crops, ground cover enhances nitrogen fixation . Straw from the previous crop mulches the topsoil . Each grain crop is sown before the previous one

7644-777: The valley who were "essentially Serer ", Dominated first by Wagadu and later by the Lamtuna , the Mali Empire and the Jolof Empire , in the early 16th century the area was conquered by Koli Tenguella , who founded the Empire of Great Fulo . The Fulani were cattle-keeping farmers who shared their lands with other nearby groups, like the Soninke, who contributed to the rise of ancient Ghana, with eastward and westward expansion being led by nomadic groups of cattle breeders or

7735-545: The vicinity of the tri-border point of present-day Mali, Senegal, and Mauritania, they are now, after centuries of gradual migrations and conquests, spread throughout a wide band of West and Central Africa. The Fulani People occupy a vast geographical expanse located roughly in a longitudinal east–west band immediately south of the Sahara, and just north of the coastal rain forest and swamps. There are estimates of more than 25 million Fulani people. There are generally three different types of Fulani based on settlement patterns, viz:

7826-526: The western groups are the most divergent from the eastern groups and vice versa. Overall, however, all share most cultural practices to a large extent. In Ghana, the exact number of Fulani is unknown due to systematic oppression that includes not counting the Fulani in the Ghanaian census. This reflects widespread discrimination and negative stereotypes about the Fulani. The origins of the Fulani people are unclear and various theories have been postulated. As

7917-554: The world, spanning from historical Native American practices to modern day urban farms. Some variants, and their particularities include: In 1951, Newman Turner advocated the practice of "fertility farming", a system featuring the use of a cover crop, no tillage, no chemical fertilizers, no pesticides, no weeding and no composting. Although Turner was a commercial farmer and did not practice random seeding of seed balls , his "fertility farming" principles share similarities with Fukuoka's system of natural farming. Turner also advocated

8008-557: Was established by the Fulbe jihad led by Seku Amadu in 1818, rebelling against the Bamana Empire , a political power that controlled the region from Segou . This jihad was inspired by Usman Dan Fodio and his jihad in Sokoto. This state appears to have had tight control over its core area, as evidenced by the fact that its political and economic organization is still manifested today in the organization of agricultural production in

8099-454: Was larger than the Japanese average, he used one field of grain crops as a small-scale example of his system. Widely regarded as the leading practitioner of the second-generation of natural farmers, Yoshikazu Kawaguchi is the instigator of Akame Natural Farm School, and a related network of volunteer-based "no-tuition" natural farming schools in Japan that numbers 40 locations and more than 900 concurrent students. Although Kawaguchi's practice

8190-562: Was succeeded by Abdul Kader ('Abd al-Qadir), a learned teacher and judge who had studied in Cayor . Abdul Kader became the first Almamy of the theocratic Almamyate of Futa Toro. He encouraged construction of mosques, and pursued an aggressive policy towards his neighbors. The Torodbe prohibited the trade in slaves on the river. In 1785 they obtained an agreement from the French to stop trading in Muslim slaves and to pay customs duties to

8281-685: Was the largest, as well as the most well-organized, of the Fulani Jihad states. Throughout the 19th century, Sokoto was one of the largest and most powerful empires in West Africa until 1903, when defeated by European colonial forces. The Sokoto Caliphate included several emirates, the largest of which was Adamawa , although the Kano Emirate was the most populated. Others included, but are not limited to: Gombe Emirate , Gwandu Emirate , Bauchi Emirate , Katsina Emirate , Zazzau Emirate , Hadejia Emirate , and Muri Emirate . The Maasina Emirate

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