The Wangara (also known as Wakore, Wankori, Ouankri, Wangarawa) are a diaspora community of ethnic Soninke origin who served as specialized long-distance merchants throughout West Africa , particularly in Trans-Saharan trade . Originating from the Ghana Empire , over time the Wangara became integrated into numerous other communities and ethnic groups, particularly in Timbuktu , Agadez , Kano , Gao , Salaga , Kong , Bissa , Kankan , Fouta Jallon , Djenné as well as Bambouk , Bure , Lobi , and (to a lesser degree) Bono goldfields and Borgu . They were practicing Muslims who helped spread the religion widely and served as clerics, political advisors, healers and marabouts , often following the Suwarian Tradition .
41-689: The term 'Wangara' is sometimes used interchangeably with the Jakhanke or Dyula people , who are also diasporic traders and Islamic clerics of Mande origin. The Wangara, like the Soninke of which they are a part, are descendants from migrants out of the once-fertile Green Sahara . Increased desertification drove these proto-Soninke southwest where they established stone settlements possibly as far back as 4000 B.C.E. or even earlier at sites such as Dhar Tichitt , Dhar Walata , and Dhar Néma in modern-day Mauritania . Related Gangara populations persisted in
82-608: A Manding language . Some of the Maraka (Dafin people are found in Ghana. The Marka originated from Soninke people from Wagadu Empire who migrated to the middle Niger between the 11th and 13th centuries. The term 'Maraka' means 'men who rule' in Bambara , which may have originated as a term for the colonists from Wagadu or merely as a term of respect. Relatively geographically constrained compared to other trading communities such as
123-410: A place where "mines of gold and gold dust" were found. Sultan Muhammed Bello had an 1824 map with Bono state, Elmina, and Bighu clearly marked. In the closing years of the 18th and the opening years of the 19th century, the discoveries of Friedrich Hornemann , Mungo Park and others revived the stories of Wangara and its richness in gold. Geographers of that period, such as James Rennell , shifted
164-463: A response to increased commercial traffic along the trade routes - a consequence of Almoravid and Almohad political and social hegemonies and commercial activity in the Maghreb and Andalusia (9th–15th century) and, in part, an effort to consolidate Ghana's political interests in the southern Sahara. After many years of assimilating with local populations many Wangara communities identified more as
205-729: A social class of their own than just ethnically Soninke. Yorubaland During the reign of Mansa Musa in the 14th century, the Wangara reached the Yoruba states of southwest Nigeria. There it was called Esin Imale, "Religion of the Malians" or "Hard Knowledge". After a 2nd wave of Songhai language speaking Wangara and a 3rd wave by Muslim Fulani, many Yoruba subgroups such as the Ijesa, Oyo, Ilorin, Egba & Ijebu had sizable Muslim communities by
246-597: A subgroup of the larger Soninke . The Jakhanke have historically constituted a specialized caste of professional Muslim clerics ( ulema ) and educators. They are centered on one larger group in Guinea, with smaller populations in the eastern region of The Gambia, Senegal, and in Mali near the Guinean border. Although generally considered a branch of the Soninke (also known as Serahule, Serakhulle or Sarakollé), their language
287-621: A time of great insecurity due to Mossi incursions and moved to greater Songhay protection, adopted the Songhay language, and perhaps intensified the commercial contacts between Songhay and Hausa . In their eastern migration, it is believed that the Wangara split up in two groups in Gobir , one going to Kano and the other going to the Aïr . There are documented Wangara communities in Kano, Katsina and in
328-703: A trading diaspora is the Jakhanke tribe from the Upper Guinea . According to Jakhanke historians, these traders began in the city of Jakha (on the Bafing River, a tributary of the Senegal) and, following their businesses, expanded into other locations. New Jakhanke towns were founded, under the auspices of local rulers who often permitted self-governance and autonomy. Sixteenth-century Europeans met Jakhanke traders at coastal points as far afield as Gambia and
369-505: Is closer to Western Manding languages such as Mandinka . Since the fifteenth century the Jakhanke clerical communities have constituted an integral part of the region and have exercised a high level of economic and religious influence upon Soninke as well as related Manding-speaking communities (such as the Dyula and Mandinka ) in what is now Mali , Guinea , Senegal , and The Gambia . The endogamous Jakhanke clerics were influential in
410-533: Is held by fooro (free men), which included tunkalemmu (princes), leaders designated to exercise authority. They are followed by mangu (princely advisors), a group linked to a kuralemme (warrior) class who acted as defenders and mediators. The third in fooro hierarchy is occupied by modinu (priests, Jakanke), representing Islam's influence on Soninke society. Highly respected for their religious knowledge, modinu are responsible for establishing justice, providing Islamic education and protecting
451-512: Is respected throughout the Muslim world for producing erudite and distinguished Islamic scholars. Their curriculum vitae are considered an excellent quality, nurturing the young with Muslim values while simultaneously encouraging intellectual pursuits in their natural environment. The standard Majalis program offered for Islamic sciences begins by incorporating a formal introduction into the rules governing recitation ( tajwīd ) and memorization of
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#1732765489223492-610: The Birim , Pra and Offin river basins, as well as in modern-day Ivory Coast ). It marks the southern end of the long-distance trade route from Djenné and Timbuktu, and was where precious goods from the forest zone ( gold , kola ) were produced; it also forms the border and link between the Mande- Dyula and Hausa- Zongo linguistic and economic spheres.The Wangara founded the important Islamic centers of Kong and Bouna , as well of Begho , Bole (Boualé), Bondoukou and others on
533-571: The Borgou . While there, they established "kingship" with royal councils of indigenous priestchiefs from among the members of local lineages. A certain Mohamed Korau , a Wangara, elected in 1492/3, became the first Muslim Sarkin Katsina . While the Wangara themselves were only able to build communities as far east as Kano , their nomadic Fulani vassals proved more successful in penetrating
574-643: The Chad basin , especially after the rise of 18th and 19th century Jihad states such as Macina and the Sokoto Caliphate . Wangara trade undoubtedly benefited, albeit vicariously, through the extension of the eastward routes by the pastoral Fulani on their Hajj to Mecca . The Volta Basin The Volta basin has been important for the Wangara in several respects: it comprised some of the main gold-producing areas (Lobi, Banda) while being linked to others (in
615-697: The Gold Coast ; hence, they imagined the city called "Jaga" (Jakha) was a great metropolis controlling trade in all West Africa. Trading groups like the Dyula and Jakhanke did indeed dominate commerce of Upper Guinea, becoming involved not just in moving merchandise, but also in production of goods on plantations worked by their slaves. The Jakhanke were the Islamic cleric caste of the Soninke social stratification system. The Soninke social hierarchy organizes individuals into endogamous strata. The top level
656-516: The Jakhanke and Dyula people , they founded Nyamina and Sansanding during this early period, and Barouéli and Banamba in the 19th century. All four were at various times prominent trading and religious centers. Muslim merchant communities at the time of the Bambara Empire , the Maraka largely controlled the desert-side trade between the Sahel and nomadic Berbers and Moors of
697-659: The Kano Chronicle the Wangarawa—as many as 160 people—emigrated under the leadership of Shaikh Abderrahman Za(gha)iti to Kano and introduced Islam in Yaji's time (1349–1385) or under Muhammad Rumfa (AH 867–904, 1463–99), after having left Mali in 835 AH (1433 AD). The surname, derived from "Zagha" or "Zeghai", may point to the town of Dia in the Inner Niger Delta south of Timbuktu . These Wangara left during
738-567: The Sahara . Their economy was based on slave plantation agriculture growing food and cotton to be traded. The Bambara integrated Maraka communities into their state structure, and Maraka trading posts and plantations multiplied in the Segu based state and its Kaarta vassals in the 18th and early 19th centuries. When the Bambara Empire (which practiced African spirituality ) was defeated by
779-725: The Tagant plateau until the 18th century and in the Assaba until the 19th. The first mention of the Wangara in the historical record lists them as a tribe under the Ghana Empire who traded in gold dust. Al-Bakri called them "specialist gold traders in the region of the Senegal and Niger rivers." Ibn Battuta described them in 1352 as traders from "west of the interior delta of the Niger." The geographer Muhammad al-Idrisi referred to
820-448: The "country of Wanqara" was Tiraqqa or Tombouze, a predecessor of Timbuktu . It was one of the great commercial centers of the region—a meeting place of caravans from Ghana and Tadmakka in the 10th and 11th centuries—and a dependency of Ghana. Al-Idrisi describes it as "one of the towns of Wanqara"—large, well populated, and unwalled—and relates that it was "subject to the ruler of Ghana, in litigation."It remained an important mart until
861-483: The 13th century, at which time Timbuktu replaced it. A Malian source, cited in the Tarikh al-Sudan , distinguishes the Wangara on a socio-professional level from their Malinke kinsmen by claiming the latter to be princes and warriors and the former "traders who carry gold dust from country to country as the courtiers of princes". Valentim Fernandes mentions the Wangara gold traders operating out of Jenne , controlling
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#1732765489223902-575: The 19th century. Mossiland The infiltration of Wangara traders (also known as Marka or Yalsé) into Mossi territory began with the Mossi incursions into the Niger valley and the Mandé city of Walata in the early 15th century. The Mossi (who were hostile to Islam) in earlier times raided the northern markets for trade goods, especially salt, but later permitted Muslim traders from these areas to import
943-530: The Jakhanke monopolized their regional trading circuits, just like Zawaya clerics did in other markets. West Africa's pre-Islamic trading networks with North Africa and the Middle East grew with the arrival of Muslim traders after the 8th century. These traders formed mutually supporting communities as networks that the African historian Philip Curtin dubbed a " trading diaspora ." One good example of such
984-546: The Niger River and Jahaba on the Bafing River, from which they moved to Bundu, Futa Jallon and Gambia. The Jakhanke were not primarily merchants, but agriculturists supported by slave labor. The various Jakhanke villages were independent of each other and of the local chiefs. The Jakhanke were committed to peaceful coexistence and refused to become engaged in politics or war. When threatened, they simply relocated their villages into safer territory. Often their villages enjoyed
1025-595: The Qur'an. Recitation should be done according to rules of pronunciation, intonation, and caesuras established by Muhammad, though first recorded in the 8th century. There are seven schools of tajwid , the most popular being the school of Hafs on the authority of ‘asim. This is followed by an in-depth inquiry into the classical studies of Ulum al-hadith (Science of Hadith), Usul al-fiqh (Islamic Jurisprudence), Nahw arabī or Qawāidu 'l-luġati 'l'Arabiyyah (Standard Arabic Grammar): and language acquisition , which studies
1066-577: The Senegal River in present-day Senegal) embraced Islam, being among the earliest sub-Saharan ethnic groups to follow the teachings of Muhammad . In Senegambia, the Jakhanke inhabited scattered towns and villages in Futa Jallon , Futa Bundu , Dentilia , Bambuk, and other places. By 1725, at least fifteen Jakhanke villages were located in what would become Bundu. They claim to originate in Ja on
1107-474: The Wangara as being from "the land of gold, famous on account of the great quantities and good quality of that metal." By tradition all gold nuggets belonged to the king, but gold dust was extensively traded. It is unclear if the Wangara were Muslim at this stage, but they soon adopted the heterodox Khariji rite, which spread with them around West Africa. Located in the Lakes Region at the eastern end of
1148-470: The Wangara country far to the east and confused Idrisi's description with accounts which probably referred to Lake Chad . Jakhanke The Jakhanke -- also spelled Jahanka , Jahanke , Jahanque , Jahonque , Diakkanke , Diakhanga , Diakhango , Dyakanke , Diakhanké , Diakanké , or Diakhankesare -- are a Manding -speaking ethnic group in the Senegambia region, often classified as
1189-668: The desired goods into their own country. These traders and court marabouts were established in Mane, Zitenga , Kaya , Bulsa and Bilanga . By 1750, the Wangara had also entered Ouagadougou . The survival of the Songhay Empire in the eastern Gourma following the Moroccan conquest of 1592, could be explained as a consequence of the gradual and peaceful penetration of the Wangara into these eastern regions: Gourma (with Boulsa, Bilanga), Dendi and Borgou . Hausaland According to
1230-575: The diffusion of Islam among the Manding people in West Africa. While originally a religious caste of the Sarakollé, the Jakhanke later facilitated the trans-Saharan trade routes as merchants, such as in coastal rice and slaves, from the Guinea and Gambian coasts to the interior from at least the 17th century. In this way they are often compared with the Dyula , who formed a trade diaspora from
1271-441: The end of Ramadan and other Muslim holidays. Jakhanke people inherited their cleric roles and some pursued Islamic scholarship, as ulema or marabouts . Over time, they expanded into trade wherein their clerical and merchant roles were intertwined. Their trade included rice, salt, cloth, gold and slaves in the later centuries, first across the trans-Saharan caravan routes and later the trans-Atlantic market. In some regions,
Soninke Wangara - Misplaced Pages Continue
1312-556: The forest fringe. They also had some success in the conversion of Mossi , Dagbon & Bono people . They were noted for their honesty and industry. In contemporary Ghana , "Wangara" refers to Mande speakers and those believed to be of Mande origin and associated with trade. Whereas the Hausa language is a lingua franca among the Zongo Settlements and Gonja , Dyula is spoken as a lingua franca in northern Ivory Coast ,
1353-644: The gold trade between Jenne and the Bono State goldfields. The first Wangara commercial expansion came between the 9th-11th centuries into Takrur and the Futa Jallon . Between the 12th and 14th centuries, the Wangara extended their trade networks eastwards towards the Gao Empire & the Lake Chad basin and south to the Guinea Highlands and Volta River . Their strategic movements were
1394-627: The heartlands of the Mali Empire to the coast of what is today Côte d'Ivoire . According to Levtzion, "The Mande -speaking Muslim traders, with whom the Portuguese negotiated on the Gambia were Diakhanke. The Diakhanke clans are of Soninke origin, and their traditions go back to Dinga, ancestor of the ruling dynasty of the ancient kingdom of Wagadu . They remember Dia in Massina as
1435-487: The learner's processes of acquiring language. The program is concluded following advanced level courses on the science of Qur'anic exegesis ( tafsir ). A total of 28 books must be mastered before a student is eligible to receive the cijaza or sanad (license to teach) from the University. In order to graduate, students are required to completely copy these 28 individual books by hand. If approved by their sheikh ,
1476-400: The population with prayers. Below the fooro strata, have been the despised castes of nayamala (dependent men). These included tago (blacksmiths), sakko (carpenters), jaroo (praise-singers), garanko (cobblers) and others. The strata below the horoo (free-men) and nayamala (dependent men) have been the endogamous komo ( slaves ). The Jakhanke clerical tradition
1517-633: The privileges of sanctuary, judicial independence, and freedom from military service. The Jakhanke were noted Islamic scholars. They trace their spiritual ancestry to the sahabas of the Prophet who came to spread the message of Islam and intermarry with the people of North Africa. Sheikh Al-Hajj Salim Suwari (d. 1525), a Muslim scholar who lived in the late fifteenth century, Karamba Touba Diaby, Karang Foday, Mahmudou Jaylani Jaiteh, and many others. They adhere to Maliki fiqh , although they have been tolerant of customary practices. Primary importance
1558-598: The south of Burkina Faso and northwestern Ghana. In Ghana, it is heard from Wa down to Wenchi . Though the Wangarans kept the location a secret to protect their monopoly, the general area of the Akan goldfields was known by the sixteenth century. In his Esmeraldo de Situ Orbis (1505–1508), Duarte Pacheco Pereira described the gold trade in Djenne and Bighu . Abul Qasim ibn Mohammed al-Ghassani in 1586 described Bighu as
1599-411: The student is officially awarded permission to begin Islamic instruction at their own Karanta (school). Abdou Kader Taslimanka Sylla, Bani Israel du Sénégal ou Ahl Diakha, peuple de diaspora, Éditions Publibook, Paris, 448 p. ( ISBN 9782748388626 ) Marka people The Marka (also Marka Dafing , Meka , or Maraka ) people are a Mande people of northwest Mali . They speak Marka ,
1640-602: The town of their ancestor, Suware, a great marabout and a saint." They later established Diakaba in Bambuk . The Jakhanke cultural ethos is best characterized by a staunch dedication to Islam, historical accuracy, rejection of jihad, non-involvement in political affairs and the religious instruction of young people. Formation of their regional Islamic identity began shortly after contact with Muslim Almoravid traders from North Africa in 1065, when Soninke nobles in Takrur (along
1681-454: Was stressed on obedience to the murshid , or Sufi master, and of stages of initiation into the teachings of the community. Schooled in the bāṭin (secret) sciences, Jakhanke clerics interpreted dreams and gave amulets for protection, which continue to be highly prized items. They celebrate the mawlid an-nabī (birthday of the Prophet) and the ‘īdu l-fiṭr ( عيد الفطر ) feasts at