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78-635: There are a number of conflicting theories about the origin of the Kingdom of Takrur. The formation of the state may have taken place as an influx of Fulani from the east settled in the Senegal valley. John Donnelly Fage suggests that Takrur was formed through the interaction of Berbers from the Sahara and "Negro agricultural peoples" who were "essentially Serer ". The Serer language and religion (A ƭat Roog) were prevalent and made up an important part of

156-829: A corruption of the Serer title lamaan . The Soninke Sumaare clan under Mamadu Sumaare, originally from Wagadu or the Kingdom of Diarra , conquered Takrur in 826, establishing the Manna dynasty. Takrur was first mentioned in Arab sources in the 10th century. The king Rabis may be the Rai bin Rai cited as an ally of the Almoravids and king of the Sudan who troops fought in al-Andalus . In 1035 king War Jabi introduced Sharia law , becoming

234-572: 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

312-752: 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

390-579: 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

468-490: 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

546-667: 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

624-642: A relationship can be drawn at all with ethnic labels as understood today). They were blacksmith-kings, and supposedly introduced iron-working and ore extraction to the region. They were succeeded by the Serer Tonjon dynasty. Although Kane placed the "Tonjon" (whom he assigned to the Serer) after the Manna dynasty, most historians including Bruno Chavane, Charles Becker, Victor Martin, Henry Gravrand , Willie F. Page, John D. Fage , Thomas Streissguth, Godfrey Mwakikagile , etc., placed "the Serer exodus" from Takrur in

702-563: 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

780-461: 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 ;

858-577: A vassal. They were followed by the Mali Empire , which did the same. Tekrur was conquered by the Jolof emperor Tyukuli N'Diklam in the 15th century, who split the region between multiple farba (governors). By 1506, however, the Burba ' s authority was weakening, and the farba fell to fighting amongst themselves. Koli Tengella , a Fula warlord native to Takrur but coming from Futa Jallon , conquered

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936-504: 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

1014-718: 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

1092-691: Is remembered in Mande oral histories as a cruel, harsh leader. Many Soninke people left the region to escape his rule, and religious persecution drove Muslim traders to abandon Koumbi Saleh for Djenne and Oualata . He beheaded Muslim kings who opposed him. At the Battle of Kirina (c. 1235) the Mandinka prince Sundiata Keita led a coalition of smaller states to soundly defeat the Sosso and kill Soumaoro. Sundiata marched on Sosso itself and destroyed it, marking

1170-557: 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

1248-636: The Bambuk region, salt from the Awlil , and Sahel grain were exchanged for wool, copper, beads, and jewelry. The domestication of the cotton tree and the manufacture of cotton cloth were first reported in Takrur, and the kingdom's cloth was among its most renowned exports. At the height of its power, Takrur controlled the north bank of the Senegal as far as the Tagant plateau and Aleg . The Gorgol river valley

1326-757: The Battle of Sagrajas , 1086, in Al-Andalus which was crucial to halting the Reconquista . The last Manna king, Cengaan Sumaare, is remembered as a bloodthirsty tyrant. Despite Takrur's history of alliance with the Almoravids, he was overthrown by Abu Bakr ibn Umar , who founded the Berber Laam Taga dynasty in 1082. They only lasted 40 years, however, before the Fula Laam Termess defeated them in 1122. Under this new dynasty,

1404-717: 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

1482-684: 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

1560-580: 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

1638-533: 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

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1716-932: 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

1794-684: 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

1872-582: 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

1950-605: The Soninke -inhabited southern provinces of Ghana and was father to Soumaoro Kante. This narrative has been repeated and enlarged upon by other historians since the early 20th century. It was, however, constructed by haphazardly mixing different oral traditions and inventing information to fill in gaps, and there is in fact no evidence that Diarra had any connection to Soumaoro Kante. Historian Stephen Bühnen has argued that Sosso, rather than being located in Kaniaga south of Wagadu,

2028-552: 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

2106-641: The 11th century following their persecution by the Muslims –when Islam and Sharia was introduced to the Kingdom by the Manna. The Serer lamanic class , whose role also included the safeguarding of Serer spirituality, are believed to have been at the forefront of resisting Islamization, partly to preserve their religion, but also their power and wealth as landowners. It was common for early Arab writers such as Al Bakri to refer to "non-believers" of Islam in their works as lamlam, lemlem, or damdam which scholars like Ibrahima Thiaw and Abdoulaye Bara Diop believe to be

2184-775: 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:

2262-618: 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

2340-510: 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,

2418-561: 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

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2496-490: 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

2574-563: 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

2652-463: 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

2730-773: 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

2808-427: The Kingdom's culture. The outsiders may, however, have been Soninke rather than Berber, and the native population may have already spoken Fula. Regardless, the region was an ethnic melting pot, although the Fula would eventually subsume much of the Serer, Wolof, Soninke, Malinke, and Berber elements. The founding dynasty was called Dya'ogo. Traditional historians disagree on their origin and ethnic background (assuming

2886-637: 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

2964-674: 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

3042-853: 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

3120-465: 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

3198-430: The area in 1521 and set up the Denanke dynasty. This would last until 1776 when the Fouta Revolution, led by Muslim clerics , took over the kingdom and the house of Denanke was brought down. Dates and sequencing from Oumar Kane. Much of it is sourced from oral histories, and details may be disputed by other sources or authors. Located in present-day Senegal and Mauritania , it was a trading centre, where gold from

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3276-447: 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

3354-463: 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

3432-414: 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

3510-402: 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

3588-461: 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

3666-411: 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

3744-475: 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

3822-449: The ethnic makeaup of Futa Toro became definitively Fula. During the 13th century, a civil war broke out between the Muslim Fula and the Serer, who followed their traditional religion . Rather than convert, they migrated southwest first to the Ferlo Desert and then to Siin and Saloum . The fall of Ghana precipitated an era of political change in the region. The Susu carved out the sizeable, though short-lived, empire that made Takrur

3900-417: The first ruler to officially adopt Islamic orthodoxy in the Sahel . In 1056 his son Laba fought alongside Yahya ibn Umar al-Lamtuni at the battle of Tabfarilla . During this period Takrur held a dominant position in regional trade, controlling a series of trading posts and cities linking the salt mines of Awlil on the coast north of the mouth of the Senegal to the interior. Takrur is credited as winning

3978-526: The form Tukrir . The district of Bulaq Al-Dakrur بولاق الدكرور in Cairo is named after an ascetic from West Africa. In the Middle East Toucouleurs are still referred to as Tukrir to this day. Takrur was the term used by the region's inhabitants up until the 15th century. During the 16th and 17th centuries, however, it was gradually replaced by Futa Toro . Fula people The Fula , Fulani , or Fulɓe people are an ethnic group in Sahara , Sahel and West Africa , widely dispersed across

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4056-445: The growth of the Sosso Empire, but only the name Soumaoro has been remembered, and so all the accomplishments are credited to him. Colonial-era historian Maurice Delafosse asserted that Diarisso dynasty ruled Kaniaga until 1180, when a series of weak-willed and quarrelous brothers brought the kingdom to its knees through civil war until they were overthrown by a mercenary general, Kemoko or Diarra Kante, who gradually came to dominate

4134-429: The inhabitants of the Manding region , the term 'Kaniaga' referred to all the Soninke-inhabited lands, including Wagadou, Bakhounou, Kingui, Guidioume, Diafounou , Guidimakha and Gajaaga , stretching from the upper Senegal river to Mema . 'Kaniaga' is sometimes also used to refer to the Kingdom of Diarra , a state that was the vassal of Ghana, Sosso, and eventually the Mali Empire. The term 'Sosso' may come from

4212-508: The intervention of a mercenary named Diarra, so weakened the state that it became easy prey for Soumaoro Kante, an event that Heinrich Barth dated to approximately 1203. He conquered Diarra and Gajaaga and subdued the Mandinka chieftaincies to the south, where the important goldfields of Bure were located. Dialonkadugu was also a Soso province. Besides the capital of Sosso, four major cities have been remembered in oral history: Kukuba, Bantamba, Nyemi-Nyemi, and Kambasiga. Kukuba

4290-435: The kingdom's end. When the Soso empire collapsed, the entire Kaniaga region was incorporated into Sundiata's Mali Empire . The reuslting upheaval led to massive population movements, with the remains of the Sosso either moving west into Senegambia or south into the Futa Jallon , where they became the ancestors of the Susu and Yalunka peoples . The presence of some or all of these Mande peoples may, however, predate

4368-599: 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. Susu Empire The Sosso Empire , also written as Soso or Susu , or alternatively Kaniaga ,

4446-453: 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,

4524-419: 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,

4602-521: 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

4680-444: 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

4758-623: 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

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4836-707: 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

4914-401: 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

4992-411: The royal bureaucracy and army, and serving as governors of provinces. Soumaoro was reputed to have been the head of all the royal slaves and a governor of a province in northern Beledougou. Oral histories collected in Sokolo and Goumbou claim that the Diarrisso family ruled Wagadu at the time. A civil war between two groups of half-brothers over the succession broke out. Repeated conflict, including

5070-571: 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

5148-475: 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,

5226-450: 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

5304-497: 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

5382-545: 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:

5460-470: 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

5538-459: The word for horse, as the kingdom had a monopoly on the horse trade vis-a-vis its southern neighbors. The capital was a town of that name still exists in Mali, near Boron in the Koulikoro Region . Oral histories, not to mention the Western written histories derived from them, can compress events and people from different periods into single narratives, obscuring the historical facts. There may have been multiple Kante kings who were responsible for

5616-526: Was Soumaoro Kante 's personal fortress from which he waged war on the Manding chiefdoms to the south. Today known as Koulouba, the site, on a cliff overlooking Bamako , holds the presidential palace of Mali . Bantamba, the site of Soumaoro's 'war medicine' and fire oracle, is possibly the city of Banamba . Nyemi-Nyemi may refer to the city of Niamina , near the important ritual center of Niamanko where young blacksmiths were trained and initiated. Soumaoro

5694-557: 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

5772-527: Was in fact centered in the Futa Jallon . This theory has not, however, been generally accepted by other Africanists, and is a minority position among griots , who have associated Sosso the empire with Sosso the village since the 1880s. The Sosso originated as a clan of slaves of the Kaya Magha of the Ghana Empire , part of the group of Kusa lineages, who gradually accumulated power, populating

5850-413: Was kingdom of West Africa that originated as a vassal of the Ghana Empire before breaking away and conquering their former overlords. Inhabited by the Soninke ancestors of the modern-day Sosso people , it was centered in the region south of Wagadou and north of Beledougou . The empire peaked under the reign of Soumaoro Kante , who was defeated by the rising Mali Empire of Sundiata Keita . To

5928-615: 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

6006-747: Was the heartland of the kingdom, and was the site of the Dya'ogo capital Tumbere Jiinge. They also controlled, or at least had significant influence over, the area downstream that would become Waalo . Takruri was a term, like Bilad-ul-Sudan, that was used to refer to all people of West African ancestry, and is still in use as such in the Middle East , with some corruption, as in Takruni , pl. Takarna تكروني in Saudi Arabia , and in Ethiopia and Eritrea, in

6084-685: 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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