Fulani

Fula
225px Fula women in the East Province of Cameroon.
Total population
10 to 13 million (2005)
Regions with significant populations
Guinea, Cameroon, Nigeria, Senegal, Central African Republic, Burkina Faso, Benin, Mali, Niger, Gambia, Guinea Bissau, Ghana, Chad, Sierra Leone, Mauritania and Sudan.
Languages
Fula
Religions
Islam

The Fula or Fulani is an ethnic group of people spread over many countries in West Africa, from Mauritania, Senegal, Guinea, The Gambia, Mali,Nigeria, Sierra Leone, Burkina Faso, Guinea Bissau, Cameroon, Côte d'Ivoire, Niger, Togo, Central African Republic, Ghana, Liberia, and as far as Sudan in the east. They refer to themselves as Fulɓe (singular pullo).

One people, many names

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 Foulah. The French borrowed the Wolof term Pël, which is variously spelled Peul, Peulh, and even Peuhl. More recently the Fulfulde / Pulaar term Fulɓe is adapted to English as Fulbe. In Portuguese its Fula or Futafula.

A closely related group is the Tukolor (Toucouleur) in the central Senegal River valley. These people are often referenced with Fulɓe of the region as Haalpulaar'en (Pulaar-speakers).

Fula society in some parts of West Africa features the "caste" divisions typical of the region. In Mali, for instance, those who are not technically Fulɓe have been referred to as yimɓe pulaaku (people of the Fula culture).

Traditional livelihood

The Fulani are traditionally a nomadic, pastoralist, trading people, herding cattle, goats and sheep across the vast dry hinterlands of their domain, keeping somewhat separate from the local agricultural populations.

History

Fulah Girl circa 1914

Nomadic Expansion

Originating from the area near the upper Niger and Senegal rivers, the Fulani were cattle-keeping farmers who shared their lands with other nearby groups, like the Soninke, who contributed to the rise of Ghana.

During the 16th century the Fula expanded through the sahel grasslands stretching from what is today Senegal to Sudan, with eastward and westward expansion being led by nomadic groups of cattle breeders. While the initial expansionist groups were small, they soon increased in size due to the availability of grazing lands in the sahel. Agricultural expansion 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. Fulani towns were a direct result of a nomadic heritage, and were often founded by individuals who simply chosen to settle in a given area instead of continue on their way.

Settled and nomadic Fulani began to be seen as separate political entities, with each group being ruled by a different leader. The first leader to emerge for the nomadic Fulani in the plains between the Termes and Nioro was Tenguella Koli, who objected to the control the Songhay empire exercised over the homelands of Ancient Ghana. Primarily objecting to the Songhay rule of Askia Muhammad because it limited available land for grazing, Tenguella led a revolt against the empire in 1512. He was killed in battle with an army led by the brother of Askia Muhammad near Diara during the same year.

The rebellion against Songhay rule continued, however, when Tengualla's son, Tengualla Koli led his father's warriors across the Upper Senegal river and into Badiar, a region north-west of the Futa Jallon Mountains. Once in Badiar, he was joined by many Mandinka soldiers, who had rallied to his cause and embraced him as a relative of their leader, the emperor of Mali. The combined forces of the Fulani and the Mandinka continued onward to Takrur, an ancient state in Futa Toro. There they subdued the Soninke chiefs in power and set up a new line of kings in 1559.

Effects of Expansion

The rise of Tengualla and his son led to three major shifts in the cultural identity of the Fulani.

• The occupation of Futa Toro caused the Fulani people to be identified as a settled urban based community, as opposed to traditional pastoralist ways that emphasized the nomadic nature of cattle herding. The shift from a nomadic civilization to a urban society mandated changes in agricultural production, settlement building, and water conservation.

• Through the occupation of Futa Toro, the Fulani people came to accept structures of urban authority not traditionally seen in nomadic tribes. For example, urban life necessitated political authority being allocated to chiefs and ruling families.

• The Fulani who occupied Futa Toro held fast to traditional religious beliefs, instead of converting to Islam, the prominent religion of the area. Their religious views caused many Muslim traders in the area to relocated to predominantly Muslim areas, leading to a decline in trade and the commercial value of Futa Toro.

Further Expansion

The rising power of the Fulani led to northward expansion in the early 19th century, coming into direct conflict with the outer reaches of the Oyo Empire.Expansion was led by Usman dan Fodio, who led the Fulani to became the leaders of a centralized Fulani Empire .Expansion in this period was often tied to religion, particularly an attempt by many Fulani leaders to reform Muslim practices in the area and bring people to Islam. This period of time also gave rise to the jihad state, a territory that was established by political and religious Muslim leaders who conquer a region by offensive war, invoking Jihad ("effort" in Arabic), meaning "holy war" in this case. The rulers of jihad states often assumed the honorific title of Emir, an Arabic title which can mean general as well as prince or governor, or a derivate in a local language.

One of the newly formed Muslim states resulting from religious expansion, the Fouta Djallon, was founded in 1735. Formed when Fulani Muslims decided to rise against the non-Muslim Fulanis and Djalounkes rulers to create a confederation of provinces, Fouta Djallon, was located mainly in present day Guinea as well as parts of Guinea Bissau, Senegal, and Sierra Leone. Under the rule of Alpha Ibrahima Sory Maoudho, the first Almaamy in 1735, It rose to become a major political force with a written constitution and the governance of the area rotating between the 2 main parties: the Soriya and the Alphaya. With the capital Timbo in present day Guinea, the Fouta Djallon state lasted until 1898 when the French colonial troops defeated the last Almamy (Ruler) Bokar Biro Barry. They then dismantled the state and integrated it into their new colony of Rivières du Sud, which became Guinea.

Cultural Expressions of the Fulani

Language

The language of Fulanis is Pulaar or Fulfulde, depending on the region of the speaker and spoken variations. The Fulani share a language with the Tukulor, leading to the title of Halpulaar or Haalpulaar'en for all Senegalese who speak the language ("hal" is the root of the Pulaar verb haalugol, meaning "to speak").

With the exception of Guinea, Fulas are minorities in every country they live in (most countries of West Africa). So some Fulanis also speak the language of the land they live in.

Clothing

The traditional dress of the Fula in most places consists of long colorful flowing robes, richly decorated, mostly through embroidery. Fulani women also traditionally use Henna around the mouth, resulting in a blackening around the lips.

Music

The Fula have a rich musical culture and play a variety of traditional instruments including drums, hoddu (a plucked skin-covered lute similar to a banjo) and riti or riiti (a one-string bowed instrument similar to a violin), in addition to vocal music. The well known Senegalese Fula popular musician Baaba Maal sings in Pulaar on his recordings.

Notable Fula people

• Umaru Yar'Adua, current president of Nigeria.
• Amadou Hampate Ba,malian author.
• Ahmadou Ahidjo, first president of Cameroon.
• Adame Ba Konare, malian Historian and Spouse of Alpha Oumar Konare. Former president of the Tabital Pulaaku, an African Fula cultural association.

References

ISBN links support NWE through referral fees

• Almanach de Bruxelles (now a paying site)
• Gordon, Raymond G., Jr. (ed.) (2005) Ethnologue: Languages of the World, 15th ed. Dallas: SIL International. ISBN 155671159X
• Ndukwe, Pat I., Ph.D. (1996). Fulani. New York: The Rosen Publishing Group, Inc. ISBN 082391982X
• Political figures of Nigeria Retrieved June 10, 2007.
• Davidson, Basil. (1998) West Africa Before the Colonial Era: A History to 1850. England:Pearson Education Limited. ISBN 0582318521

See also

• Hausa people
• Mandé people
• Wolof people
• Songhai people

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