Fula people or Fulani or Fulbe (Fula: Fulɓe; French: Peul; Hausa: Fulan; Portuguese: Fula; Wolof: Pël; Bambara: Fulaw) are the largest Migratory ethnic group in the world. They are among the Super ethnic groups of Africa with members numbering 30 Million and Above, alongside the Hausa, Yoruba, Oromo and Igbo. They are an ethnic group spread over many countries, predominantly in West Africa and Northern parts of Central Africa, but also in Sudanese North Africa. Overall, the territory and range of where Fulani people can be found, is significantly larger than the United states and Western Europe in area.[16] Being one of the most widely dispersed and culturally most diverse people of the African continent, Fulani culture comes in a myriad of different expressions in clothing, Music, and lifestyle. However, they are bound together by a common language and some basic elements of Fulbe culture, such as the Pulaaku. African countries where they are present include Mauritania, Ghana, Senegal, Guinea, the Gambia, Mali, Nigeria, Sierra Leone, Benin, Burkina Faso, Guinea Bissau, Cameroon, Côte dIvoire, Niger, Chad, Togo, Republic of the Congo, Democratic Republic of the Congo, South Sudan the Central African Republic, Liberia, and as far East as the Red sea in Sudan, Eritrea and Egypt. Some Fulani artefacts created by fulbe communities in Eritrea, are currently displayed in the British Museum collections, some of these artworks, include Calabash or Gourd vessels, intricately decorated in deep carvings of black, very similar to same sort of craft, made by their pastoral brethren from further West[17] Fula people form a minority in every country they inhabit, except in Guinea where they are the largest ethnic group, representing some 40% of the population[18] A Pullo in The Leppi, An Indigo Tie-Dye of Fouta Djallon, Guinea Fulfulde language Continuum Major Concentrations of Fulani people exist in the Fouta Djallon highlands of central Guinea and South into 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, 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 Areas occupied by the Sokoto Caliphate, which Includes what is now Southern Niger and Northern Nigeria: this includes areas and regions such as 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 literally meaning The South in Adamawa Fulfulde, because it represented the most Southern and Eastern reaches of Fulbe 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, the Ouaddaï highlands of Eastern Chad, the areas around Kordofan, Darfur and the Blue Nile, Sennar, Kassala regions of Sudan,[19] 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 and in western Eritrea. In Sudan they are known as Takrir (sing. Takruri). They are also known as Fellata a term given to them by the Kanuri people. They number close to 2 millions in Sudan, while in Eritrea that number is significantly less. However, the Tekruris have been part of the Eritrean society for hundreds of Origins and spread[edit] Fula Geographical range Various theories have been postulated regarding the origins of Fulani people. The ethnogenesis of the Fulani people however, seems to have begun as a result of interactions between an ancient North African Berber population, and a sub-Saharan one, in the areas around the bend of the Niger river. As a people of combined North African or Middle Eastern, as well as Sub-Saharan African origins. 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 ancient Ghana. During the sixteenth 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 or the Fulbe 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 the Fulbe Wuro. 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, each group 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 Songhai Empire exercised over the homelands of Ancient Ghana. Primarily objecting to the Songhai 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 Songhai rule continued, however, when Tenguallas son, Tengualla Koli, led his fathers 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. Wodaabe men performing the gereewol A BodaaDo man from Niger Plural: WodaaBe In Nigeria, the Fulani are often categorized with the Hausa as a conglomerated ethnic group Hausa-Fulani. Following the Fulani War, their histories in the region have been largely intertwined. Outside Nigeria, the two groups are usually considered distinct and are different as a matter of fact. The Fulani were the first group of people in West Africa to convert to Islam through jihads, or holy wars, and were able to take over much of the Sahel region of West Africa and establish themselves not only as a religious group but also as a political and economical force. In the 9th century they may have been involved in the formation of a state with its capital at Takrur which is suggested to have had influx of Fulani migrating from the east and settling in the Senegal valley[26][27] although John Donnelly Fage suggests that Takrur was formed through the interaction of Berbers from the Sahara and Negro agricultural peoples who were essentially Serer.[28] Tassili rock Art The Earliest evidence that shed some light on the pre-historic Fulani culture can be found in the Tassili nAjjer rock art Fulanis artifacts, which seem to depict the early life of the people date back to thousands of years (6000B.C). Examination of these rock paintings suggests the presence of proto-Fulani cultural traits in the region by at least the fourth millennium B.C. Tassili-NAjjer in Algeria is one of the most famous North African sites of rock painting. Scholars specializing in Fulani culture believe that some of the imagery depicts rituals that are still practiced by contemporary Fulani people. At the Tin Tazarift site, for instance, historian Amadou Hampate Ba recognized a scene of the lotori ceremony, a celebration of the oxs aquatic origin. In a finger motif, Ba detected an allusion to the myth of the hand of the first Fulani herdsman, Kikala. At Tin Felki, Ba recognized a hexagonal carnelian jewel as related to the Agades cross, a fertility charm still used by Fulani women. There are also details in the paintings which correspond to elements from Fulani myths taught during the initiation rites like the hermaphroditic cow. The Fulani initiation field is depicted graphically with the sun surrounded by a circle lined-up with heads of cows as different phases of the moon at the bottom and surmounted by a male and a female figures. The female figure even has a hanging braid of hair to the back. Though no exact dates have been established for the paintings they are undoubtedly much earlier than the historic times when the Fulani were first noticed in Western Sahara.[29] Effects of Expansion[edit] Fulani men on Horseback 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 the traditional pastoralist ways that emphasized the nomadic nature of cattle herding. The shift from a nomadic civilization to an 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 that 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 relocate to predominantly Muslim areas, leading to a decline in trade and the commercial value of Futa Toro. Geographical Distribution[edit] 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, although situations have changed a lot in recent times, and, a sizable proportion of Fulani people now live in the Heavily Forested Zones to the South, in Countries like Sierra Leone, Nigeria, Cameroon, Guinea, The Central African Republic and the DRC, Various Fulbe Subgroups are now found Well within the Forested Southern Quarter of Western and Central Africa. There are approximately 40 million Fulani people. They are considered among the most “widely dispersed and culturally diverse peoples in all of Africa.” There are generally three different types of Fulani based on settlement patterns, viz: 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 Fulbe families who happen to settle down temporarily at particular times of the year, or Fulbe families who do not browse around past their immediate surroundings, and even though they possess livestock, they do not wander away from 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. Fulani Communities are sometimes grouped and named based on 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 Fulbe Groups. Main Fula Sub-Groups Group Country Location Fulbe Adamawa Nigeria Cameroon Chad Central African Republic Sudan Eastern Fulbe Fulbe Mbororo Nigeria Cameroon Chad Niger Central African Republic Sudan Democratic Republic of Congo Eastern Fulbe Fulbe Bagirmi Central African Republic Chad Eastern Fulbe Fulbe Sokoto Nigeria Niger Eastern Fulbe Fulbe Gombe Nigeria Eastern Fulbe Fulbe Borgu Nigeria Benin Togo Central Fulbe Fulbe Liptaako Mali Niger Burkina Faso Central Fulbe Fulbe Massina Mali Central Fulbe Fulbe Nioro Mali Senegal Mauritania Western Fulbe Fulbe Futa Jallon Guinea Guinea Bissau Sierra Leone Western Fulbe Fulbe Futa Tooro Senegal Mauritania Western Fulbe Fulbe Fuladu Senegal Guinea Bissau Gambia Western Fulbe years.[20][21] Living mostly in western Eritrea, they had their own quarters in the towns, called Hillet Tekhwarir.
Posted on: Fri, 15 Nov 2013 23:11:38 +0000
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