Fula people

Fula, Fulani, Fulɓe
East - Fulbe.jpg
Fula women in the East Province of Cameroon.
Total population

10 to 13 million (2005)[1]
Regions with significant populations
Guinea, Nigeria, Cameroon, Senegal, Mali, Sierra Leone Central African Republic, Burkina Faso, Benin, Niger, Gambia, Guinea Bissau, Ghana, Chad, Mauritania, Sudan and Côte d'Ivoire.
Languages
Fula language
Religion
Islam
Related ethnic groups
Wolof and Serer

Fula or Fulani or Fulbe (the latter being an Anglicisation of the word in their language, Fulɓe[2]) are an ethnic group of people spread over many countries, predominantly in West Africa, but found also in Central Africa and Sudanese North Africa. The countries in Africa where they are present include Mauritania, Senegal, Guinea, The Gambia, Mali, Nigeria, Sierra Leone, Benin, Burkina Faso, Guinea Bissau, Cameroon, Côte d'Ivoire, Niger, Togo, the Central African Republic, Ghana, Liberia, and as far as Sudan in the east. Fulas are not a majority in every country they live, but in Guinea they represent a plurality of the population (largest single group).

Contents

One person, many names

There are also 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. Fula and Fulani are commonly used in English, including within Africa. The French borrowed 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 adapted to English as Fulbe, which some people use. In Portuguese it's Fula or Futafula.

Related groups

A closely related group is the Tukolor (Toucouleur) in the central Senegal River valley. These people are often referred to together 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 ethnically Fula have been referred to as yimɓe pulaaku (people of the Fula culture).

The Woɗaaɓe, also known as the Bororo, are a subgroup of the Fula people.

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

Origins and spread

While some have speculated over the origin of Fulani people, current linguistic and genetic evidence suggests an indigenous West African origin among the Peul.[3] The vast majority of genetic lineages associated with them reflect those most commonly seen in other west Africans. Their language is also of west African origin, most closely related to that of the Wolof and Serer ethnic groups.[1]. Historical and archaeological records indicate that Peul-speakers have resided in western Africa since at least the 5th century A.D. as well. Interestingly, rock paintings in the Tassili-n-Ajjer suggests the presence of proto-Fulani cultural traits in the region by at least the fourth millennium B.C. Scholars specializing in Fulani culture believe that some of the imagery depicts rituals that are still practiced by contemporary Fulani people.[4]

Rise to political dominance

Main article: Fula jihads

Beginning as early as the 17th and 18th centuries, but mainly in the 19th century, Fulas and others took control of various states in West Africa.

These included the Fulani Empire founded by Usman dan Fodio (which itself included smaller states), Fouta Djallon, Massina and others.

Culture & Language

Popular illustration of Fula greeting ritual ca. 1910, in French it reads: Salutations among primitive people.

The language of Fulas is called Pulaar or Fulfulde depending on the region, or variants thereof. It is also the language of the Tukulor. All Senegalese who speak the language natively are known as the Halpulaar or Haalpulaar'en, which stands for "speakers of Pulaar" ("hal" is the root of the Pulaar verb haalugol, meaning "to speak"). In some areas, e.g. in northern Cameroon, Fulfulde is a local lingua franca.

With the exception of Guinea, Fulas are minorities in every country they live in (most countries of West Africa). So some also speak other languages, for example:

The traditional dress of the Fula in most places consists of long colorful flowing robes, modestly embroidered or otherwise decorated. Also characteristic Fula tradition is that of women using Henna around the mouth, resulting in a blackening around the lips. Fula ethics are strictly governed by the notion of pulaaku.[5]

Fula are primarily known to be pastoralists, but are also traders in some areas. Most Fula in the countryside spend long times alone on foot, moving their herds; they were the only major migrating people of West Africa, though most Fula now live in towns or villages.

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 Fulani people by country

Nigeria

Sierra Leone

Guinea

Mali

Senegal

Burkina Faso

Cameroon

  1. ↑ Ndukwe 16 (1996) gives a figure of 20 million; Gordon, "Adamawa Fulfulde", says 23 million speakers of all forms of Fulfulde.
  2. ↑ The letter "ɓ" is an implosive b sound. In the orthography for languages of Guinea (pre-1985), it was written bh, so one would have written Fulbhe instead of Fulɓe. Some people still use this spelling convention.
  3. ↑ mtDNA of Fulani Nomads and Their Genetic Relationships to Neighboring Sedentary Populations
  4. ↑ The Fulani/Fulbe People | Thematic Essay | Timeline of Art History | The Metropolitan Museum of Art
  5. ↑ Pulaaku Ethics

References

Further reading

External links

See also

Ethnic groups in Nigeria

Annang  · Aulliminden  · Berom  · Bini  · Defaka  · Djerma  · Ebira  · Efik  · Eket  · Ekoi  · Eleme  · Esan  · Etsakor  · Fon  · Fula  · Gwari  · Hausa  · Ibibio  · Idoma  · Igala  · Igbo  · Ijaw  · Isoko  · Itsekiri  · Jukun  · Kanuri  · Kilba  · Kirdi  · Kofyar  · Mumuye  · Nupe  · Ogoni  · Tarok  · Tiv  · Urhobo  · Yoruba