The Fulani tribe of West Africa
The Fulani, or Fulbe people are one of the largest ethnic groups in the Sahel and West Africa, widely dispersed across the region. Inhabiting many countries, they live mainly in West Africa and northern parts of Central Africa, also in South Sudan, Darfur, Eritrea, and regions near the Red Sea coast.
A significant proportion of the Fulani are pastoralists, and their ethnic group has the largest nomadic pastoral community in the world.
Though the Fulani are originally a pastoral people, today, one can find both nomadic pastoral Fulani and settled Fulani. The pastoral Fulani move about with their cattle for much of the year. In contrast, the settled Fulani live permanently in villages and cities. Although both groups share a common language and origin, they regard themselves as only distantly related.
Many West African leaders are of the Fulani descent including the President of Nigeria, Muhammadu Buhari, the President of Senegal, Macky Sall, the President of Gambia, Adama Barrow, the President of Guinea-Bissau, Umaro Sissoco, and a few others.
Cattle is the dominant composition of the Fulani herd in countries such as Nigeria, Mali and Niger. The livestock is largely female with close to 60% of cattle being female; the male species are usually reduced by selling them.
The sale of their cattle, sheep and dairy products such as milk constitute the primary source of income and livelihood for the herdsmen. Their wealth and riches are often measured by the size of the cattle herd. Traditionally, the herdsmen often loan cows to one another, and once the cow has birthed and weaned a calf it is returned to its original owner. These herdsmen herd several species of cattle, but the zebu cattle is the most common in the West African hinterland because of its drought-resistant traits.
In the Fulani traditional herding unit, tasks are divided by gender and age amongst the members of the family. The main work of men is to manage the herd, find grazing sites, build tents and camps, and make security tools such as knives, bow and arrows and guns. Women in the unit take on traditional female gender roles such as sourcing food produce in the market, milking cows, weaving and mat-making. Some women are also involved in farming such as growing vegetables and raising poultry.
Fulani pastoralists started migrating into northern Nigeria from the Senegambia region around the thirteenth or fourteenth century. After the Usman dan Fodio jihad, the Fulani became integrated into the Hausa culture of Northern Nigeria. Thereafter, during the dry season when the tsetse fly population is reduced, Fulani pastoralists began to drive their cattle into the Middle Belt zone dominated by non-Hausa groups, returning to the north at the onset of the rainy season. But while managing the herd and driving cattle, cattle grazing on farmlands sometimes occurs, leading to destruction of crops and becoming a source of conflict. This conflict has brought about several clashes between Fulani herdsmen and farmers which have lasted till this present day.
The pastoral Fulani today enjoy greater prestige than town and sedentary agricultural Fulani as the most truly representative of Fulani culture. Interaction with other groups has sometimes resulted in a considerable degree of cultural absorption. This is most notably the case in northern Nigeria, where perhaps half of the Fulani have adopted the Hausa language and culture and as a result of a series of Jihad purporting to purify Islam, they established an empire, instituting themselves as a ruling aristocracy.
Among the nomadic Fulani, life can be extremely harsh. They often live in small, temporary camps. These can be quickly dismantled as they move in search of pasture and water for their herds. Because of the settlements' distance from towns, modern health care is not readily available.
Despite the importance of Islam, some modern-day Fulani traditions recount the pre-Islamic origin of their people. These traditions state that cattle, as well as the first Fulani family, emerged from a river. They began migrating across Africa and gave birth to children who founded the various Fulani groups.
That's it for the Fulani tribe of West Africa.
