Mandé peoples are speakers of Mande languages. Various Mandé groups are found in every country in mainland West Africa. The Mandé languages are divided into two primary groups: East Mandé and West Mandé.
The Mandinka or Malinke people, a western branch of the Mandé, are credited with the founding of the largest ancient West African empires. Other large Mandé groups include the Soninke, Susu, Bambara, and Dyula. Smaller groups include the Ligbi, Vai, and Bissa.
Mandé people inhabit various environments, from coastal rainforests to the sparse Sahel. They have a wide range of cuisines, cultures, and beliefs, and are organized mainly by their language group. Today they are predominantly Muslim and follow a caste system.
Islam has played a central role in identifying the Mandé as a supranational ethnic group that transcended individual tribal affiliations. Mandé influence historically spread far beyond immediate areas to other neighboring Muslim West Africans groups who inhabited the sahel and savanna. The Mandé conducted increased trade down the River Niger or overland, and achieved military conquest with the expansion of the Ghana Empire, Mali Empire, and Kaabu and Wassoulou states.
The non-Mande-speaking Fula, Songhai, Wolof, Hausa, and Voltaic peoples maintain varying degrees of close alignment with the Mandé worldview, clothing and other cultural artefacts (a shared written script, architecture, cuisine, and social norms).

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