Fulani
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Fulani
Fulani Kate R. Hampshire
ALTERNATIVE NAMES Fulani is a Hausa term, which is also commonly used in English to describe this ethnic category. With the exception of Nigeria, most Fulani live in Francophone West Africa, where they are widely known by the French (and Wolof ) terms Peul or Peulh. Fulani living in the westernmost parts of the Sahel (Senegal, Gambia, Sierra Leone, and Guinea) are usually referred to by the Manding word, Fula. The Fulfulde term FulBe (sing. Pullo) is often equated with Fulani, although it actually refers only to high status, pastoral Fulani.
LOCATION
AND
LINGUISTIC AFFILIATION
The Fulani are distributed over a very large geographical area, essentially spanning the West African Sahel, from Senegal and the Gambia, as far east as Chad and the Sudan. There are Fulani in every West African state, but in each country they constitute a minority of the population (Dupire, 1970; Riesman, 1992). Because of this wide geographical dispersion, it should be borne in mind that some beliefs and practice vary from place to place, and generalization is thus problematic. Estimates of Fulani population size are problematic for several reasons. First, national censuses are often inadequate data sources because they frequently underenumerate nomadic and semi-nomadic groups, and not all censuses include questions on ethnic identity. Second, and very importantly, the Fulani ethnic category is fluid and its boundaries are fuzzy (e.g., Burnham, 1996). That said, estimates range from 6 million in the early 1960s (Dupire, 1963) to 9 or 10 million today (Riesman, 1992). The largest national group of Fulani is in Nigeria (some 4.8 million) (Riesman, 1992). The main Fulani language is Fulfulde (known in some parts of Senegal and surrounding areas as Pular or Fula). Because of the wide geographical dispersion of Fulani, the Fulfulde of different regions varies, often incorporating words of other local languages. However,
Fulfulde is still more or less mutually comprehensible by speakers from nearly all areas, implying that geographical expansion was relatively recent. It should be noted that some non-Fulani groups have adopted the Fulfulde language (Burnham, 1996), and that some Fulani speak other languages, such as Hausa in Nigeria (Riesman, 1992).
OVERVIEW
OF THE
CULTURE
Pastoralism and the Importance of Cattle The Fulani are the major cattle-herding group in West Africa. Much of the Fulani tradition is tied up with nomadic pastoralism, and the importance of cattle features prominently in most portrayals of Fulani society (Bonfiglioli, 1988; Hopen, 1958; Stenning, 1959). Cattle are seen not only as economically important, but as a social necessity, upon which much social organization is based (Hopen, 1958; Riesman, 1977; Stenning, 1958). Cattle are also considered to be inextricably bound up with FulBe identity, such that their loss represents something far more serious than economic or social insecurity. However, by no means are all Fulani today are pastoralists. Particularly since the serious drought
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