The identification and portraiture of populations as Fulbe (Fulani, Peul) has varied, both historically and currently, with time and ecological location, as well as with the interests and knowledge of the conceptualizer or researcher.
(Frantz 1993: 11)
Where are the Fulani? : Cartographic representations
The Fulani are the most widely scattered ethnic group in the whole o f West Africa. They are to be found in a more or less continuous belt across the sub- region, stretching from The Gambia and Senegal in the west to Cameroon and beyond in the east. However, any attempt to delineate and define their spatial extent is in a sense misleading. The cartographic evidence presented to try to encapsulate and represent the areal extent of the Fulani, has changed significantly over time. Accordingly, each attempt to map out and thus delineate the location of the scattered Fulani population needs to be taken on its own merits, as an outcome of the different criteria used by various authors. In addition, the
demonstrated by the 1983 and 1985 expulsions from Nigeria of all unskilled foreigners working and residing illegally in the country. Ghanaians were particularly affected.
historical and demographic contexts within which each map was created also have to be taken into consideration.
In a recent article, Boutrais (1994a) calls, 'Pour une nouvelle cartographic des Peuls’, in other words for a ‘re-mapping of the Fulani’. (See map 2.3 below) He argues that maps need to be updated to take into account the migration and dispersion of Fulani groups which continue to take place. He remarks that the most notable of these dispersions has been to the north and south of areas traditionally thought of as Fulani locations.51
51 See Adebayo (1997)
56 Map 2.3 A re-mapphigpf | i | f ulani world
(From L ’archipei P e u ||3 f i | 5 , Cahiers d \
i 2 c 0>:3-1
T O G O
2 *.Oi
MAURITANIE
In mapping out where the Fulani are to be found, Boutrais notes that linguistic criteria are often used. He however observed that, ‘Les cartes linguistiques ne recoupent pas toujours des identites de peuplement, specialement dans le cas des Peuis’ (Boutrais 1994: 137). Thus the linguistic criteria upon which many maps of Fulani geographical location are based are not as clear cut and simple as may first appear. For such a basis takes no account of the exceptions to the rule nor of the assimilation and osmosis which takes place across and between ethnic groups on the margins. There are examples of groups of people who, although originally Fulani, and possibly still speaking Fulfulde, have adopted new ethnic identities. 52
The fluid and open spatial metaphors employed in the past to conceptualise the spatial extent of the Fulani have included ‘aires’, ‘espaces’
‘monde’ and ‘diaspora’ to name but a few (Newman 1995: 130). The most recent metaphor offered is that of ‘L'archipel peul’ (Fulani archipelago) (Cahiers d'etudes Afiicaines 1994: 133-35). This was chosen in preference to the notion of a Monde Peul (Fulani World). The reason for this was explained thus, ‘nous utilions plutot la metaphore de l'archipel que celle d'un monde dont on pourrait dessiner la peripherie5 (Botte & Schmitz 1994: 15).
Demographic Dilemmas
Not only are the Fulani widely scattered, they are also one of the most numerous of West African populations.53 In reality, the quality and quantity of census information pertaining to Fulani populations in Africa vary widely. This is
The Tukulor are a case in point, as are the Takrur and Halpular, the Fulakunda, Khassonke, Wassulonke, and Fellata (Frantz 1993: 23).
53 However, as Frantz points out there has never been an attempt to calculate the numbers of Fulani in Africa, either recently or at any time in the past (Frantz 1993: 14).
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obviously closely related to the notion of nominal definitions of the Fulani. These vary enormously depending upon what criteria are used. In 1959 Stenning estimated that there were over six million Fulani. Dupire in 1970 also gave a figure of six million. Then in 1981 she wrote that there were approximately seven million of them. In 1977 Riesman said that there were some nine million living between the Atlantic Ocean and Cameroon. The following year Weekes and Hopen, quoted by Frantz (1993: 15), gave figures of twelve and nineteen to twenty million respectively. Other recent estimates claim that there are more than fifteen million speakers of Fulfulde (Azarya et al. 1993). Hagberg notes that the various contemporary estimates claim between ten and thirty million Fulani (Hagberg 1998: 128).
Not only are the numbers of Fulani hard to gauge but Frantz (1993: 15) argues that the numbers of Fulani have decreased as well as increased through time in different regions. This is because Fulani have been ‘lost1 by becoming assimilated into other cultures, such as is the case in Sudan,54 or their numbers have increased through military conquest. Clearly, the estimated numbers of Fulani depend upon the criteria used to ‘define’ who is and who is not Fulani. As the following section shows, the definition of Fulani is far from evident.
Who are the Fulani? : Contested criteria
Any attempt to state something general about Fulbe is a risky enterprise.
(Hagberg 1998: 149)
54'By the end of the nineteenth century, most Fulbe who had migrated to the Sennar area had been absorbed into Sudan Arabic society' (Frantz 1993: 15).
In association with their wide distribution, over the centuries, significant differences have emerged among and between Fulani sub-groups. The problem was posed by Schultz who asked,
What can be the connection between scattered bands of nomadic or semi-nomadic herders who are few in number, lacking in power, and widely believed to be “pagan”, and urbane, sedentary Muslims - clerics, traders, rulers - who may own cattle, but who do not herd?
(Schultz 1980; x)
Within states also there are differences, in Nigeria for example the Fulani do not consider themselves a homogeneous group of people. They are invariably identified by their location, for example, ‘Fulanin Yola’, ‘Fulanin Jos’, or ‘Fulanin Katsina’ (Moses 1996; 25).
The criteria singled out as representing the core markers of Fulani ethnic identity in the various locations vary widely. However, an important question that needs to be borne in mind is whether the criteria in each case are emically or etically constructed, whether others choose to decide or the Fulani communities decide for themselves, who are and are not Fulani. Fulani groups vary greatly in important characteristics such as,
whether they speak Fulfiilde as their first and/or only language; are nomadic or sedentary; are urban or rural: gain their livelihood principally by rearing livestock or crops (or both together), or through non-agricultural occupations; are politically dominant over other ethnic groups; are hierarchical/stratified or egalitarian/unstratified;
depend on ex-slaves, ex-serfs, and on non-Fulbe individuals for labour;
are guided mainly by Islam with respect to marriage and inheritance, and differ biologically, both genetically and in outward appearance, from neighbouring communities.
(Frantz 1993: 12)
These differences have emerged to such an extent that some argue that the Fulani no longer, ‘...constitute a single ethnic group, as an empirical reality or in the
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perceptions of the people themselves...’ (Azarya et al 1983: l).55 Amselle (1998:
46) for instance is of the opinion that, ‘..as many meanings of the term Fulani exist as there are actual expressions of a Fulani essence’. Meanwhile, Riesman (1984), as we saw in Chapter One, believes that,
A Fulani has no feeling for the Fulani as an ethnic group, but he has pride in himself because he can uphold the standard he was given by being bom a Fulani.
(Riesman 1984: 180)
Frantz (1993) notes that Paden in a study of the Hausa-Fulani city of Kano identified eight categories of ethnic identification. In a similar study of Sokoto, Hendrixson identified twenty criteria by which residents defined themselves and others. Burnham (1991), on the other hand, referring to the Fulani of Meiganga in Northern Cameroon believes,
II n'est pas difficile d'etre admis au sein de la societe foulbe; il suffit qu'un individu se qualifie sur trois choses: la langue, la religion (islam), un consensus declare aux ideaux peuls d'ethnicite et de superiorite en accord avec le pulaaku (Burnham 1991 : 79).56
Zubko (1993: 203) for his part recognizes five factors which constitute the, ‘Fulbe cultural type’, namely pulaaku, ‘ethnic behavioural model’,57 nomadic cattle breeding type economy, Fula language, oral traditions and mythology (Zubko
1993: 203). Ayisi postulates that there is only one unifying factor,
One thing that all Fulbe have in common, no matter where they are located, is their sense of asymmetrical status consciousness in relation
55 Over the centuries many Fulfulde-speaking groups have changed considerably, to such an extent that some have assumed new ethnic identities, e.g. Takrur, Tukulor, Halpular, Fulakunda (Frantz 1993:23).
56 It is not difficult to be admitted into the bosom of Fulani society. It suffices that an individual qualifies on three points: language, religion
(Islam), a declared agreement with Fulani ideals of ethnicity and superiority in accordance with P u l a a k u (Translation of Burnham 1991 : 79).
57' [The] ethnic behaviour model,..fixes the type of relations between the Fulbe ethnos and the environment as well as the type of Fulbe e t h n o s ’ relations with other ethnoses' (Zubko 1993: 201).
to their neighbours who are non-Fulbe...The Fulbe may be sedentary Muslims or pastoral nomads; they may be aristocrats or cattle herders, but they claim and believe implicitly in a common (blue-blood) consanguinity.
(Ayisi 1980: 155)
Two major factors are equated with the Fulani in the introduction to the Senri Ethnological Studies publication entitled Unity and Diversity o f a People: The Search For Fulbe Identity, namely ‘ ...pulaaku and Fulfulde are perhaps the major identifying criteria of the Fulbe’ (Azarya, Eguchi and VerEecke 1993: 3).
In the majority of definitions offered, mention is usually made of one or more of the following characteristics: language, racial (biological) traits, cattle- dependency, the sharing of a common ethical code {pulaaku), and adherence to Islam (Frantz 1993: 22). Various of these ‘core’ markers will now be discussed in order to highlight the underlying unifying factors that still enable the category
‘Fulani’ to be of relevance as an ethnic label in contemporary West African discourse. Thus the question being asked is: What elements constitute a notion or notions of Fulani ethnic identity?
Language
The language of the Fulani is given various names in different circumstances:
Fulfulde, Pulaar, Fula, Peul.58 Despite their extensive geographical dispersal, Arnott notes that,
Linguistically there is no difficulty in describing the speech of the Fulani Diaspora as a single language, having a common basic morphological and syntactical structure and a common lexical stock
58 These differences are present in the terms the people themselves give to their
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which is surprisingly large and uniform, considering the geographical spread and the variety of other linguistic groups with which the Fulani have been in close contact.
(Arnott 1970: 3)
There are however marked dialectal differences in the Fulani language, although all dialects are mutually intelligible. Groups living relatively near to one another have little or no difficulty in understanding each other. Even Fulani as far apart as Guinea, Senegal and Nigeria can communicate, ‘given a certain degree of intelligence and a brief period of adjustment5 (Arnott 1970: 3). Dupire disagrees and argues that often a translation is needed (particularly between groups of the east and west), given the fact that the various dialects of Fulfulde are greatly influenced by the languages of the neighbouring groups (Dupire 1981: 167).
According to Azarya (1993) the main dialects are Futa Djallon (Guinea), Futa Toro (Senegal), Massina (Mali), and Adamawa. ‘These dialectical differences provide Fulfulde speakers with a kind of sub-identity5 (Azarya et al.
1993: 8). Arnott however includes a further two dialects. He distinguishes the dialects of ‘central5 northern Nigeria and eastern Nigeria from that of Sokoto and western Niger. In defining the dialectal areas Arnott did however confess that the,
‘demarcation of dialects is inevitd^le) an arbitrary process5(Arnott 1970). All Fulfulde speakers should then in fact speak a variant of one or a combination of the above dialects. Thus, as regards language, regional dialectal differences exist.
Borrowing words from local host languages is also a common phenomenon.
However, not all people who describe themselves as Fulani speak Fulfulde, just as some non-Fulani speak the language. Boutrais (1994:137) highlights this discrepancy by emphasizing two cases. Firstly are the instances where peoples who identify themselves as Fulani no longer utilize or have completely forgotten their language. He gives the examples of the Fulani of Northern Nigeria and the Fellata of Sudan and Chad. The extreme cases include peoples who have probably never used the Fulani language such as the, Fulani of
‘Wasolan’ in Mali (Boutrais 1994:138). In this example, their identity as Fulani results from an ancient ethnic conversion.
The inverse of this is also apparent. In other words there are a few examples of people appropriating the Fulani language and ceasing to speak their original language, such as the case of former slaves, an example being the
‘Fouladu’ of Senegal (Boutrais 1994a: 138). There are also instances where the Fulani language acquires the status of a vehicular language (Diamare and Adamawa in Cameroon). The extreme case is that of a population, who although speaking the same language as the Fulani, regard themselves as distinct from them. A classic case of this are the Halpular and Tukulor of Senegal (Boutrais 1994a: 138).
Myths of origin
According to Awogbade (1983: 1), £if there is any bond shared by all Fulani, it is their myth of origin’, However, the issue is not quite so clear cut, and the question of the origins of the Fulani is the subject of much speculation and contested debate. No one knows with any certainty the origin of the Fulani (Scott 1984: 53).
Nevertheless there has been no lack of theories, ranging from the ‘tenable to the fantastic’(Scott 1984). Some writers have suggested their Jewish or Syrian origins. (Several such myths of origin were collected during the course of fieldwork, see Appendix IV.) Others still, have included suggestions of Ethiopian affinities. North African Berbers, Hindu, Malayo-Polynesian and Gypsy origins have been included in these obscure theories (Stenning 1959: 19).
The myths of the Fulani themselves often describe the marriage of a Muslim Arab or Moor with a black African lady, a marriage which is blessed with children. This Arabic-African origin is said to be the reason for their relatively light skin and strong adherence to Islam, amongst other things. The most popular
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contemporary theory postulates an eastwards migration from their putative tenth- century homeland in Senegambia.59 Linguistic evidence supports this hypothesis.
Greenberg (1949), cited in Murdock (1959), notes that the Fulani language is massive monograph Penis Nomades to the ‘Caracteres physiques des peules’.61 Meanwhile Stenning wrote:
The Fulani are not basically of Negro stock 62 ...Whatever their observed physical characteristics, Fulani communities in general recognize as an ideal the distinctive characteristics of the purest of the
Their gradual spread over many centuries was generally through migratory drift {Stenning 1959), although it was sometimes associated with Islamic holy wars ( J i h a d ) .
60 Williams posits that underlying these reports was a 'fundamental mythic element expressed in a "white-black" dichotomy'(Williams 1988: 363).
61 L . .
Fulani physical characteristics.
52 While the belief that the Fulani are not basically of 'Negro stock' begs outmoded categories, this quotation does however illustrate the physical distinctiveness which has been attributed to the F u l a n i .
stock: light copper coloured skin, straight hair, narrow nose, thin lips, and slight bone structure.
(Stenning 1959: 2)
This interest in physical appearance is not only a concern of the various authors but also of the Fulani themselves (Dupire 1981: 168).63 In the Fulani language the word hacibe (singular Kaado) is used to designate all non-Fulani, the ‘black’
African populations amongst whom they live. It is also noted in the literature that they like to compare themselves with the,
...grands nomades blancs conquerants qui les entourent, les Touaregs a Test et les Maures a l'ouest, auxels les pasteurs empruntent volontiers certains objets de leur artisanat.
(Dupire 1981; 168)
It is also a common feature of the literature to associate lighter skinned Fulani with the ‘true’ nomads, the Wodaabe or Bororo, and darker skinned Fulani to settled urbanized, Muslim groups.64
6 3
M a n y of my Fulani female friends and respondents took great pride in their appearance and physical beauty. Note the fact that skin bleaching was quite common among the Fulani women, young and old. See the case study in Chapter Seven entitled, 'Coke and F a n t a ' .
64 'One thing that did change...was the colour of their skin, which became much darker following intermarriage with, and especially taking concubines among, non- Fulbe women' (Azarya 1993: 42),
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Livelihood
There is a need for historical depth as well as geographical breadth in order to untangle the web of differences in modes of subsistence, degree of mobility, group composition, economic and political organization, ‘and to some extent world view’ (Azarya, Eguchi, VerEecke 1993: 4). The Fulani are associated with pastoralism throughout West Africa.65 Other ethnic groups associate them with it, as do Fulani themselves, even those who are not by occupation pastoralists. This is illustrated by the symbols of the cowherd following his cow on the banners during the parade (see Chapter One).
In very basic terms, the major stereotypical distinctions between different groups of Fulani are bush Fulani {Fulbe ladde) versus town Fulani (Fulbe saare)66 in the west, and Mbororo versus Pullo in the east (Hagberg 1998: 130).
This opposition however fails to take into account the various social hierarchies, based upon slavery, evident in most Fulani populations. Fulbe, free-persons rimbe, are associated with pastoralism and Islamic scholarship, and maccube, captives, are those captured in wars and slave raids. In some areas, another category is important, that of the rimaybe ,67 These are slaves born into slavery but who could not themselves be sold (Hagberg 1998: 130).
Among some Fulani groups, there are ‘casted’ peoples nyeenybe, whose professions include, blacksmiths, bards, leatherworkers, woodworkers and musicians (endogamous artisan and musician groups). The Fulani are one of only fifteen or so West African peoples to have endogamous artisan groups, which can be described as castes. Moreover, Fulfulde is one of only four West African
'La reputation des Peuls est dans toute L'Afrique celle de b e r g e r s . hjeme lorsqu'iTs se sont ^ejientaires' (Dupire 1962: 82).
66 Another way of expressing this d ichotomy is F u l b e n a ' i (Cow Fulani) and F u l b e w u r o (urban Fulani).
67 The difference and distinction between the m a c c u b e on the one hand and the r i m a y b e on the other is not always evident and would appear to be more relevant in some regions than other. In Ghana the term, and social category, maccube was universally recognized and will be used throughout.
languages in which there exists an indigenous word for such caste groups (Conrad
& Frank 1995),
To a certain extent, these different ‘levels’ (socio-cultural statuses) affect the occupations that individuals can and do engage in. The free-slave division is the greatest determinant of occupation. This was perhaps more so in the past than now. Slaves for example were used in the cultivation of land as well as cattle herding (Azarya 1993: 46). Being a butcher is an occupation that is anathema to many free-born Fulani who avoid it and leave it to those of slave origin (Hino 1993: 67).
Some Fulani populations, are more involved in pastoralism than others. If regarded in terms of a continuum,68 it becomes apparent that a whole series of pastoral livelihoods can be differentiated 69. At one end of this ‘continuum’ are the nomadic pastoralists, the Mbororo, Wodaabe. They are only a small percentage of Pastoral Fulani.70 Semi-sedentary (semi-nomadic) pastoralists are frequently distinguished as another group. Others are termed transhumant, migrating seasonally. Yet others still are sedentary. To categorize different Fulani populations in terms of the above criteria can be misleading, as it overlooks the
Some Fulani populations, are more involved in pastoralism than others. If regarded in terms of a continuum,68 it becomes apparent that a whole series of pastoral livelihoods can be differentiated 69. At one end of this ‘continuum’ are the nomadic pastoralists, the Mbororo, Wodaabe. They are only a small percentage of Pastoral Fulani.70 Semi-sedentary (semi-nomadic) pastoralists are frequently distinguished as another group. Others are termed transhumant, migrating seasonally. Yet others still are sedentary. To categorize different Fulani populations in terms of the above criteria can be misleading, as it overlooks the