Fula people
| Fulɓe | |
|---|---|
| Total population | |
| c. 20–25 million | |
| Regions with significant populations | |
| Nigeria, Guinea, Cameroon, Senegal, Gambia, Mali, Niger, Burkina Faso, Sudan, Chad, Mauritania Morocco | |
 Nigeria
|
7 million |
 Guinea
|
4.7 million |
 Mali
|
2.8 million |
 Niger
|
1.5 million |
 Cameroon
|
700,000 |
 Chad
|
128,000 |
 Sudan
|
90,000 |
| Languages | |
| Fula, English, Arabic and French | |
| Religion | |
| Islam | |
| Related ethnic groups | |
| Hausa, Kanuri, Toucouleur | |
| Person | Pullo |
|---|---|
| People | Fulɓe |
| Language | Pulaar (West), Fulfulde (East) |
The Fula people or Fulani or Fulɓe (Fula: Fulɓe; French: Peul; Hausa: Fulani or Hilani; Portuguese: Fula; Wolof: Pël; Bambara: Fulaw), numbering between 20 and 25 million people in total, are one of the largest and a widely dispersed Muslim ethnic group in Sahel and West Africa. The Fula people are traditionally believed to have roots in the people from North Africa and the Middle East, who later intermingled with local West African ethnic groups. As an ethnic group they are bound together by the Fula language (Fulfulde), culture, history, their religious affiliation and their efforts to spread Islam in Sahel region and the West Africa.
A significant proportion of the Fula – a third, or an estimated 7 to 8 million – are pastoral people, making them the ethnic group with the largest nomadic pastoral community in the world. The majority of the Fula ethnic group consisted of semi-sedentary people, as well as sedentary settled farmers, artisans, merchants and nobility. Spread over many countries, they are found mainly in West Africa and northern parts of Central Africa, but also in Chad, Sudan and regions near the Red Sea.
There are 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 Fullah. 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 Anglicised as Fulbe, which some people use. In Portuguese, the terms Fula or Futafula are used. The terms Fallata Fallatah or Fellata are of Kanuri origins, and are often the ethnonyms by which Fulani people are identified by in Sudan.
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Wikipedia