Fulani
| Fulɓe | |
|---|---|
| Total population | |
| c. 35 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.
Many Fulbe was also taken to the New World during 16th to 19th century Atlantic Slave Trade. They were largely captured from the Senegal and Guinea with a significant percentage also taken from Mali and Cameroon. Some of the Fulbe of note were Bilali Muhammad, Ayuba Diallo, Salih Bilali, Abdulrahman Ibrahim Ibn Sori, Omar ibn Said. Some of Bilali Muhammad's known descendants still live on Salepo Island Georgia and he also left descendants in the Bahama Archipelago who are not known. Abdulrahman Ibrahim Ibn Sori and many others have many descendants in the USA and the rest the Americas where ever they were taken.
...
Wikipedia