Wolof people
| Total population | |
|---|---|
| (~6.2 million) | |
| Regions with significant populations | |
| Senegal | 5,689,710 |
| The Gambia | 287,658 |
| Mauritania | 229,715 |
| Languages | |
| Wolof, French, English, and Hassānīya Arabic | |
| Religion | |
| Islam (Sufism) | |
| Related ethnic groups | |
| Lebou, Serer | |
The Wolof people (UK /woʊlɒf/) are a West African ethnic group found in northwestern Senegal, The Gambia, and southwestern coastal Mauritania. In Senegal, the Wolof are the largest ethnic group (~ 39%), while elsewhere they are a minority. They refer to themselves as Wolof, and speak the Wolof language – a West Atlantic branch of the Niger-Congo family of languages.
Their early history is unclear and based on oral traditions that link the Wolof to the Almoravids. The earliest documented mention of the Wolof is found in the records of 15th-century Portuguese financed Italian traveller Alvise Cadamosto, who mentioned well established Islamic Wolof chiefs advised by Muslim counselors and divines. The Wolof belonged to the medieval era Wolof Empire of Senegambia region.
Details of the pre-Islamic religious traditions of Wolof are unknown, and their oral traditions state them to have been adherents of Islam since the founding king of Jolof. However, historical evidence left by Islamic scholars and European travelers suggest that Wolof warriors and rulers did not convert to Islam, while accepting and relying on Muslim clerics as counselors and administrators. In and after the 18th century, the Wolofs were impacted by the violent jihads in West Africa, which triggered internal disagreements among the Wolof on Islam. In the 19th century, as the colonial French forces launched a war against the Wolof kingdoms, the Wolof people resisted the French and converted to Islam. Contemporary Wolofs are predominantly Sufi Muslims belonging to Mouride and Tijaniyyah Islamic brotherhoods.
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Wikipedia