The Fulani are comprised of a number of distinct sub-groups who live across a huge swath of central and western Africa, from Senegal in the west and to Sudan in the east. They are bounded in the north by the Sahara Desert and live no further south than Cameroon and the Central African Republic.
They are grouped and named according to their location, occupation and dialect of their widely spoken language. Accordingly, there are five major groups of Fulani: the Fula Toro, Fulakunda, Fulfulde, Fuuta Jalon, and Tukolor.
Historically, the Fulani are a nomadic people who traveled from one region to another, seeking water for their cattle herds. After migrating from North Africa or the Middle East, they gradually spread eastward (over a 1000 year period from A. D. 900 to 1900), from Senegal and Guinea to as far as Sudan. During their wanderings, they conquered many less powerful tribes. Many Fulani completely or partially abandoned their traditional nomadic life in favor of a sedentary existence in towns or on farms among the conquered peoples. Today, some seven million Fulani cling to the nomadic lifestyle, while up to twenty million have settled to a semi-nomadic, village, or city way of life.
While some Fulani maintain the tradition of nomadic wandering, and others remain in one location permanently, the most favored and widespread way of living is semi-nomadic. The hot, tropical climate of north-central and western Africa provides only two seasons - wet and dry. The semi-nomadic Fulani revolve their lives around these seasons, and around a strict division of labor based on gender. During the wet season, the cattle, sheep, and goats remain at a permanent settlement where they are herded by the men and boys, but usually milked and cared for by the women and girls. The men plant, care for and harvest the crops; which mostly consist of millet, rice, and peanuts. They also build fences to keep livestock in the appropriate pastures. Meanwhile, the women spend four to five hours each afternoon preparing the evening meal, but only after fetching water, wood, and millet. Besides this arduous task, females must maintain huts, weave mats, spin cotton, make soap, and care for young children.
During the dry season, the Fulani practice the nomadic part of their existence. Rather than risking the exhaustion of the village water supply, the young men leave the older men, the women, and the children in the village and take the cattle on a search for alternative water supplies until the rainy season approaches. These nomadic bands camp in portable shelters of poles or branches covered with straw, leaves, or mats.
Parents often send children to a village school where they learn to pray and recite parts of the Koran, as the Fulani are almost entirely Muslim. Despite their lack of book knowledge, they are respected social analysts. They place high value on storytelling and proverbs which attempt to teach valuable lessons about life.
The Fulani were one of the first African tribes to convert to Islam and today are overwhelmingly Muslim. Muslims believe that the prophet Mohammed was God's last great prophet. Supposedly, God spoke words to him which were recorded in what is now the Koran. Not only is Islam a religion for the Fulani, but also a way of life. Therefore, any deviation from Islam is condemned and attacked by the entire community.
The Fulani have numerous taboos or rules which are never to be broken. A prominent taboo is that of speaking the name of spouses, parents, parents-in-law, first sons, or first daughters.
Despite many efforts, the overwhelming majority of the Fulani people remain Muslim, and few convert to Christianity, fearing the hostility of family and friends. Prayer and intercession are needed to break the power of Islam over their lives.
* Scripture Prayers for the Fulani, Northeastern Burkina in Burkina Faso.
Profile Source: Bethany World Prayer Center |
Fulani profile for Children and Family Missions Activities |
Global Prayer Digest: 2011-02-25 |
Global Prayer Digest: 2018-02-14 |
Link Up Africa |
People Name General | Fulani, Jelgooji |
People Name in Country | Fulani, Northeastern Burkina |
Natural Name | Northeastern Burkina Fulani |
Population this Country | 421,000 |
Population all Countries | 421,000 |
Total Countries | 1 |
Indigenous | Yes |
Progress Scale | 1 ● |
Unreached | Yes |
Frontier People Group | No |
GSEC | 2 (per PeopleGroups.org) |
Pioneer Workers Needed | 8 |
Alternate Names | Fulfulde Jelgoore; Jelgooji; Jelgooji Fulani |
People ID | 11771 |
ROP3 Code | 103075 |
Country | Burkina Faso | ||
Region | Africa, West and Central | ||
Continent | Africa | ||
10/40 Window | Yes | ||
National Bible Society | Website | ||
Persecution Rank | 32 (Open Doors top 50 rank, 1 = highest persecution ranking) | ||
Location in Country | Sahel region, Oudalan, Soum, Seno, Yagha provinces; Centre-Nord region, Namentega and Bam provinces, small border areas; Boucle du Muhoun region, Kossi and Sourou provinces; south of Mopti town, Mali border. Source: Ethnologue 2016 |
Country | Burkina Faso |
Region | Africa, West and Central |
Continent | Africa |
10/40 Window | Yes |
National Bible Society | Website |
Persecution Rank | 32 (Open Doors top 50 rank, 1 = highest persecution ranking) |
Location in Country | Sahel region, Oudalan, Soum, Seno, Yagha provinces; Centre-Nord region, Namentega and Bam provinces, small border areas; Boucle du Muhoun region, Kossi and Sourou provinces; south of Mopti town, Mali border.. Source: Ethnologue 2016 |
Primary Language | Fulfulde, Western Niger | |||
Language Code | fuh Ethnologue Listing | |||
Primary Dialect | Fulfulde, Northeastern Burkina Faso | |||
Dialect Code | 9932 Global Recordings Listing | |||
Language Written | Yes ScriptSource Listing | |||
Total Languages | 2 | |||
Secondary Languages |
|
Primary Language | Fulfulde, Western Niger |
Language Code | fuh Ethnologue Listing |
Primary Dialect | Fulfulde, Northeastern Burkina Faso |
Dialect Code | 9932 Global Recordings Listing |
Total Languages | 2 |
Secondary Languages | |
Fum | |
People Groups | Speaking Fulfulde, Western Niger |
Primary Language: Fulfulde, Western Niger
Bible Translation ▲ | Status (Years) |
---|---|
Bible-Portions | Yes (2003-2005) |
Bible-New Testament | Yes (2012-2018) |
Bible-Complete | No |
Bible-NT Audio | Online |
Bible-NT Text | Online |
Possible Print Bibles | |
---|---|
Amazon | |
World Bibles | |
Forum Bible Agencies | |
National Bible Societies | |
World Bible Finder | |
Virtual Storehouse |
Resource Type ▲ | Resource Name |
---|---|
Audio Recordings | Audio Bible teaching |
Audio Recordings | Online New Testament |
Audio Recordings | Online New Testament |
Audio Recordings | Oral Bible stories |
Audio Recordings | Oral Bible Stories |
Audio Recordings | Story of Jesus audio |
Film / Video | Boubacar Testimony |
Film / Video | Boubacar Testimony (EngDub) |
Film / Video | God's Story video |
Film / Video | Ibrahim's Testimony |
Film / Video | Jesus Film: view in Fulfulde, Western Niger |
Film / Video | LUMO film of Gospels |
Film / Video | My Last Day video, anime |
General | Gospel resources links |
General | Gospel resources links |
Mobile App | Download audio Bible app as APK file |
Text / Printed Matter | Bible: Fulfulde, Western Niger |
Text / Printed Matter | Download scripture in this language |
Primary Religion: | Islam |
Major Religion ▲ | Percent |
---|---|
Buddhism |
0.00 %
|
Christianity (Evangelical 0.20 %) |
0.30 %
|
Ethnic Religions |
0.00 %
|
Hinduism |
0.00 %
|
Islam |
99.70 %
|
Non-Religious |
0.00 %
|
Other / Small |
0.00 %
|
Unknown |
0.00 %
|
Christian Segments ▲ | Percent |
---|---|
Anglican |
0.0 %
|
Independent |
0.0 %
|
Orthodox |
0.0 %
|
Other Christian |
0.0 %
|
Protestant |
70.0 %
|
Roman Catholic |
30.0 %
|
Photo Source | DFID - Wikimedia Creative Commons |
Map Source | Bryan Nicholson / cartoMission |
Profile Source | Bethany World Prayer Center |
Data Sources | Data is compiled from various sources. Read more |