Introduction / History

Over one million Tukulor live in Guinea, West Africa. They are thought to have descended from the Fulani and the Wolof or Sereres tribes. The name "Tukulor" is derived from the word Takrur. This term was used by Arab geographers to describe an eleventh century realm near the middle Senegal River Valley. Today, the Tukulor are known by a number of names, including Pulaar and Haal. They have retained their respective languages, and many are also bilingual in Arabic.

While the majority of Tukulor live in Senegal, another significant group lives in Guinea, where they comprise a very small percentage of the population. Most Guinea Tukulor live a rural life. They raise livestock, farm, and fish.

A steadily rising population and an unequal distribution of land have resulted in the emigration of large numbers of Tukulor (particularly youth) to the cities in search of better job opportunities.

What Are Their Lives Like?

Traditional Tukulor society is divided into four main social classes, each having twelve "castes." Their social life is a mixture of native customs and Islamic traditions. Neither Islam, the effects of colonization, nor the goals of various national leaders have been able to erase the old social divisions.

The torobe are the aristocratic class. The middle class, or rimbe, is made up of fishermen, farmers, tradesmen, and administrators. The middle class includes the craftsmen, and the lower class includes the freed slaves and the slaves. Social status rarely changes; however, slaves are freed at every third generation. The Tukulor marry within their class divisions, women usually between the ages of 16 and 18, and men between the ages of 25 and 30. Although it is uncommon, a man may have up to four wives. Families are generally large, with an average of six children per family.

Traditional rural Tukulor villages are small. They have round huts made of clay or rough bricks, with straw roofs. Villages are governed by a group of elders from the aristocratic caste. Dietary staples include rice, millet, sorghum, fish, nuts, and fruit. The average per capita income is only $150 to $200 per year.

Tukulor women often wear large embedded pieces of wood in the soft lobes of their ears and have two small facial slits near the outside corners of both eyes. Although female genital mutilation is becoming increasingly illegal, over half of Tukulor girls from the ages of three to nine undergo ritual genital circumcision in order to be considered "clean" and worthy of marriage.

What Are Their Beliefs?

The Tukulor first accepted Islam in the eleventh century. Traditional Muslim beliefs such as the nature of man and his destiny after death play a significant role in the people's outlook on life. Muslim brotherhoods teach a mystical approach to Islam: the people seek closer relationships to God through rituals, prayer, and other techniques.

Islam has not brought any major changes to Tukulor attitudes toward spiritism and magic. The people use charms, amulets, and witchcraft. The Tukulor attribute supernatural powers to various Muslim clerics who practice divination, the use of supernatural powers.

What Are Their Needs?

Decreasing income from the sale of agricultural products, encroachment by the Sahara Desert on farmland, deforestation, and increasing population are resulting in extreme financial concerns for the Tukulor. Nearly all village water sources are polluted. Malaria and other infectious diseases inflict a heavy toll each year. Although there is some literacy among the aristocracy, most of the Tukulor are illiterate.

Islam has enormous penetration into every aspect of Tukulor life. A somewhat isolated people with minimal exposure to other religious ideas, the Tukulor view the world and gain their personal identities from their rigid beliefs in the Islamic family and community. They are extremely reluctant to leave the world they know.

Prayer Points

* Ask the Lord to open the door for Christian missionaries to go to Guinea and work among the Tukulor.
* Pray that the Christian broadcasts that are available in the Tukulor language will reach the people.
* Ask God to save key Tukulor leaders who will share the love of Jesus with their own people.
* Ask God to raise up prayer teams who will break up the soil through worship and intercession.
* Pray that strong local churches will be raised up among the Tukulor.