Sininkere, Silanke in Burkina Faso

Introduction / History

They are called Sininkere, and their language is called Selankasefe or Sininkere. The villages are all quite small and surrounded by a wall (not for security but as a simple perimeter within which they have their individual huts. Each village has a chief and the entire tribe of 7 villages has one main chief who lives in the village closest to the main road where the weekly market is -- about a 10 minute walk.

What Are Their Lives Like?

Silanke lives are simple. They are all subsistence farmers. Boys are in the fields helping their dad, while girls are in the village helping their mom. They eat two meals per day; breakfast is the cold left-overs from dinner. Every meal is exactly the same, ground millet cooked into a paste which is then scooped with the fingers and rolled around in a slimy sauce they make from leaves and fish oil. This helps it slide down the throat easier. In the evening, everyone sits in a circle and eats together. Sometimes the children dance. They take care of one another like a socialist society.

At one point someone found some gold in the ground, and everyone dug for months. They then gave the gold to the chief who took it to town to sell.

The Silankes have few needs. They have access to clean drinking water from a sealed well with a hand pump, and they farm for their food. Hunger is not a problem for them; they are skilled farmers.

What Are Their Beliefs?

Most are Muslims and each village has a small mosque. They practice the tenets of Islam and are very faithful to pray at the correct times each day. They are polygamists, but only the chiefs have multiple wives. There is also a small Christian community among them that can be salt and light to their Muslim neighbors.

What Are Their Needs?

They don't have access to basic medicine. They also have zero formal education. Education may be seen as of little importance to them as they survive by farming. During the month of Ramadan, they eat goat meat after sundown. This is the only time that they deviate from their normal daily diet.

Prayer Points

Pray for the Silanke people to have the spiritual hunger it takes to call out to the Lord of lords.
Pray for loving and dedicated African workers to be Christ-bearers to the Silankes.
Pray for them to have good schools and medical clinics.
Pray for the few Silanke Christians to walk as Jesus walked, showing their Muslim neighbors what the Savior offers to those who obey.

Text Source:   Joshua Project