Just Celebrating Africans!

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Reply 20

RoyalSheepy

Great thread, I loved reading these and I've learnt something new! :smile:

Reply 21

erratic_deus

1. The Fula people

The Fula people or Fulani or Fulany or Hausa people numbering between 20 and 25 million people in total are one of the largest ethnic groups in the Sahel and West Africa.

The Fula people are traditionally believed to have roots in peoples 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 and their Islamic religious affiliation, their history and their culture.

A significant proportion of the Fula – a third, or an estimated 7 to 8 million – are pastoralists, 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.

Fulani people mainly live in West Africa and northern parts of Central Africa, but also in Chad, Sudan and regions near the Red Sea.

Fulani culture emerges in the upper Niger and Senegal Rivers.

The Fulani were historically cattle-keeping farmers who shared their lands with other nearby groups, like the Soninke, who contributed to the rise of ancient Ghana.

During the 16th century the Fula expanded through the sahel grasslands, stretching from what is today Senegal to Sudan, with eastward and westward expansion being led by nomadic groups of cattle breeders.

While the initial expansionist groups were small, they soon increased in size due to the availability of grazing lands in the Sahel and the lands that bordered it to the immediate south.

Fulani towns were a direct result of a nomadic heritage, and were often founded by individuals who had simply chosen to settle in a given area instead of continue on their way. This is how the tribe became a distinct group in West Africa. So if you're thinking about nomads in Africa, think of the Fulani!

Historically: Many Fulani people were taken captive to the Americas from the 16th through the 19th century as part of the Atlantic slave trade.

They were largely captured from Senegal and Guinea, with a significant percentage also taken from Mali and Cameroon.

Some Fulani of note abducted into slavery were Bilali Muhammad, Ayuba Suleiman Diallo, Salih Bilali, Abdulrahman Ibrahim Ibn Sori, and Omar ibn Said. Their ancestors reach populations of over 25,000 in the US today.

Abdul-Rahman and many others likewise have many descendants across the Americas both as a result of their own destinations and as a consequence of continued trading in human life after initial abductions from Africa.

Here is a map showing the distribution of Fulani people across Africa

The origins of the Fulani people are unclear and various theories have been postulated.

As a nomadic herding people, they have moved through and among many other cultures.

In DNA tests, they are referred to as "Hunter-Gatherers."

2. The genetics of the Fula people

The earliest evidence that shed some light on the pre-historic Fulani culture and their origins can be found in the Tassili n'Ajjer rock art, which seem to depict the early life of the people dating back to 6000 BCE.

Examination of these rock paintings suggests the presence of proto-Fulani cultural traits in the region by at least the 4th millennium BCE.

Tassili-N'Ajjer in Algeria is one of the most famous North African sites of rock painting.

The paternal lineages of the Fulani tend to vary depending on geographic location. Around 90% of Fulani individuals from Burkina Faso carried a gene which corresponds with the haplogroup E1b1a that is common in West Africa.

In contrast to their heterogeneous paternal lineages, the Fulani largely cluster maternally with other Niger-Congo populations. Only 8.1% of their mtDNA groups were associated with West Eurasian or Afro-Asiatic groups.

The Fulani are their own distinct group of people and have developed their own culture. They are not related at all to the Tigrinya groups in East Africa. (As commonly confused)

3. The significance of the Fulani people

The Fulani and Hausa people have taken some influences from each other's cultures. Upon the success recorded in the 1804 Fulani War subsequently joined the ruling classes of the Northern Nigerian Emirate.

They dress and speak like their Hausa neighbors and live in the same form.

Spoiler

The Fulani are a traditionally nomadic subset of people. They herd cattle, goats and sheep across the vast dry hinterlands of their domain, keeping somewhat separate from the local agricultural populations.

They are the largest nomadic ethnic group in the world, and inhabit several territories over an area larger in size than the continental United States.

The Fulani people also have a rich musical culture and play a variety of traditional instruments including drums which they call the "Hoddu".

The well-known Senegalese Fula musician Baaba Maal sings in Pulaar on his recordings.

Ululation is a popular form of vocal music formed by rapidly moving the tongue sideways and making a sharp, high sound.

Notable Fula people include: Omar Ibn Said and Macky Sall, the president of Senegal!

Thanks for reading!

Here are some images of Fulani people and their culture

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Reply 22

erratic_deus

Groups I have yet to do but I've acknowledged:

Luba

Amhara

Afar

Tigrinya

Shona

Oromo

Baggara

Tutsi

Dinka

Twa

Afrikaaner

Dagbani

Wolof

+ Tiv

Reply 23

Fruli

I would like to share some African weddings. I’ve had some of the best experiences and celebrations at African weddings. Here are some examples I got from YouTube. The weddings are Botswana, Zimbabwe and South Africa, respectively.

https://youtu.be/FX50D_G7wTU

https://youtu.be/IaN-x-KRYc4

https://youtu.be/y0X44AqEtcc

I’ve seen amazing stuff from Nigeria, very cultural. Calling Nigerians to please share.

Reply 24

erratic_deus

Original post by Fruli

Oh, yes I totally agree!

Thanks for sharing x

Reply 25

Wōden

Original post by erratic_deus

<Snip>

I know you and I have had our disagreements, and there will probably be more in the future, but I want you to know that I really do respect your sense of pride in your African roots (I only hope you can also understand my own sense of pride and protective instinct towards my European roots). Africa is indeed a fascinating continent, and this thread has been a very interesting read. I wish nothing but peace and prosperity to all the peoples of Africa.

Reply 26

Fruli

Original post by erratic_deus

Groups I have yet to do but I've acknowledged:

Luba

Amhara

Afar

Tigrinya

Shona

Oromo

Baggara

Tutsi

Dinka

Twa

Afrikaaner

Dagbani

Wolof

+ Tiv

Remember the Ndebele and Kalanga

Reply 27

erratic_deus

Original post by Fruli

Remember the Ndebele and Kalanga

South Ndebele or North Ndebele!

Reply 28

Fruli

Original post by erratic_deus

South Ndebele or North Ndebele!

Haha. I think North Ndebele is in Zimbabwe, whilst South Ndebele is in South Africa

Reply 29

kromaha

im fulani awww i feel special

Reply 30

Fruli

Original post by kromaha

im fulani awww i feel special

Are you South African or Zimbabwean?

Fulani is Ndebele or Zulu

Reply 31

itsraininghere

Original post by erratic_deus

1. The yoruba people

The yoruba constitute over 40 million people in total and make up 21% of Nigeria's population.

They are also part of the Bantu group.

The Yoruba tribe shares borders (within Nigeria) with the Bariba, Nube, Ebira and Edo groups in Nigeria.

Significant Yoruba populations can be found in other West African countries such as Ghana.

The Yoruba are traditionally a very religious people, and are today pluralistic in their religious convictions!

Yoruba drums are also used quite often in pop culture! Notable artists include: WizKid

2. The genetics of the Yoruba peoples

Yoruba people or descendants can be found all over the world especially in the United Kingdom, Canada, the United States, Cuba, Brazil, Latin America, and the Caribbean.

Yoruba people have historically been spread around the globe by the combined forces of the Atlantic slave trade and voluntary self migration.

The Yoruba present the highest dizygotic twinning rate in the world (4.4% of all maternities) which is about 50 to 1000 births!

Historically, Yoruba tribes have been around (recorded) since the European definition of Middle ages! (7th Century).

3. The significance of the Yoruba peoples

The Yoruba take immense pride in their attire, for which they are well known. Clothing materials traditionally come from processed cotton by traditional weavers.

The Yoruba are also famous for their magnificent terra cotta works throughout the 12th and 14th century; artists also earnests their capacity in making artwork out of bronze.

Notable figures include: David Oyelowo (Selma), Babatunde Olatunji (Drummer) and Ibeyi (a mixed-race duo artist)

Thanks for reading! Here is a picture of a beautiful Terra-Cotta sculpture.