Fula people of Sierra Leone
Encyclopedia
Fula people of Sierra Leone is a major ethnic group
in Sierra Leone
and a branch of the Fula people
of western Africa. The make up about 5% of Sierra Leone's population. The Sierra Leone Fula people settled in the Western Area region of Sierra Leone nearly three hundred years ago as settlers from the Fouta Djallon
region of Guinea
.
The Sierra Leonean Fula are traditionally a nomadic, pastoralist
, trading
people, herding cattle
, goat
s and sheep across the vast dry hinterlands of their domain, keeping somewhat separate from the local agricultural populations. Many of the large shopping centers in Sierra Leone are owned and run by the Fula community.
Today over 99% of Sierra Leonean Fula are Muslim
who follow the teaching of the Islamic prophet Muhammad
. A significant number of the Sierra Leonean Fula population are found in all regions of Sierra Leone as traders.
Daughters remain with their mothers until they marry. However, as soon as a son reaches puberty
, he leaves the family compound and lives alone in a nearby compound, usually with some cattle. This new compound will be the home of the son and his future wife.
Some men practice herbal healings, divination, and magic. Fertility is prayed for as an important means of ensuring the supply of future herdsmen and milkmaids.
The "herd owner's feast" is one such ceremony. During this feast, a bull that has served ten seasons is presented, killed, and eaten.
farmers, with their lives depending upon and revolving around the cattle herds. The status of a family can be determined by the size and health of its cattle. The more a man knows about cattle herding, the greater respect he is given by the community.
Herding cattle is usually a male activity; however, the women milk and take care of the cattle. They also tend to the small livestock and poultry, cultivate gardens, and carry containers of milk and cheese to the local markets for sell or trade.
Ethnic group
An ethnic group is a group of people whose members identify with each other, through a common heritage, often consisting of a common language, a common culture and/or an ideology that stresses common ancestry or endogamy...
in Sierra Leone
Sierra Leone
Sierra Leone , officially the Republic of Sierra Leone, is a country in West Africa. It is bordered by Guinea to the north and east, Liberia to the southeast, and the Atlantic Ocean to the west and southwest. Sierra Leone covers a total area of and has an estimated population between 5.4 and 6.4...
and a branch of the Fula people
Fula people
Fula people or Fulani or Fulbe are an ethnic group spread over many countries, predominantly in West Africa, but found also in Central Africa and Sudanese North Africa...
of western Africa. The make up about 5% of Sierra Leone's population. The Sierra Leone Fula people settled in the Western Area region of Sierra Leone nearly three hundred years ago as settlers from the Fouta Djallon
Fouta Djallon
Fouta Djallon is a highland region in the centre of Guinea, West Africa. The indigenous name is Fuuta-Jaloo...
region of Guinea
Guinea
Guinea , officially the Republic of Guinea , is a country in West Africa. Formerly known as French Guinea , it is today sometimes called Guinea-Conakry to distinguish it from its neighbour Guinea-Bissau. Guinea is divided into eight administrative regions and subdivided into thirty-three prefectures...
.
The Sierra Leonean Fula are traditionally a nomadic, pastoralist
Pastoralism
Pastoralism or pastoral farming is the branch of agriculture concerned with the raising of livestock. It is animal husbandry: the care, tending and use of animals such as camels, goats, cattle, yaks, llamas, and sheep. It may have a mobile aspect, moving the herds in search of fresh pasture and...
, trading
Trade
Trade is the transfer of ownership of goods and services from one person or entity to another. Trade is sometimes loosely called commerce or financial transaction or barter. A network that allows trade is called a market. The original form of trade was barter, the direct exchange of goods and...
people, herding cattle
Cattle
Cattle are the most common type of large domesticated ungulates. They are a prominent modern member of the subfamily Bovinae, are the most widespread species of the genus Bos, and are most commonly classified collectively as Bos primigenius...
, goat
Goat
The domestic goat is a subspecies of goat domesticated from the wild goat of southwest Asia and Eastern Europe. The goat is a member of the Bovidae family and is closely related to the sheep as both are in the goat-antelope subfamily Caprinae. There are over three hundred distinct breeds of...
s and sheep across the vast dry hinterlands of their domain, keeping somewhat separate from the local agricultural populations. Many of the large shopping centers in Sierra Leone are owned and run by the Fula community.
Today over 99% of Sierra Leonean Fula are Muslim
Muslim
A Muslim, also spelled Moslem, is an adherent of Islam, a monotheistic, Abrahamic religion based on the Quran, which Muslims consider the verbatim word of God as revealed to prophet Muhammad. "Muslim" is the Arabic term for "submitter" .Muslims believe that God is one and incomparable...
who follow the teaching of the Islamic prophet Muhammad
Muhammad
Muhammad |ligature]] at U+FDF4 ;Arabic pronunciation varies regionally; the first vowel ranges from ~~; the second and the last vowel: ~~~. There are dialects which have no stress. In Egypt, it is pronounced not in religious contexts...
. A significant number of the Sierra Leonean Fula population are found in all regions of Sierra Leone as traders.
Family
The Sierra Leonean Fula villages are scattered, but each has a central court and a mosque. Together, these compose a miside (community). Each miside has a headman who handles village affairs and who answers to a chief. The homes of the settled Krio Fula are round with mud walls and thatched roofs that projects over encircling porches. However, nomadic Krio Fula live in simpler structures, since they are so often moving with the herds. These houses have neither walls nor verandahs, and are encircled by cattle corrals.Daughters remain with their mothers until they marry. However, as soon as a son reaches puberty
Puberty
Puberty is the process of physical changes by which a child's body matures into an adult body capable of reproduction, as initiated by hormonal signals from the brain to the gonads; the ovaries in a girl, the testes in a boy...
, he leaves the family compound and lives alone in a nearby compound, usually with some cattle. This new compound will be the home of the son and his future wife.
Religious and Traditional beliefs
The Sierra Leonean Fula are 99% Muslim, but many still follow their traditional beliefs. In their ancient religion, the nomadic herdsmen seem to find relevance for the experiences and dangers of their lifestyle.Some men practice herbal healings, divination, and magic. Fertility is prayed for as an important means of ensuring the supply of future herdsmen and milkmaids.
The "herd owner's feast" is one such ceremony. During this feast, a bull that has served ten seasons is presented, killed, and eaten.
Farming
The Sierra Leonean Fula are primarily skilled cattleCattle
Cattle are the most common type of large domesticated ungulates. They are a prominent modern member of the subfamily Bovinae, are the most widespread species of the genus Bos, and are most commonly classified collectively as Bos primigenius...
farmers, with their lives depending upon and revolving around the cattle herds. The status of a family can be determined by the size and health of its cattle. The more a man knows about cattle herding, the greater respect he is given by the community.
Herding cattle is usually a male activity; however, the women milk and take care of the cattle. They also tend to the small livestock and poultry, cultivate gardens, and carry containers of milk and cheese to the local markets for sell or trade.
Notable Sierra leonean Fula people
- Alimamy Umar Jallo Jamboria Fulani chief during colonial rule whose actions made fulas recognised as citizens and also influenced the colonial citizenry act which states that citizenship is by birth from parents of negro African descent.
- Amadu Dausie WurieFirst Minister of Education at Independence,born at Gbinit Dibia in the Port Loko District.
- Alhaji Alimamy Seray-Wurie..Freetown Fullah Chief, Certified Accountant, Deputy Secretary-General of Mano River Union. Born at Foulah Town in Freetown
- Abdul Malik Jallo JamboriaDeputy cabinet secretary in the mid 60s,later Principal, Civil Service Training College ,Rokel Street,Tower hill and finally Chief Commissioner,National Registration Secretariat prior to his death in the early 80s.
- Alim Jallo Jamboria,Chief Government Architect and Professional head ,Ministry of Works ,MD Alton Associates Ltd.He drew the plan for the Central bank's Samuel Bangura Building at Charlotte Street and the adjoning car park.
- Abass Ali son of the fula chieftain after Alimamy Jamboria who also was a prominent business man dealing in diverse marchandise but mainly Diamonds a,gold and real estate.
- Umu Hawa Tejan JallohUmu Hawa Tejan JallohHaja Umu Hawa Tejan Jalloh is the current Chief Justice of Sierra Leone. She was sworn in as Sierra Leone's new Chief Justice on January 26, 2008 after being appointed by president Ernest Bai Koroma with the approval of the Sierra Leone Parliament to replace outgoing Chief Justice Ade Renner Thomas...
, current Chief Justice of Sierra Leone - Minkailu BahMinkailu BahMinkailu Bah is a Sierra Leonean politician and Lecturer and currently serves as Sierra Leone's Minister of Education, Youth and Sports...
, current Sierra Leone's minister of Education, Youth and Sports - Sulaiman Tejan-JallohSulaiman Tejan-JallohSulaiman Tejan-Jalloh is a Sierra Leonean politician and ambassador. Tejan-Jalloh is also the former High Commissioner to the United Kingdom. He previously served as minister of Transport and Communications from 1996-1997 under current president Ahmed Tejan Kabbah's government in-exile during the...
, current Sierra Leone ambassador to the United Kingdom - Abass BunduAbass BunduDr. Abass Chernor Bundu is a former politician and diplomat from Sierra Leone. Bundu was bon in the town of Gbinti, Port Loko District in the Northern Province of Sierra Leone to Fula and Temne parentage...
, Sierra Leonean diplomat and politician - Alhaji Amadu JallohAmadu JallohAlhaji Amadu Jalloh is a politician in Sierra Leone. He contested the 1996 presidential election as a member of the National Democratic Alliance, where he finished in 8th place with 2.3% of the first round voting...
, Sierra Leonean politician and leader of the National Democratic Alliance political party - Abubakarr JallohAbubakarr Jalloh (politician)Alhaji Abubakarr Jalloh is a Sierra Leonean politician. Since the election of Ernest Bai Koroma as President of Sierra Leone in September 2007, Jalloh has served as Minister of Mineral Resources. In 2002 Presidential election, Jalloh was the running mate of Koroma in the Sierra Leone People's Party...
, former Sierra Leone Minister of Mineral Resources - Alimamy RassinAlimamy RassinAlimamy Rassin was a Fula chief from Sierra Leone who devoted his life to making peace among his people and fellow rulers.-Biography:...
, Sierra Leonean Fula chief during colonial period - Amadu WurieAmadu WurieAmadu Wurie was an early Sierra Leonean educationist and politician.-Biography:Wurie was born in Gbinti, Port Loko District, in the Northern Province of Sierra Leone, the son of a Fula paramount chief...
, early Sierra Leonean educationist and politician - Mohamed Bailor Barrie, Sierra Leonean Businessman and Advocate
- Alimamy JallohAlimamy JallohAlimamy Jalloh is a Sierra Leonean professional footballer, who currently plays for Lohjan Pallo in Finland.- Career :...
, Sierra Leonean football star - Mahmadu Alphajor BahMahmadu Alphajor BahMahmadu Alphajor Bah is a Sierra Leonean footballer of Guinean descent, who plays as an attacking midfielder or Striker for Al-Qadisiya in Saudi Arabia...
, Sierra Leonean football star - Rashid WurieRashid WurieRashin Wurie is a former Sierra Leonean international footballer.He was a member of the Sierra Leone national team squad at the 1996 African Nations Cup in South Africa...
, former Sierra Leonean international football star - Saajo Bah, Editor of Peeral.com, one of the few online magazines published in African languages
- Momodu Allieu Pat-Sowe, Minister of Aviation and Transportation of Sierra Leone.
- Sulaiman Baba TimboSulaiman Baba TimboSulaiman Baba Timbo is a former student of 'The Bo School', a graduate of Durham University and a former student union Leader. Timbo speaks French, English, Krio, Themne and Fula...
, Diplomat and Statesman, former UNESCO Diplomat, first Sierra Leonean Ambassador to the Kingdom of Saudi Arabia and the Gulf States, former Sierra Leonean Ambassador plenipotentiary to the Benelux and EU,