.

1. They got to Guinea Bissau either by Horseback or by Camel
2. The Fulani of Guinea-Bissau speak a dialect very similar to the dialects spoken in Sierra Leone, Guinea, and Gambia/Southern Senegal. The dialect is sometimes referred to as "Fouta-Jaloore" named after Fouta Djallon in Guinea and Sierra Leone (and part of Guinea Bissau).
3. All dialects of Fulfulde (Also known as Pulaar/Pular) in those regions are mutually intelligible to a certain extent. I was always under the belief that if you know your respect Fulfulde/Pulaar dialect very well, then you should not have much trouble picking the other Fulani dialects up.
4. Most Fulani practise Pulaaku or Pulaagu, the way of the Fulani. Or the Fulani way.
5. Fulani do not really have any problems with other Fulani for the MOST part.

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EtchedInStone:



Thanks for your reply, Fulaman!


Hahaha I can assume it was by horse or by camel, but I meant where did they come from prior to present-day Guinea-Bissau? From what I read one day they got tired of being ruled by non-muslims, and established a jihad state called Fouta Djallon. I'm curious to know were they indigenous to this area they called "Fouta Djallon" or did they migrate there from the Sahel/Sahara? Also, were women part of these migrations or were they male dominated? I guess I'm trying to figure out where the Fulbe originated from as Fulfulde some say is Senegambian in origin - However, many articles online claim they are a tribe with "white" roots. Lastly, the term Fulakunda, what does that mean exactly?


Again, thank you for taking the time Fulaman. This is all very enlightening. Excuse my ignorance or any mistakes I may have made.

Fulani came from what is present day, Senegal/Mauritania and even other parts of the NorthWestern Sahel/Sahara. Many of us still live in the Sahel today. Fulani people were never ruled by non-Muslims I'm not quite sure where you got that information from. Fulbe were always one of the more dominant ethnic groups in the region and established many empires all over West Africa.

Whilst female and male roles differ in traditional Fulani culture, where men are typically the cattle herders, women have important roles as well which includes but is not limited to selling of trade goods, so yes, the women of course accompanied the men. How else would they continue to reproduce loll?

White roots? No African traditional group has ever come from white people. That makes no sense, sorry to say. It's utterly ridiculous that something like that is/was ever mentioned.

Fulfulde language also known as Pular/Pulaar is of Senegambian origin. There are many different language groups in the Sahel including Senegambian languages like Wolof, Serer, Fulfulde/Pulaar.

Fulakunda is in close proximity to Fouta Djallon and Fuladu. They are situated in parts of Guinea and Southern Senegal. It is where famous Senegalese musician Daby Balde is from.

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EtchedInStone:


I only brought up them being a "white rooted" tribe, because I read it in the "Fula" wikipedia article. Here is the excerpt:

"The origins of the Fulani people are unclear and various theories have been postulated. They are generally considered to be North African or Arab in origin, at least partially.[2][25][26] Known as one of the three "white"-rooted ethnic groups in West Africa, they typically have a lighter complexion than most Africans.[10][27]

The ethnogenesis of the Fulani people may have begun as a result of interactions between an ancient West African population and North African populations such as Berbers or Egyptians.[12][25][26] Their West African roots may be in and around the valley of Senegal River.[16] They likely reflect a genetic intermix of people with West African, North African and Arabian origins, and have been a part of many ruling dynasties particularly in the Sahel and West Africa.[10][25][28] Speculations about their origins started in the colonial era. In 1902, Edmund Dene Morel noted that the Leucæthiopes described by Pliny the Elder were described as running an "empire whose rulers were white, founded by a monarch with a Fulfulde" affixed to him name.[29]"

It honestly sounds like euro-centrism rearing it's ugly head... I was more than skeptical about it, which is why I came here to ask continental Africans themselves. What do you think about this?

Regarding my comment on Fulbe being ruled by non-muslims I was refering to The Great Fulo Empire which was ruled by the Denianke Dynasty. A Fulbe dynasty that practiced their traditional religion. I read that here:
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Empire_of_Great_Fulo

Speaking of, what is the name of Fulbe traditional religion? I've read that some Wodaabe and Fulbe in Cameroon still practice it to this day.

Lastly, regarding my question about Fulakunda - A website I went to (A christian missionary website) says this:

As the Fulani migrated southward to and through Guinea Bissau during the fifteenth century, some of them mixed with the Mandingo in the area. Those who intermarried with the Mandingo were considered "black," or preto. These Fulani became known as Fula Preto, or Fulakunda. They speak Fula Cunda (or Fula Preto), which belongs to the West Atlantic branch of the Niger-Congo language family. The Fulakunda are scattered throughout the northeastern, south-central, and southeastern regions of Guinea Bissau. Here is the website for your own viewing http://www.prayway.com/unreached/peoplegroups4/259.html

It makes me wonder how much is actual fact and how much is European conjecture. Fulaman, I again thank you for taking the time.

First and foremost, African people are not monolithic. The same can be said about Fulani people. There are numerous extremely light complexioned Fulani, but there are numerous extremely amounts of dark complexioned Fulani, then there are Fulani like myself who are inbetween and are of chocolate complexion (not dark chocolate or caramel as a Westerner would say).

There are no White roots in the Fulani ETHNIC group. We are not related to Arabs and North Africa like every other region in Africa is comprised of multiple ethnic groups like Sahrawi/Berber (I mean true Berbers, not the white people pretending to be Berber, I mean people like Touaregs/Kel-Tamasheq), Nubians from Sudan/Egypt, Kanuri/Beri, and MANY other groups from the Sudo-Sahelian to Sahara belt that speak either a Nilo-Saharan language or an Afro-Asiatic language. No where in Africa will you find that people are a monolith.

Thus, most of what you are saying is indeed European conjecture and should not be taken seriously.