₦airaland Forum

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=jU-5GX8R8kE&feature=related

This is the native people of Norway. Drums I grew up with many of these people around me as well.

Well, I can only speak for my self.

I love it when foreigners are interested in my culture, my history and my language.
I have always been interested in African Culture, tribes, history and language. Specially west-african, and specially fulani/tuareg/hausa. I have been reading about it since I was around 14-15years old, and remember; we all came from Africa in the beginning. I guess that is why, for many people in Europe, it attracts even more so.

Many people joke with me being born with the wrong skin-colour, and in the wrong part of the world. I can live with that Reggaemusic, dancehall, drums, tribe-music..it all brings out feelings in me that no other music have ever done. I have had rastas four times in my life, and I truly understand why people wish to never cut them. I feel more grounded with them on, and more close to the nature. They have become like this with almost no help, and they continue their journey by them self. It is many things in the african culture that I feel at home with..

emöfine2: JallowBah Hei
Thanks. I love the Swedish and Norwegian alphabets lol...
Yep and I find that interesting...
Interesting...I guess I assumed that Norwegian inhabitants will be quite well off because Norway seems to have managed their oil wealth well.
I ask so many questions so I don't want to overwhelm you
Do you know anything about Norse mythology?

We are the only ones with æ,ø,å.. Many immigrants struggle with those letters, believe me! And where I am from, we use them even more then close to the capital city.

Many people assume that a rich country will have mainly rich people. When I travel to Gambia, of course I look rich, according to their income, and their prices. But a standard apartment in Oslo, the capital, cost at least 1500 USD if you want one bedrom and a livingroom.

Yes, I know about the mythology as well Odin, Tor, Frøya, etc..

emöfine2: Welcome JallowBah...I would have greeted you in Norwegian but I don't even know how to say "hello" in the language...so let me take this opportunity to ask: how does one greet in Norway?

In the first pic you posted the attire reminded me of a typical milk maid costume lol oh and just curious but why did some wear head wraps...was it's function meant to be similar to the hijab for example...

And how is the education system in Norway?

Once again...Welcome.

Hei, går det bra? ( Hello, how are you/are you good? )
Ja, det går bra, med deg? ( Yes, I am fine, and you? )


That is probably because most of Norway was farmers and fishers in the old days Women used to wear small scarfs on their head almost at all times, some for religious/cultural reasons ( in the old days, a woman always had to cover her head, scarf or hat, to enter the church ), and some only to keep the farm-smell out of the hair.
They looked like this:

[img]http://bildr.no/image/1228092.jpeg[/img]
This is from a school, teaching women to become good wifes ( ! ), how to cook, clean, make clothes, take care of the kids, etc. Usually one year after the first ten year of school. This was still going on until about 1970`s, when women started to get more and more rights in Norway, and was allowed to take the same classes as men.
They mostly weared the head-scarf like this picture, and yes, in some ways, you can relate it to the hijab Many europeans seem to forrget that.

Education is free in Norway. Every single child have the right to go to school, even the asylum-kids whos parents havent got a yes or nor to stay in Norway, have to go to school. You actually cant choose to keep your kid out of school, unless you have exams7test to prove home-schooling is taken care of. All books and material is free, but some trips might have to be payed. Many students collect money with selling cookies, tickets, etc.
After the first ten years, you have three more years that is free, but optional. Depending on where you live ( with/without parents ), and how much your parents made last year ( as in; can they pay for your books, materials, etc ? ), the goverment will pay you from 0,- up to 1000USD a month. The highest one includes a loan wich have to be payed back. They will only provide you with up to 500USD, and if you drop out/fail classes, you will have to pay the free money back, since you used them on other things than school.

Some choose to work instead ( I stayed for almost 2years after the first ten, realised I did not have any clue what I wanted to be, and decided to make money instead of borrowing for an education I wouldnt even use later on. ), and some go on to higher educations to become teachers, doctors, socialworkers, etc.

Anything more? ( Not very often I get asked about my country and our ways, so it is fun for me to answer! )

I am Norwegian. Most norwegian grow up christian, but not many grown ups actually attend church, other than marriage/funeral/christmas, etc. The people who do, tend to be either JW, Smiths friends, catholics, or a little bit old. I gre up praying on my bed in the night-time, but when you grow up..not so much. I only know a few people who say they are definitively christians.
Because of the immigrations, we now also have many muslims, hindus and buddhists.

Not more than one month ago, the church got divided from the state.

When it comes to love/marriage: Most people can date who ever they want, no need to ask for you parents permission first. Sleeping together on the first date dont matter too much either, its a very liberal culture when it comes to sex. But, bringing someone home to your parents, means you are serious with them.
It takes everything from one to 10 years before people get married. Children often come before marriage.

We have our own cultural outfits, called "bunad". We have our own dances, one is called "hallingdal-dans".

we have native people, called the sami, they grow up speaking norwegian and their motherlanguage as well.

We invented the cheese-cutter

Norway is known as one of the richest country in the world, with high living-standards. But, the truth is, not many PEOPLE are rich, even though the country is. We have good welfare-systems, you are supposed to always get helpt with money for survival/house even if you dont work ( still, many norwegian living in the streets, families who go to pick up free food at the "poor-house" ), and we have the right for medical help, no matter what it is, and no matter how much it costs. ( Not like USA, where you can actually die if you dont have money for surgery. )
But, many people dont have too much money. If you want to buy a house in Norway, you need at least 15% yourself in savings, and you would have to borrow the rest. Most houses cost around 500 000 USD in Oslo/akershus.

Norwegian people are very different. You have rich people with 10 million USD in the bank, and you have farmers who barely survive, selling their milk and eggs.

I do love my country, but for me, people are too busy with material happiness here, and seem to forget that there is more to life than money.

Here is pictures of cultural clothes, and a video of cultural dance ( The "bunad"-dress is not the same in the districts. There are at least 20 different ones right now, depending on where in the country you are from. The first one is a traditional one, and many people choose to not wear the headwrap. The second is from a wedding in 1966. )

[img]http://bulow.no/blog/wp-content/uploads/2011/09/trønderlag.jpg[/img]
https://www.lailas.net/bunads/images/granvin1.jpg

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=-Wq6If8MsFQ


So, there you go

Fulaman198: wow Ptolomeus I am really appreciative of you, you as a Westerner understand, I thank you for it. I would not be able to get a job in the West with true traditional Fula(ni) marks, I would love to have them permanently. I am a village man after all.

Then get them!

Fulaman198: lol you said that wrong, It is Mi nani fulfulde seyda or Mi nani Pular seyda (I speak little Fulfulde/Pular). Pullo is a Fulani person, Fulfulde and Pular are the names of the language from the different regions. I am proud of you for marrying a Fulani man though, I don't care if you are white, you are more than welcome here.

I know this, but I talk the way they do in Gambia/Senegal. They always ask anani pullo, I guess its dialect. Some of them say pula or pular.
And they do say me nani seda pullo, with seda in front of pullo/pular/fulfulde. I don`t know where your husband is from? Only in Gambia they have 3-4 different ways of talking fulani..

Fulaman198: You have done well for what you have learned thus far, it is not bad

And I understand much more than I am able to talk myself.. You use your mouth in a whooole different way compared no norwegian/english. It`s a challenge.

Fulaman198: correct, that is well-written Fulfulde/Pular. Mi yewnii Gambie (I miss Gambia) is how you would say I miss something in Fulani.

Adjarama..too much. That is my second home now.

These pics are of boys..so, so young! Now this, on the other side..

https://images.sim.org/peoples/fulani-man.jpg
https://www.nationalgeographic.com/tattoos/gallery/images/photos/west_africa_scarification.jpg
https://25.media.tumblr.com/tumblr_ly7n442IZc1r0i7kto1_500.jpg
https://static5.depositphotos.com/1019221/483/i/450/dep_4832320-Rastaman.jpg

Ybutterfly: ^^^^^they aRe sMaRTeR^^^^^^^^^^

No, we`re not.

Like the last man is saying over me; Africa will rise.

Fulaman198: It is funny because she is not native Fulani like we are (but speaks a dialect closer to yours because she speaks Fuladu dialect which is almost the same as Fouta Djallon dialect) but some of your dialect is influenced by Mande

For example:

Koto - older sibling is only found in your dialect, but not in Maasinkoore, not in Adamawa Dialect (Wodaabe dialect is Adamawa dialect), etc. etc.

So to be honest, the most pure Fulfulde is spoken in Fouta Tooro, In fact, I understand Fouta Tooro dialect pretty well, but when it comes to Fouta Djallon then I get confused.

Fouta Djallon dialect is weird, for example there is a lot of French influence that is not Fulani at all like "Si" which means if in French.

"Si alla jabi" - if God wills it

How do you say "but" like "but he did this" in our dialect we borrowed from Arabic/Hausa we say "amma"

Hono innema I understand that but in Nigeria/Niger/Cameroon/Sudan we would say Noy innde ma

I am guessing Honno is how for you guys as "noy" is how for us.

Koto in Gambia is only used for older brothers, and Yaya for sisters.
I recognize Si alla jabi..mys husband use that one much talking to family and friends.

I love the fact that you are writing me in fulani, WITH translation under..I get to challenge myself a little bit, and it is very different learning with writing, compared to only using your ears and mouth.
I found a file on the net not long ago, aout 40 pages long, with teaching in fulani. I do try..

BahPulo: awaa Jallow min ko bah poulodjieri, komomi guinea kononong co senegal mimawnhi and djibina.

@ Fulaman I think if I try hard I'll be able to understand you I think some words u wrote there can be found in the fouta toro dialect though some sound like chinese to my ears lol I think u are good with the dialects I use to know 2 but now I know only one, the fouta djallon one. I understand JallowBah better than you is that funny?

Haha. No modji kai!

Fulaman198: You guys say "An ko a pullo?" in Nigeria/Niger and Cameroon we say "An a pullo?"

Also you guys say "Kotoli" for you are welcome, we say "Usseko" or "Ussema" in Nigeria. Fulani dialects differences are interesting.

Anyways, Mi barkini bibbe fulbe e turbako (whites) who love the culture of the Fulani. I find that a lot of White people love our culture. Allah hokke ma derdam (bandam e derdam fu gootum) bandam and derdam are the same thing.

In Gambia they cut the a, they say An ko pullo? But I see they mix it, depends on where you grew up as well. Aaand, trust me; toubago? I know that one oh, too well. In Gambia when the kids scream tooooubaaab at me, I tell them: "Ala toubab, min ko Binta Jallow!"

Fulaman198: Ayyo bandam, mi salmini ma, ko mi Pullo. Mi niddo Najeriya ha lessdi Adamawa nder mayo belwa. E an? Toy yudon (where are you from in Adamawa Dialect) or you can say Ha toy a woni? in Nigeria dialect of Fulani. I know you guys say it different in Fuladu dialect and Fouta Djallon dialect.

Eyyoo.. I love trying to write in fulani, its good training for me! I do not understand every word, but I am able to put it all together!

Mi niddo Norway, I guess is the right answer? Mido hidi Gambia..tsk. I miss it too much.

Fulaman198: I think I would get some if I were not living in Western world, Westerners don't understand meaning of it, they treat everything traditional as if it is joke

Both yes and no.
It seems to me, in Norway that is, that people don`t think too much about it when it comes to black skin, and there are small cuts ( aka 1-3 1cm long cuts ) on cheeks, or one singel, tattooed line on the forehead. on arabic people, on the other hand, you notice it much more.

For many europeans its not a joke, but exotic? Yes.

Fulaman198: Toy yudon? (I mean originally) min em lesdi Najeria

Well, I said I am white.. I speak the language( Me nani seda pullo.. ), I have had fulani-blood running in my vains for 9months, and I probably know more about the culture than many fulani who grow up in Europe.
You tell me..

I am not a muslim myself, but I do hope it is okay for me to join the discussion?
My husband is a muslim man

I grew up with liberal christian parents, not being to religious myself, but always believing there is a greater power out there. There is so much energy, and the universe seems to respond..
Islam has much that I like, and I love learning more about it. what suprises me the most about the Quran is the scientific writings, wich where not prooved before hundreds of years later. How could they know..??

BahPulo: your dialect sound similar to the one spoken in guinea conackry like onaala ton or the ajarama i did not know Gambian dialect was similar to that of guinea any way saaadima kotolli Djowo maong nolaba seeydhi jallow ka co bah?(just incase u r wondering it means u r welcome take a sit ur daughter is pretty jallow or bah ?)

Ko Jallow. Min ko Bakke. Hono innema?Honto hon da?

Fulaman198: You are a Fulani judging by your name. I am proud of you for doing so, Finatawa ko finatawa, Allah hokke ma pullo debbo.

Eyh, min ko pullo. Min ko mi danedjo.

Fulaman198: Oh so you are not a Fulani then, I just looked at your name and thought so, anyways welcome to Nairaland.

I have 50 cows, I lived in the bush with them. An ko pullo?

Ajarama..

Pffft. Let me show you a pic of an african man wearing my countrys traditional outfit, and actually half-way dancing as well:


And some small african girls:



Makes me damn happy to see!

KB1: Do you dislike the fact of that many folks lump you'all into the Hausa group? Like they won't refer to you as simply Fulani, but rather Hausa-Fulani. My Fulani neighbor says she hates when people do that, in that she feels as though it discredits the Fulani as a substantiated settled group of Nigerians with an identity and place of their own amongst the Nigerian people. She says that people who use such hyphenated title often are those who do not recognize the Fulani as REAL Nigerians, rather considering them as simply foreign settlers or better yet, roaming invaders. What say you?

Another question is; how do Fulani kids within the more modern, big, integrated southern cities of Naija, like Lagos and Abuja, act and socialize being outside of the traditional Fulani environment within small herding communities in the Naija Northern Savannah? Do they, change up their style of dress, become more proactive in school events, go hang out with friends at the malls and other entertainment venues? You know regular kids stuff; or are they restricted to following their extreme cultural limitations of having a social life?

My husband is Gambian, living in Europe, but I still feel I can answer.

He is half fulani,calls himself pullo. When someone call him tuareg, torobe, hausa..he don`t like it. Thats like someone calling me Swedish when I am from another Scandinavian country.

From what I see with the fulani I know, they try to keep as many cultural things as they can, even if they are not nomades or bush-people anymore. They make sure they know the language, the make sure they have the traditional skirts/clothes, jewelry etc.
I am hoping our child will have the best of both cultural. I wish for her to be just as proud of being half fula, as she should be proud of being half-european. Both sides is now a part of her history. I come fromm a family where we value respect for elders, manners in public, etc. Mine and his culture have much of the same morals and ethics.
Of course she is not going to be able to run around in this cold country in traditional fula-dress, but I sure hope she will use it as much as possible when the weather lets her..

Being a white woman, I was first damn angry when I read the head-line..then reading your post, I fully agree.

Many african people dont have the same chances as many europeans do.. They dont get free school, and they dont learn the same history. ( In Gambia, they teach african history, not world history..Many people have never heard about Martin Luther King JR, Rosa Parks, Malcom X.. they are important!! )
Many white people seem to think that IQ can only be measured one way..that is wrong. My husband is a real cattle-man, never went to school, and still; He is smarter than me in oh, so many ways. My school-history could never teach me some of the things that he knows.

I believe it is easier eing rude on the internet, sitting anonymous behind a computer. It is easier throwing up bullshit and rudeness, because nobody see you..and that is a great shame. People will use that against you, and against your country.

I choosed to get marks, tattooed that is, on my face to show my husband how much I respect and love his culture.

If my daughter wants to get facial things done, she will have to wait until she is 16years, and knows exactly what she is going into. She is dark, but light enough that people will notice it fast, and in Europe, people look these things in a bad way. For me? Beauty, showing the world where you "belong".

I know many do this even to small, small babies, and I have to say I am not quite sure what I think..it makes me sad that you seem to feel bitterness for having this marks, instead of a feeling of proudness ( is that even a word? I`m not english.. ) of them.

Fulani, The Gambia.

Tenala ton!

This thread made me sign up for this forum..I am married to a fulani-man from the bush in The Gambia, and now have a lickle pul futa running around the house
I was reading about the fulani women and men when I was in my early teens, so fascinated with their perspective on beauty ( i.e. face/chest-tattooes, the braiding, the clothes..my goodness! )..
My husbands family have kept much of the culture, but not much tattooing done now. One of their women died from infections about 50 years ago, and they stopped after that. Some of them have the scarifications next t their eyes, and some of the girls really really want to get the mouth-tattoo done inside and out.

I myself is planning to have a straight line up on my forehead the day I stop working in Europe. Here, they dont approve much of facial-tattooes, un less your work really fits in with it
I already have three lines done next to my eyes on both sides, that was my gift to my husband when we got married last year. I already have much, much bodywork, and my glasses cover them.

But, enough talk, let me show you my pul futa, and my fula-tattoo: