₦airaland Forum

Fulaman198: From a Malian Fulani person lollll. Btw, did you listen to the song accompanying the story?

No, do you have the link?

Fulaman198: Yah I was surprised to hear Oumou Sangare singing in Fulfulde/Pular. It made me very happy.

Btw, do you know the story of Penda Yoro?

Not until I saw it here. It's an interesting story though. How did you learn it?

Takamba: To me the war in Casamance is just a mafia driven by some Diola rebels. Even Diola people are fed up by the rebellion, notice all the ethnic groups living in Casamance: Diola, Peuls, Bainouks, Mandinkas, Balantes. And yet the MFDC (the rebellion movement) is only composed of Diolas. Because the other ethnic group of Casamance do not care. It's just a scam.

The cultural differences, Dialas being most animists, the fact that their region is more fertile that the other parts of Senegal and also the presence of the other groups coming from the North to farm on their land pose problems.
I think the Diolas truly feel marginalized and ostracized by the other groups. Wolofs and Fulbe have at least something in common, Islam.
The resistance is not intense though I must admit.

Takamba: I will just have to add something here because I see that the word Torodo is used all the time here. Torodo is not synonymous to Toucouleur. Torodo or Torobes, Bailo, Ceddo, Bambado, Diawando or even Maccudo are just castes or social stratifications among Toucouleur or Haalpular people. Just a little clarification to avoid confusion.

Got it.

Fulaman198: Yes, I know of the Wasulu Fulbe. I know of some of them like Oumou Sangare and Dieneba (Jeynaba) Seck who does sometimes sing in Fulfulde (her "Mi yetti ma" song is an example).

My question about the Waasolou(Wasulu) Fulbe is can they also speak Fulfulde/Pular in addition to their respective Mande language? I have seen some of them do so in their music. But I'm curious to know if all of them can.

I'm not surprised that the Toorobe understand everyone else. After all, Fulfulde/Pular like Wolof and Serer is a Senegambian language meaning I'm sure that the roots of the language are in Senegal somewhere. That means that they must also speak the most pure Pular/Fulfulde.

Can you please confirm this for me? One Fulani from Senegal told me that they also have Wodaabe in Senegal. I used to think that Wodaabe Fulani were only located in Niger Rep., Nigeria, Chad because we are Fulbe funnange (or Eastern Fulani). But he told me that my information is wrong that the Wodaabe groups also exist in Senegal, I was very surprised to hear that.

I know there are nomadic groups still in the Western part of West Africa, Guinea, Sierra Leone included. He might be referring to them.
No most Wasulu Fulas speak Bambara or Maninka but that is simply due to the overwhelming presence of those groups around them. In fact when the Fula groups controlled that land, they married in the local population. Since women are the ones that spend the most time with the kids, they ended up adopting the local languages. But they still have cattle and their milk is as good as the one we make in Futa Jallon.
But as you have noticed with their songs, when they get in contact with Pulaar speakers they learn the language.

Fulaman198: But where is the freedom? I am a Pullo Dimo for life

that's the thing, other ethnic groups are abandoning their language to embrace wolof. Serers like
Youssou N'Dour only speak Wolof. But the Fulbe refused to do so therefore they are branded as "racists".
Some Wolof would tell you that a Torodo is more racist than a white person just because the former loves and embraces his
identity and does not want to let go of it.
The war in Casamance is in part due to it, the Wolofs pushing their language and culture on the Diolas.

Fulaman198: I really hope that you are correct lolll. They have either become too Hausanised or Arabized in that part of Nigeria. They can't even form a proper sentence in the Fulfulde/Pular language.
It's always refreshing when someone like Guinea like you or someone from Senegal comes here and we are able to effectively communicate in the language. That tells me that despite regional differences, Fulfulde duna gooto. It is still one language.

I do not know if you have ever heard of the Wassulu Fula. They are a group of fulbe located in Southwest Mali, North East Guinea and Northern Cote d'Ivoire. The territory they occupied was conquered centuries ago and the environment is overwhelmingly Mande(Bambara or Maninka). But despite speaking Mande language, you'll see them in Fulbe gatherings and Tabital Pulaaku, they are still considered Fulbe. If you listen to Mande music, you'll sometimes hear "Fula Sinani" meaning (Diakite=Bah, Diallo, Sangare= Barry and Sidibe= Sow) , this is how they refer to them.
When a Wassulu Fula moves out of this environment and goes to Futa Jallon for example, he tends to blend again and abandon the Mande language.
So there is still hope for them.
I made some friends through Zone Fulbe and we communicate in fulfulde sometimes. The Pulaar speakers of Futa Toro are the most flexible of all of us. They seem to understand everyone. I might struggle a bit in the beginning but they seem to just get it.

Takamba: Lol, what would happen if he let them know that he is Nigerian?

It will ruin the the moment. I want him to see the look on their faces that's all. Senegalese tend not to like it when they see it one of their own speak Pulaar for some reason. The radio stations in Dakar used to boycott Baba Maal because he only sings in Pulaar. I go on Seneweb from time to time and Fulbe are often attacked for "liking" to speak their language. I guess the Wolof want to dominate them in all ways which will not work.

Don't let them know you are Nigerians. Just approach them as if you were Senegalese and speak Pulaar.
It'd be perfect if you had another Fula brother with you.

The Wodaabe probably speak a purer Fulfulde than most of us(everyone included) due to their relative isolation.
As for our brothers in Sokoto, as long as they recognize themselves as Fulbe, there is still hope that their kids would speak
fulfude. You know, culture and language are two different things. I think the current generation is doing everything to connect all Fulbe from Africa. Tabital Pulaaku is setting up. They do not do much for now, but with a better organization and outreach we can achieve a lot.
Apparently the first wage of "fulbe" in Sudan used to speak Hausa but for some reason, they speak Fulfulde today.
I've seen Fulbe in Guinea that grew up in Sosso or Maninka environment that learned Pulaar in Germany or France. So I still think, the language can be revived in that part of Nigeria.

how are Fulbe in Nigeria doing with the language?I know Hausa is very influent but you seem to be fluent and I
understand you quite easily to be honest. Same thing for other Nigerian Fulbe on Zone Fulbe that write in fulfulde without mixing it with
Hausa.

Takamba: Yes in Senegal about 22% (official stats) are Peuls, Toucouleurs and Peuls included.

Great thread

Yes, it's just that the Fulbe of Senegal didn't let it happen. Tidiane Anne, a former journalist at the RTS did everything to oppose it. They wanted to divide it in three groups, tukulor, Peuls, and Laobes.
Black people in Mauritania are divided. They all want to lead, specially our Fulbe brothers. Meanwhile the Haratins with their inferiority complex are often used by the Berbers/Arabs to weaken their initiatives. If they could all pick one candidate and push him for the presidency, they can succeed in electing him.
Macky Sall speaks and recognizes himself as "Pullo" for a reason. Not only it eliminates the use of Hal Pulaar( does not mean much, an Igbo or Hausa could be a Hal Pulaar) but it also brings back the language as Wolof is occupying more and more ground. If you are among Senegalese and speak Pulaar, notice how they will look at you. It would be as if you committed a crime.
Yes I am a Pullo from Guinea. I was really surprised when I realized how many store owners and businessmen in Senegal were Fulbe from Guinea. They truly struggled to get there. The values of the Pulagu are universal. They help you succeed everywhere you go and in harsh conditions too.
Thanks for recommending me the book. I'll try to get a hold of you as soon as I can.

Hey Suka Pullo, since you love traditional music, I got this song here for you. It's
a song by Doura Barry. It uses some modern instruments but the setting is rural. Give a "listen"

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=FRcp5z0jWoA

Fulaman198: Woodi, barka ma Pullo Guineejo. A yidi NL maada? Useni, to a yidi fuu tokkam

mi yidi NL fota. It's a door to Nigeria, if you put aside the tribalism.
I am quite interested in Naija. I would like to invest there one day. We'll see.

Takamba: Once again I'm not talking for every Tukulor. I don't think that they dislike Fulani, it's just the way they are.
Do you know that El Hadj Omar Tall fought against the Fulani of Hamdallaye in Mali, and the latter had to ally themselves with the Bambara to fight the Tukulor.
To Tukulor people, nedo ko bandoum is more important than everything. They like very much their culture and their customs which is a good thing. I don't know how they act when they are with foreign Fulani, but they don't act anyhow toward fulani, they can despise people but they are very correct and respectful people too. And I don't know somewhere else but in Senegal Tukulor call themselves haal pulaar, not pullo. Some of them would even correct you if you call them pullo.
I think that one of the reason of that feeling of superiority is because they and the Soninke were the first islamized people in Senegal. They also, at the difference of the Fulani (at least in Senegal) established powerful and well organized kingdoms. Futa Tooro kingdoms and dynasties were mostly Tukulor. When at that time the majority of Senegal Fulas were nomad and did not have organized kingdoms.
They prefer to stick to themselves. They are just not pro melting pot, but paradoxically they are somehow the product of a melting pot.
They contributed hugely to Senegal culture and history, almost all Wolof marabouts and religious figures are Tukulor by origin.

The odd thing between Fulbe and Tukulor is that the latter are usually called Pullo Torodo and in plural Fulbe Torobe. I know this because Dinguiraye, Guinea is one of their cities. The use of the word Tukulor to describe them was brought by the French who saw differences in their physical appearance with the other Fulbe. Take the Sullubawa Fulani of Northern Nigeria, they are of Tukulor descent but why do they refer to themselves as Fulani exclusively?
As far as the organized kingdoms are concerned, the nomadic Fulbe under Koli Tenguella established the Denianke kingdom A.K.A The Empire of Great Pullo by the Portuguese in 1490 and lasted till 1776. It encompassed present day Futa Toro and part of Futa Jallon. This "Yette Ba" (like me ) dynasty followed an African religion at the time and used to be in conflict with the Muslim Fulas. Tierno Monenembo of Guinea actually wrote a book entitled "Peuls" where he mentioned how Fulbe used to look down upon their brothers that practiced the religion of the "Moors" as they called it back then. It is the rise of Islam in the region that brought the demise of the empire with Souleymane Baal and Abdoul Kader Kane as the leaders of what should be called an Islamic revolution. The Torobe were a sort of political party (or caste) in those days. The name was given to them because the Quranic teachers would send their Talibe(students) to beg thus Torobe(beggers).

The real conflict between Umar Tall and the other Fulanis was due to the fact that he wanted to spread the Tijāniyyah sufi tariqa in West Africa and met resistance with those of the Qadriya and other brotherhoods. In fact, on his way back home from Mecca he made a stop in Sokoto where he made a bid for power. When the brother of Uthman Dan Fodio, Abdullahi died, El Hadj Umar produced a letter in front of the council claiming power according to Abdullahi's wishes. Muhammed Bello, the son of Dan Fodio told him that the Caliphate was founded by his father, not by Abdullahi and that he should leave their territory. When he went to Futa Toro(his home) he was rejected there too. So he went to Futa Jallon where Almamy Umaru was warned not to welcome him. That's why he was sent to Dinguiraye. As long as he waged war on the Bambara of Segu, it was all good, they didn't have a problem with it.
As for the resentment Torobe might have toward other Fulanis, I think it is due to how traditional and endogamic they are. They REALLY love their culture. I remember I once went on a summer vacation to Dakar where I would go to stores (mostly owned by Fulanis or Fulfulde speakers) and speak french. Recognizing that I am a Pullo, they would automatically ask me if I can't speak my language. . They are all sedentary while some other Fulas are nomads so there are some conflicts related to land. This economic factor is in my opinion the biggest factor.
But overall, I think there is much love between the two. Baba Maal refers to ALL of us as Fula. Plus politicians of "Tukulor" and Fulani descents have been opposed to grouping the two differently in the national census. So they are all grouped under "Fula" today. I love it, it destroys the distinction brought by the colonialists.

Fulaman198: Min mi pullo Adamawa ha hima Mayo Belwa amma hande Abuja e an bo? Noy woni innde wuro ma nder Futa Djallon?

Min ko Timbi Touni nder Pita mo immori.

Fulaman198: It's because of the bigotry that most Northerners can't stomach. There are a few Northerners, though not many at all.

I've met many through facebook, Zone Fulbe and Fulanitube in particular. I lately saw a page titled "Northern Nigeria Republic" which
I thought was interesting.
Anyway, ko a Pullo mo Adamawa kaa ko a immorde Kano maa Katsina?

Fulaman198: Wow another Pullo (Fulani). from Guinea like BahPulo, and surprisingly another Bah. Yes brother I have herded cattle at one point in my life as a young boy.
Jam e kisal bandam, mi hofni (mi salmini ma).

I've been on nairaland for a while though, like two years. I've had a couple of threads and comments on the political section.
I like NL. Though it can get crazy sometimes with the tribalism. Guinea has a tribalism problem even though we tend to brush it
off and say All Guineans are Family.
I am curious as to why I do not find many Northern (Hausa, Fulani, Kanuri etc...) on this forum. Yorubas and Igbos seem to dominate it.
There was a time when "Fulani Herdsmen attacking villages" was all over this forum and some very negative things being said about my brothers
in Naija.

It is a pleasure to hear this type of music from my brothers. I am not used to it but I love it.
As a kid, I would leave Conakry for Futa Jallon and stay in the village for a couple of months so
I did some cattle rearing. I'd go to the ranch (Dinguira) get the cattle, send them out and then go back
in the afternoon to bring them back. So I can say I have been a herdsman from time to time.
How about Fulaman, have you ever done some cattle rearing ?

This is the classical case of ethnic problems in West Africa. People still do not get that politicians put up the threat to secede because they want political capital. The fact that Northern power has not served Northern people more than it did to southerners and the fact that GEJ's power has not served the Niger Deltans should be enough to tell Africans in general and Nigerians in particular that political activism should be done on the basis of convictions not tribalism. People that choose their leaders based on ethnicity are the most miserable.
And today, you hear some say " the North should not get power" or " it is Igbos' turn to rule". Don't be surprised, the day an Igbo gets power, Northerners will probably profit more than Igbos themselves. You know why? Because as an Igbo, he or she will take the Igbo electorate for granted and therefore look for support somewhere else. As long as we do not change the way we think, our leaders will not be accountable to us.

Obiagu1: Very possible and that's about it. Zaria?? Less than a million. Add all those 10-100 settlements, you won't get near 1 million.

Good, now let's just take Kano city out of city and its metropolitan area which is about 2,828,861. Now
the whole state says 9,383,682. Kano state is 20,131 km2 and Kano city metro area is 499. You subtract the
areas you get 19632 Km2. Subtract the population you get 6554821 millions. Divide it by the are and you get
333 people on the km2 which is small. You have many people but the area is large and they are scattered.

Obiagu1: I know but I've been to Kano and I've been to Alberta, Canada. They have a lot of similarities.
Both have two big cities but Alberta has more large towns than Kano's sparsely populated settlements, yet Alberta is a mere 3.5 millions while Kano is 9.5 million. Where did all those people come from?

Let's start with Kano city, would you contest that it has more than 2 million people?

Obiagu1: In that sense, Canada should be 300 million people.

Not necessarily.

Obiagu1: Apart from Kano and Zaria, every other settlement is sparsely populated like Canada.

That might be the case but the North is larger so it does make sense that it is less "densely"
populated than the South. That doesn't mean it has a smaller population.

Maybe you should start asking yourself "maybe the north is not a DESERT" as you have always assumed.

You sound like Westerners telling Africans that China is a threat to their freedom.
Who are you to play the paternalistic figure to the Hausa? Aren't they intelligent enough
to diagnose their own problems and take appropriate measures?

What exactly Kim Kardashian was doing in Nigeria? Who invited her and for what purpose?
Can se sing? Is she a great entertainer?

Well if this happen, GoodLuck will certainly leave power. Nigerians from both the North and South
will rally against him and his government for allowing a foreign country to invade them. Unless they
willingly accept being colonized. In case Nigerians forgot, Libya is messed up so is Iraq. They will destroy
Nigeria, and then force Nigeria to use the oil money sold to them, to pay American companies for the "reconstruction"
of Nigeria. Every West African should be outraged by this. If Nigeria is occupied by these bastards, it will the 1950s and
1960s all over again.

emmaebi: Dey can send their drone 2 naija, as long as they won't relocate boko haram 2 d south. Wen naija govt and security agencies cannot solve dis boko problem, lets try d US if dey can.

You know this is how Africa was colonized? When one ethnic group is attacked, the others claimed it was not their concern. That's how they all sat around and before they realized, the dogs were making the rules.I can accept internal problems. But when an outside country attacks, everyone should
hold hands to cast them out.Do you think the US care one bit about Boko Haram?Who has the oil in Nigeria, isn't the South?If they come to Nigeria, it will certainly be for the South. They care about the oil. Shit is getting scare and they want to secure it. The gulf of Guinea is their new target.

franksunny: I know that negotiation is not going to work, it will collaps. I still stand on never you negotiate with terrorist.

Why

kettykin: I am sorry but i totally disagree with you on what you just posted (spewed out) if the Southern Sudan can pull out of Sudan with their vast oil wealth and if Bakassi can be ceded to Cameroun despite the over claim of Nigeria as the Giant of Africa , if the Almighty Soviet Union can be broken to pieces despite its formidable Military arsenal and techological might then Igbos can go with thier Biafra, the Igbos did not play thier cards well simple, Ironsi and Azikiwe should be held responsible and not Ojuku

So if they were not able to play their card well in the 60s when Nigeria's oil reserves were not as strategic as they are today
what makes you think another secession attempt will work? The fact of the matter is, if you try, you'll be on your own. I'd love it
if Africa can be reshaped to the ethnic boundaries but it'll just cause more problems than it'll solve. Look at Sudan, the South now has
to pay a lot of money to use the northern installations. You won't have to deal with that bullshit, but you gonna have to break away first.
Goodluck man.

[quote author=Ricky_Ross]WE ALL KNOW OUR PROBLEMS DIDNT START TODAY, NIGERIA IS NOT SUPPOSED TO BE ONE COUNTRY, AND WE CAN NEVER BE GREAT IF THINGS CONTINUE THIS WAY. ALL THESE BOMBS AND BOKO HARAM SHITZ SIMPLY BC A CHRISTIAN FROM THE NIGER DELTA IS RULING NIGERIA FOR THE FIRST TIME, WHAT HAS THE UGLY DIRTY ILLITERATE NORTHERNERS ACHIEVED FOR RULING FOR OVER 40 YRS

WE MUST BE ALLOWED TO GO OUR SEPARATE WAYS. AS AN IGBO MAN, I KNOW I AM HATED BY ALL TRIBES IN NIGERIA, YET THEY CANNOT ALLOW ME TO GO MY OWN WAY. THEY SAY I CANNOT RULE NIGERIA BECAUSE I WILL SELL THE COUNTRY, YET THEY CANNOT ALLOW ME TO GO AND HAVE MY OWN COUNTRY?[/quote]They will not let you go because you have your oil in your land. Nobody in this world would be foolish enough to do so. And all this talk about
braking away from Nigeria to set up your own country is just a waste of time. You know what, you need to face them. That's right, you need to be smart
enough to turn the game in your favor. But before that, you need to understand something. Being illiterate does not make being unintelligent. The rules
of politics remain the same. The tricks that were used by Roman senators are still used by American ones in the 21 st century to stay in power. It's all
based of deception and lies. You don't need to go to a western to know this.

To me it's Houphouet Boigny from Cote d'Ivoire. He was able to maintain peace in his country from 1960 till he died.
He was developing the country through agriculture and industry. Too bad, the greedy bastards that came after him could
not handle the country well.