The Fulani are thought to have originated in the area of modern Senegal. Probably of mixer Berber and Black African decent, they have now migrated throughout West Africa. They are most numerous in Nigeria, but there are communities of them in most every country from Senegal to Sudan. They are the dominant people in Northern Cameroon and Northern Nigeria and their language has gained wide influence across West Africa as a trade language. Today they are one of the most influencial groups in West Africa.

Population
Total People: 15 million Fulani with 100,000 Wodaabe
Urban Percent: 10% Fulani
Countries: Niger 1 million; Mali 1 million; Cameroon 700,000; Burkina Faso 500,000; Benin 230,000; Sudan 100,000; Togo 50,000; Central African Republic 25,000; Ghana 5,000; Nigeria 11 million. (Wodaabe: more than 40,000 in Niger and about 25,000 in Chad).

Language/Literacy Information
Adult literacy: 5%
Primary language: Fulfulde (90% speakers)
Second language: Hausa
Third language: Tamajaq

Economics
Income: GDP US$280 (1991)
Occupations: While the men herd the cattle walking, the women ride with all their household belongings on the backs of donkeys. As well as fine cattle with huge horns, the Fulani have long legged sheep which have white hindquarters and black front half. The activities of the men vary with the seasons. They can have their brothers or sons replace them to take care of the cows. The women milk the cows, pound the millet, take care of the fire and look after the children.
Income sources: Cows (milk, meat, skins), traditional medicine. Some women earn money by braiding hair.
Products: Curdled milk, butter.
Handcrafts: Beautifully decorated calabashes.
Art forms: They are largely illiterate, but their culture abounds in rich proverbs, fables, myths and riddles, which subtly reflect the basic views and values.

Living Conditions/Community Development Status
Food: Their food is milk and very little else in the bush. They might also eat millet and tapioca. During feasts they will eat some meat and maybe some beans. No vegetables are eaten, in general. A problem is that the little money they have available for food is spent on tea instead of on nutritious food.
Clothing: The man wears a tanned sheepskin around his hips, over this a black tunic. He also wears a turban. The married women do not cover their breasts for the 2 years after they have their first child. The young girls wrap a long piece of material around, made of woven strips sown together.
Health care: Common diseases are AIDS, VD, TBC (from the milk). There is no smoking.
Water supplies: The boys will get water, usually from wells.

Society
Family structures: Several families will live close to each other. They travel in bands consisting of the nuclear family of parents and children. The first formation of a family is the Koobgal marriage, an arranged marriage, preferably between cousins. After that the woman can leave her husband and marry the man of her choice. The Fulani know a great measure of sexual freedom; polygamy and short term marriage unions are common.
Neighbour relations: There have been some clashes with Hausa, when the Fulani allowed their cattle to trample the fields.
Rule/Authority/Selection: There is a council of elders who hold court and maintain justice. Of the young people, leaders are selected to represent their groups and discuss issues with the elders. The leader of the women is under the leader of the young men.
Social habits: The nomadic Fulani are basically egalitarian, though with variations of wealth. Because the fear of shame is quite general, they take care of a poorer man so that he does not have to feel ashamed.
Crisis/Conflicts - History/Status: Fighting and arguing are taboo. So they suffer under rebel attacks at the moment, their herds are taken and they do not fight back.
Media (Radio/TV/Newspapers/Films/Videos/Recordings): There are some national newspapers and TV in Hausa.

Children/Youth
Education/Type of Schooling: The parents don’t want their children to go to school, they want them to stay nomads. In the towns the children go to the Quran school.
Labour/Tasks: The older girls pound the millet and take care of the younger children.
Problems: There is no discipline until they are 4 or 5 years old. The first and second child will be given, by his parents, to the grandparents to raise. Their names are never used, as a sign of respect.
Greatest needs: One of the traditions is that 'What you love, you respect and therefore you do not show that you love it.' In other words, parents will not show they love their children, this is one of the reasons why the Fulani feel very inferior. The first week after a baby is born, the mother will not touch it, after that for four months she will touch it as little as possible and the first two children she will not speak to all of their life, out of respect and reserve.
Other: For the Fulani the presence of children is very important. They prefer boys to girls, because girls will eventually leave the family and join that of her husband.

Religion
Religious practices/ceremonies: They are Muslim in name but not serious. The demands of the pastoral life makes it difficult for them to follow many of the rules of Islam. When they live in town they are more Islamisized. On the other hand they can see the uselessness of Islam, when they are more exposed to it in the towns. They have superstitious practices and believe in the power of talismans and potions. Allah is only an ill defined superior force that brings hardship or joy.
Redemptive Analogies/Bridges: The use of stories from Islam as a bridge.
Spiritual Climate/Openness: If you speak their language they are very open to hear the Gospel.

History of Christian Presence Amongst This People Group
Work amongst the Fulani began in 1925 through the SIM in Zinder. There is a small group of Christian Fulani in northern Niger. These Christians also go out into the desert to evangelize their fellow tribesmen. Much still needs to happen to see the many members of this tribe reached and a church established.

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