THE PEULH;ENIGMA OF AFRICA

JAM BANDU!

The peulh or Fulani,Fulfulde,Pullo or any of the other names their subtribes are called, are truly the biggest mystery and beauty of west Africa or Africa for that matter.They have captured the imagination and admiration of people worldwide for their beauty,nobility and mystery surrounding them.

The peulh are the biggest nomadic tribe in the world and cover a vast stretch of land from Senegal,Guinea Conakry,Mali,Burkina faso,Benin,Niger,Cameroun and Nigeria.History points their ancestry to be from somewhere among the Berber tribes of north Africa,with Senegal being the point where they first made their entry.Curiously,their language instead of being of the Afro-Asiatic family,is of the Afro-Congo family.To prove this point,I would make example of a peulh sentence for ´come and eat´ and translate it into two north central Nigerian languages,which are both Afro-Congo languages.The first is the Tiv language of Benue state and my father´s language of Taroh of Plateau state.

PEULH-Ware nyame

TIV-Va nyame

TAROH-Ba Nyamri

You can see that the three languages are so similar.

Having made that point,I would like to point out that the peulh are made up of the original family who are mostly ´white people´(could they have been the original twelve white founders of the medieval Ghana empire?) and numerous other tribes that got submerged into the peulh family as a result of conquest,intermarriage etc.Some major groupings include the Torodbe,wodaabe(bororo) etc.The difference being that the other tribes practice Islam and are settled while the Wodaabe(Bororo)resisted Islamic influence and and kept to their nomadic pastoral lifestyle and still maintain some form of animism.

The turning point in the history of the fulani is the Jihad of Usman Dan Fodio who fought against the lukewarm and injust Islam of the King of Gobir and united all the tribes of Fulani in a holy war.He won and soon inspired every peulh all over west Africa to join him.They soon formed a theocratic state under Islamic law and had fulani kings ruling in every emirate of the Hausa kingdom(which covered most of west Africa).This persists up to date.

I would like to point out sadly that as a result,most fulanis became´ hausanised´ and these days ´westernised´.It is only the peulh of Niger,Cameroun,Burkina,Mali,Senegal etc who still maintain their original beautiful culture,language,attires,way of life etc.

Three things make up a true peulh:-

1.Islam/language

2.Cattle

3.The concept of pulaako

I would like to explain ´ pulaako´ as the main concept behind fulani being and culture.Pulaako signifies restraint,dignity,reserve etc.It is the hallmark of fulani life and etiquette and also serves as a true form of African conflict prevention.A peulh is supposed to behave his/herslf with modesty and restraint and refrain from showing or giving in to emotions;be it hunger,humiliation,anger etc.A true peulh thinks of others before himself and does not tolerate dishonour.

Some fulani cultural festivals/practices include `GEREWOL´ as practiced by the `Wodaabe´ of Niger.This is a festival where the male youths take turns in painting and beautifying themselves to the admiration of the females who then come and choose the ones they like,as husbands.Another one is `SHARO´ practiced by the `Bororo´ of my part of Nigeria,which is also a coming of age ceremony wher male youths take turns in flogging themselves.The idea behind this is also steeped in the concept of `PULAAKO´where you are not supposed to give in to pain or emotions.The brave ones then get the beautiful maidens.

Most people can remember the fulani by the shepherd boy who herds cattle while blowing sonorous tunes and the beautiful milk maidens who sell the sweet and sour `fura da nono`.I invoke these sweet images with the hope of awaking nostalgia of childhood memories of those sweet days gone by and hope we thank God for our blessings and heritage as Africans.

JIPPU JAM!

ps.

Some peulh websites include:

www.pulaagu.com

www.aminata.com

www.voiceinthedesert.org.uk/keith/archives/photos/index.html

www.haal-pulaar.com