Fulbe Mobility: Migration and Travel Into Mande
Year: 1999
Type: article
Abstract: FULBE MOBILITY: MIGRATION AND TRAVEL INTO MANDE Mirjam De Bruijn and Han Van Dijk ThehistorytheyFulbeexpandedtheyarehavefamoustheirspreadlife-worldforovertheirmostmigratoryfromofSenegalWestmovements.Africa.andMaliInpre-colonialInoverthethecourseresttimesofof historytheyhavespreadovermostofWestAfrica.Inpre-colonialtimes theyexpandedtheirlife-worldfromSenegalandMaliovertherestof theWestAfricanSahelandevenasfarasSudanandEthiopia.Theyestablished statesinsuchdiverseareasasnorthernSenegal,centralMali,northernNigeria, northernGuinea,andCameroon.Elsewhere,theyhavebecometherulersof smallpoliticalentities,orhaveconstitutedalivestockkeepingminority,or haveassimilatedintolocalsedentarysociety(seee.g.Amselle1990).Over thelastcenturytheyalsomovedintohithertounexploredterritoryintheforest zoneofWestAfrica,notablyinNigeria,southernCameroon,theCentral AfricanRepublicandnorthernIvoryCoast(seee.g.Frantz1975,Waters-Bayer 1988,Bernardet1984).Asaresulttravel,movementandmobilityhavebecome deeplyembeddedintothewaystheyorganisethemselvesandintheir understandingsoftheworld. MobilityisanessentialfeatureoflifefortheFulbe.Ithasbecomepartof theirlifestyleandisembeddedinFulbeculture,orthevariousFulbeculturesthat cameintobeingduringthisprocess.Theirmobilityhasalsoinfluencedother culturesnotonlyinthewaytheyperceivetheFulbe,butalsowithrespecttothe waystheyunderstandthemselvesasnon-Fulbe,thoughattimesthedistinctions wereblurred.Inthisway,theFulbehavemovedintotheMandenandhavebecome theneighboursofMandepopulationsinavarietyofqualities:ascattleherders workingforMandecultivators;as(former)rulersintheFutaJallon;assedentary cultivatorscompletelyassimilatedintoMandecultureintheWassulu;astraders alongsidetheJulaandMande,etc.Interethnicrelationsandmobilityhavethus beenofutmostimportancefortheFulbe,notonlyinaneconomicsensetogaina living,butalsoforsocialsecurity,religiousservices,andtheformationoftheir identity.Theirpresencehasequallybeenimportantfortheirhostsorneighbours andfortheverycreationoftheircultureaswell.TheFulbeoftenservedas,and continuetobe,thestereotypiccounterpointtosedentarysociety;theyliveinthe bushwiththeircattlelikebirds-onedaytheyarethere,thenextdaytheyare gone(cf.DeBruijn&VanDijk1997). Therecentmigrationsinto'new'zoneshowevercannotbedescribedsolely fromtheperspectiveofvoluntarymobilityortravel.Theyspringfromdifferent MandeStudies1(1999):41-62. 42 DE BRUIJN & VAN DIJK motivations, ranging from forced displacemen to voluntary migration out of a spirit of adve In this paper we are concerned with mobili of Fulbe and individuals originating in centr into Mande: the Jallube from the Hayre and t have a long history of mobility and displacem the locale where they are is always a tempor marked by mobility and not a fixed area of or movements differ according to the reasons fo in which they live, and to their level of wealt However, this is not an easy process, as was migration waves induced by the droughts of increasingly takes the character of a 'forced d survival in their homeland decrease. Some of the Fulbe families we encountered on our field trips might indeed be defined as displaced people, with all the misery, poverty and marginalisation this entails (cf. Lassailly-Jacob 1998; Cernea 1998; Bennett 1998), just as some of the people who stayed behind might be labelled 'destitute'. As we will show this leads to ambiguous attitudes and motivations among migrants vis-à-vis their kinsmen and home area. We start with a general description of Fulbe and their mobility in central Mali; then we discuss some case-studies. We end with some observations on the migration process itself and its implications for the migrants. Central Mali: the Fulbe and their Mande neighbours The Fulbe discussed in this paper are part of two large lineage-groups: the Jallube and the Fittoobe. Both lineages played an important role in the history of central Mali especially in the empires in the Inner Delta of the Niger during the 19th century and in the formation of chiefdoms on the periphery of these empires. The groups of migrants discussed here do not originate from the Fulbe at the center of these empires. According to local traditions they fled the Inner Delta because of the political oppression that accompanied empire-building as early as the 17th century. In Douentza, around the mountain range connecting the Bandiagara plateau with Mount Hommbori, in an area called the Hayre, the Jallube established their own chiefdoms in the 18th century (De Bruijn & Van Dijk 1995). These chiefdoms were composed of a nobility with political and religious functions at the apex, with semi-nomadic herder groups as their vassals. Under the influence of the 1 9th century Islamic empires in the Inner Delta of the Niger slavery became a central element of their economy. During the colonial period this social structure altered in its content but not in its form. Even today the Jallube remain highly FULBE MOBILITY 43 hierarchical in their organizatio Hayre. Their former slaves are a division of labour and ritual life. The Fittoobe have a differe Guimballa, an area east of the Inn by big lakes. Some groups of the of these events is not clear. Peop whom direct links are not very settled in Duma,1 south of Douen Seeno. They neither submitted t century, nor accepted the rule Seeku Aamadu in the 1 9th centur of herders who were not hierar Even today they are regarded as of Douentza. The inhabitants of their system of labor recruitmen whereas the Jallube organised t (see De Bruijn & Van Dijk 1995 larger empires, the distinction b are also said to have converted to is true or not is unclear. Economic and ecological rela groups are mainly based on exc the relations with the outside w and to a market for their milk p with the sedentary population. O the pastoralists and their...
Source: Mande Studies
Authors: Mirjam De Bruijn, Han Van Dijk
Language: English
Subfield: Anthropology
Field: Social Sciences
Domain: Social Sciences
Open Access status: green
OpenAlex ID: W1502026487