Fulani

Fulani, people of Africa found throughout the grassland areas of West Africa from Senegal and Guinea to Nigeria, Cameroon, and Chad.

Their Fulfulde language is closely related to the languages of Senegal, suggesting the possibility that their ancestors migrated from the Middle East through North Africa to Senegal. By the 10th century, they had adopted a new language in Senegal and begun to spread eastward, reaching present-day Nigeria by about the 14th century.

Although traditionally most Fulani have been cattle herders, through the centuries many settled down and turned to politics, successfully establishing a series of kingdoms between Senegal and Cameroon by the 19th century, and conquering the Hausa by about 1810. The Fulani held much of northern Nigeria in subjection until defeated (1900-1906) by the British. The traditional religious beliefs among some of the cattle-herding Fulani are animistic, although many of the politically oriented Fulani are Muslim and have often justified their conquests on religious grounds.