Fulani people and ministry FAQ

First Release: September 23, 1998
revised:  Oct 2002, Aug 2004, Jan 2005, and Oct 06 and later

Fulani FAQs

Several questions to help understand the Fulani, nomads, and church planting ministry among them

UWM seeks to establish churches among the semi-nomadic Fulani of MALI & Sénégal

Who are the Fulani?  Altogether over 25 million Fulani live in about 20 nations of West and Central Africa.  Fervently Muslim, their ‘evangelism’ in the 1700s and 1800s is the reason many other tribes of WA are now Muslim.  They are the largest nomadic people group in the world (though over half the population is actually sedentary nowadays; in fact, many represent the economic and political power in their nations).  They remain, however, one of the largest unreached people groups in the world.  One million Fulani live in each MALI and Sénégal.  As far as research shows, there are less than 20,000 believers among the millions; most of these live in Nigeria, Benin, Guinea, or Cameroon.

Where do the Fulani live in West Africa?  The Fulani live in what is known as the African Sahel, a band several hundred miles wide stretching from the Atlantic Ocean almost all the way across Africa.  This is the savanna of West Africa on the southern edges of the Sahara desert.  Thus, they are found in countries such as Guinea (3,500,000 Fulani), Senegal (over 1,500,000), MALI (over 1,500,000), Burkina Faso (500,000), Benin (500,000), Niger (1,000,000), Nigeria (over 15,000,000), Cameroon (3,000,000), CAR (1,000,000), Chad, Sudan, and others.  Many are nomads, but many today are urbanized.  I was surprised to learn recently that probably 250,000 live in Bamako, the capital of MALI, and even more in Dakar, Ouagadougou, Lagos, or Conakry, all major cities in non-Fulani areas.

What religion do the Fulani follow?  They are Sunni Muslims.  Many of them also follow the Tijaniya Sufi branch (originally of Morocco) though many are also members of the Qadiriyya or Amaliyya Brotherhoods (toward Nioro, MALI).  And, of course, there’s lots of folklore, which means they seek to emulate the prophet Muhammad in his sunna (practices) and that they seek to control the spirits that inhabit their world thru various means such as animal sacrifices, and the wearing of fetishes.  Fulanis of West Africa have for the most part despised the suicide bombings and other forms of terrorism so much in the news this decade.  Some Fulanis in Nigeria are much more militant and also vehemently support the Palestinian cause.

What is Pulaar?  Pulaar is the Fulani language dialect of northern Senegal and southern Mauritania.  Even among this group, there are regional variations of spelling, pronunciation, usage, grammar, meaning, etc.  About 750,000 people speak it.  Also found in Senegal are speakers of the Fulakunda (southern Senegal), Futa Diallon (Guinea) and Fulabé dialects (eastern Senegal and MALI).  This last is close to Pulaar and what the Bowers are ultimately trying to learn!  Guinea has a separate dialect as does Burkina, Nigeria, Niger, and Cameroon.  In all there are about 15 separate but mutually intelligible dialects.  Bible translation is aided by application of the CARLA computer program and most dialects now have a New Testament.

Is Pulaar different from the Bambara trade language you learned in Mali after you studied French?  Yes, Pulaar is quite different, a different language family, Atlantic instead of Bantu, in fact.  Yet, Pulaar is a trade language also in areas of several countries, i.e. Senegal, Guinea, Niger, Burkina Faso, Nigeria, and Cameroon.  Normal sentence order is back to Subject  - Verb - Object, but they use infixes instead of post-positions (English use prepositions)!  There’s no tense but lots of aspects.  A system of about 25 noun classes gives us hundreds of articles, demonstrative pronouns, subject pronouns, and headaches.  Bambara had no articles, gender, class, nor too many pronouns and very simple pronunciation.  Pulaar pronunciation has several difficult implosives for an English speaker, especially the palatal implosive "y".  The "ing" sound is easy except Pulaar likes it at the beginning of a word, too, which makes it hard.  They are very sensitive to consonant and vowel doubling or not doubling.  Meaning can change quite a bit on a simple change of length.

What is the difference between a nomad and semi-nomad?  Social structure is an important element for study by missionaries seeking to present the gospel; it is absolutely essential for those among the Fulani whose lifestyle is so different from the typical western missionary.  Traditionally nomad, many are now city dwellers who don’t ever see a sheep except for Muslim celebrations.  A semi-nomad is one who lives in a town for a period for education or job reasons but retains his values and connections of the life in the bush.  He might remain years in a city or he might return to the bush and resume herding.

Can you describe their social structure a bit?  Each dialect of the Fulani as in Fouta Jallon, Fouta Toro, Adamawa, etc. is actually a tribe in their terms, an asngol.  The term refers to origin or even place of origin since all such Fulani share a common territory.  Within the tribes are clans, the lenyol, meaning those with a common descent or heritage.  There are then many smaller patri-clans, the le’i, and then the family levels.  These divisions determine marriage, tribe leadership, and many other social relations within pulaku, their strict social code.  Typically an individual marries following patrilineage -- especially with a father’s brother’s daughter.  The basic family unit of a man, several wives, children, brothers, can be over 30 people.  There are many celebrations among the Fulani at the different points in the life cycle.  Islam has introduced a few more or modified those already practiced.  The Wodaabé Fulani in Niger are noted for their rainy season dances to celebrate the rain and then to choose mates. 

What are the castes and other social divisions among the Fulani? Castes in West Africa relate to the skills known and passed on to the next generation, and this includes precious religious secrets.  Most Malian peoples usually see themselves having only four castes: the blacksmiths, the griots, the mimes, and the leather workers.  Some Fulani groups also add non-casted persons such as nobles and slaves, two non-caste castes of fishermen (the Bozo and Somono) and courtiers (the Diawam'be, often witches), and as many as four castes of artisans, four castes of musicians, and a mime caste which is neither artisan, nor musician (the Fina).

Most Fulani groups see that there are three classes in each clan, Herders, Fulani boro: traditional nomads, no formal education, rich because of cattle, Muslim animist.  Their way of life is changing with government restrictions, wars, and more land set aside for cultivation thus restricting the ranges.  These are the least orthodox in following pure Islam, being less literate and thus less informed and rigid; they mix folk religious elements with Mohammed’s teachings.  Farmer-Herders, Fulani na’i:  semi-nomadic, who farm as well as handle cattle.   A second type of Fulani are those who have been forced to settle down and pursue agriculture as a means of survival.  Farmers, Fulani gida (or wuro): settled, richer, educated, strong Muslims, few cattle.  The third type is the urban city dweller.

Can they be described anthropologically?  Much research has been done, mostly available in French and English from both Christian and secular points of view.  Based on the Grid & Group anthropological hypothesis I tentatively suggest for the Fulani that they are Collectivist and Egalitarian. Lineage ties to the clan and family show a high group orientation.  Group activity is common.  Once the shepherd has the cattle home, he is no longer the individual on the range, but a member of a tight knit community.  Traditional shepherds were in a high grid with layers of castes, nobles, slaves, and ascribed hierarchies within these.  The 20^th century Pullo has less social distinction because of the vast changes in society.  Therefore one sees a low to mid-grid position, thus a Collectivist. 

Looking to establish a Basic Values hypothesis for the Fulani I suggest the following on the 6 continuums:  1/ Time vs. Event: event (cyclical time), 2/ Crises vs. Non-crises:  non-crises,  3/ Dichotomy vs. Holistic:     holistic, 4/ Object as Goal vs. Person as goal: relational, 5/ Vulnerability as Weakness vs. Vulnerability as Strength:  vulnerability as BIG WEAKNESS, 6/ Prestige Achieved vs. Prestige ascribed: ascribed.

Are there churches among the Fulani?  The first Wodaabé Fulani baptisms, 87 in 1993, were reported by SIM, Intl.  This animistic group in Niger has been targeted for some years by SIM, Intl.  Most dialects and clans have far less than 1% or even no believers. The population table by Adopt-A-People gives percentages by regional group.  The best results, according to them, is among the Fula Jallon group in Sierra Leone where there is a “missiological breakthrough and the situation is ready for a saturation church planting movement.”  As yet Sénégal has but one Fulani church and only a few widely scattered believers.  There are as yet no Fulani churches in MALI.  Otherwise there are only a handful of scattered Malian believers associated with the Norwegian Lutheran, the American Christian Reformed Church, and the Ghanaian Pioneers Mission.  The only exception is the successful yet very temporary work by Cornerstone Enterprises among the Kayes Region Fulani refugees from Mauritania.  About forty converted in four years of work J, but they almost all returned to their lands in Mauritania by 2000; 4 were baptized in 2001.  All together, among 25,000,000 Fulani, less than 25,000 are Christians L.  May God change this situation.   At least one group, the Evangelical Churches of Benin (Parakou), have started sending out missionaries to other area of West Africa J.

Has the Bible been translated?  The Bible exists in only a couple of the dozen dialects, i.e., in Benin, Nigeria, and Cameroon.  Two of the dialects of Senegal have New Testaments and various portions of other Bible books.  Several projects are underway in other dialects in MALI, Guinea, Burkina Faso, and others.  Tapes are useful in the illiterate world, and several agencies are producing Bible portions on cassettes that can be sold or used on the radio.  In 2004 a project restarted in Sénégal to complete the translation of the Old Testament in Pulaar dialect.  In Nov 2006 the Fulfulde dialect New Testament will be dedicated in Sevaré in eastern MALI. 

What missions work among the Fulani?  Quite a few work among the Fulani now at the beginning of the 21^st century.  SIM, Lutherans from several European nations, and the WEC have long histories in various countries.  The CMA and WEC have established several churches in Guinea.  CRWM, CRWRA, Lutherans, & now UWM work in Mali.  Mauritania has isolated and beginning works, which can’t be published in such a public paper as this.  WEC, the IMB, SIL, the Lutherans, and others have attempted work in Senegal but there is little result except publications including two New Testaments.  Several agencies each work in Burkina, Nigeria, Niger, Benin, CAR, and Cameroon.  There are Fulani radio broadcasts produced in several locations notably Sevaré, MALI, and Nagounderé, Cameroon.  There are few church associations as yet, only in Cameroon, Nigeria, Benin and Guinea, and maybe the CAR.  There needs to be a focus by agencies for those hundreds of thousands of Fulani who live in each of WA’s huge cities, cities mostly outside the normal Fulani lands, yet cities vital to the fabric of society. 

Are there any interconnecting synergistic groups for missions to the Fulani?  Joint Christian Ministry in West Africa/JCMWA (known by the acronym MICAO in French) is a major consultation founded in the 70s by agencies in Nigeria, notably SIM and the Lutherans.  It has regional meetings every two years in three areas and a general meeting every other year.  Members include mission agencies and church associations.  Viking Dietrich of the Lutheran Mission was named director in 2004.  The UWM-MALI team joined in 2006.

Association Évangélique de Chrétiens Pulaarophones au Senegal/AECPS is a Senegalese Fulani Christian initiative supported by a few missions in Senegal and MALI.  Members come from several churches across the country.  In 2000 they received official recognition from the government as religious association.  They encourage individuals and make attempts to hold annual meetings and some publishing.  In recent years the group has floundered.

What is the United World Mission?  United World Mission is a church-planting faith mission of some 150 workers in more than 30 nations.  It is committed to saturation church planting and seeks to network with and facilitate other agencies in the regions where it operates to fulfill the Great Commission.  In many countries UWM works with established agencies and churches and seeks to cause church planting movements by teaching and training.  UWM, in MALI since 1954, has established a church association and does Bible teaching and church planting among the Bambara/Malinké near Kayes, Mahina, & Kenieba.  The Lord has recently given several missionaries a burden for the sheep and cattle herders who provide milk and meat to the villages of the region -- The Fulani. 

What methods seem possible for church planting among the Fulani?  A team to reach a semi-nomadic group such as the Fulani should make a multi-pronged approach of presence, proclamation, and persuasion evangelism.  There should be an integration of spiritual proclamation with a dynamic testimony of God’s grace.  Thus, some members should necessarily be skilled in evangelism and Bible teaching.  This would be both directly to the Fulani and in training of Fulani to reach others.  Others equally should be skilled in community development efforts as described above.  Media and literature production team members would be also highly valued. Radio broadcast of Bible lesson with follow-up thru both visits and correspondence courses seem feasible.

UWM envisions a multi-skilled team combining evangelism and development efforts.  Evangelism and discipleship leading to church body development is the overall goal, and several members of the team must be focused on this.  We expect to use the tested Chronological Bible Teaching methods developed by NTM, SBC, and us for the evangelism and discipleship aspect.  A church planting model such as Hesselgrave’s ‘Wheel’ or Frontiers Mission’s multi-phase church planting schedule seem appropriate (see EMQ 1997).  The church planters will be responsible to help converts to design a church that is sensitive and effective in the cultural context, and to guide the Fulani believers in theological understanding so that they will catch a vision for church planting. Networking with existing mission and church agencies will form part of the strategy.  UWM would like to form a team of adequately prepared missionaries to reach this area.  It is not easy to live on the edge of the desert so we want workers who are willing to be as tough and flexible as cowhands and soldiers for the Kingdom.  We won’t be totally "roughing it," however, for in MALI’s Region of Kayes today there are adequate medical and educational facilities, and communication resources for the needs of missionaries of the 2000s. 

 When will UWM be fielding a team to the FULANI?  The Bowers studied the Pulaar dialect in Dakar, Senegal in 1998 and 1999.  They returned to their former house in Kayes, MALI in the summer of '99 and continued language and culture studies there.  They are urgently seeking the Lord for helpers.  A great need also remains for an MK teacher.  While still waiting on the Lord for fellow UWMers, it seems the Lord is putting together a multicultural team composed of members from other agencies and countries.  There is already a close working relationship with regional members of CRC, the Lutheran Mission, and RST.  There are possible recruits from former missionary receiving countries considering coming to the region to work among the Fulani:  from Benin as African Fulani missionaries sent by their church association in northern Benin, from Brazil as Baptist missionaries of the Radical Movement.  Four young Brazilians joined us in March 2006 and in spite of starting with little Fulani language they have been a wonderful help in the ministry.  Korean Presbyterians have expressed an interest in working among the Fulani in Eastern Senegal and possibly MALI, but there have been delays.

Jim helping turn the first spades for new well in Duduya,
a nomadic Fulani hamlet close to Kayes

What are the Bs up to?  They are currently in their fifth term of service in MALI.  Visitation, survey trips, small Bible studies, relief ministries, and book sales dominate their ministry.  Jennifer stays very busy as part of UWM’s Malinké team, the main home schoolteacher of one child, a member of Dakar Academy’s School Board, and field treasurer.  In 2003 broadcasting started on two FM radio the chronological Bible lessons "Lawol Peewal.”  Setting up a literacy program with Fulani in Kayes is possible; only one village, Duduya, 12 kms from Kayes, has so far been helped in cooperation with a local Christian ONG.  Other projects to work on include helping establish an association of Fulani believers of MALI, and readying some correspondence courses for follow-up to the broadcasts and taping of Bible portions.  Showing Christ’s love in action via clean water for villages is another possibility being explored.

What exciting ministry has opened up among the Moors?  A unique opportunity developed in 2002 to visit the Moors north of Kayes.  In early 2002 Jim was able to make two survey trips to Moor villages in the area.  This was due to a Fulani seeker, Idi, in Kayes who had listened to the Soninké dialect Noel radio broadcast and who invited Jim to visit his wife’s Moor village!  Previously hard to enter such an area, the team of Jim, a local pastor, Sekou Djikiné, and Idi were given red-carpet hospitality.  They especially appreciated Bible story tapes in their own Hassaniya dialect of Arabic.  In the fall of 2002 we learned of a serious need for famine relief among the same Moors, and UWM was involved in seeking aid for them.  Subsequently relief grain was given to these 17 villages to alleviate the effects of two years of drought.  Thru these efforts there is an open door presently for gospel outreach in all of these previously untouched villages.  Tapes and tracts in Hassaniya have been distributed throughout and gospel films have been shown in several locations.  The WEC and PMI missions based in Sénégal have helped us in several campaigns in 2003 to 2006.  We would love for an agency to get involved in outreach to these Moors of MALI numbering around 50,000 souls.  Pray for a continued opening for the gospel and for famine relief due to locust infestations. 

Pastor Solomon and Brazilian intern Tito chatting
with Moor man in Davou., MALI
Note the goat skin water bags in background

For Details, Contact:

United World Mission
205 Regency Executive Park, Suite 430.
Charlotte NC  28217                 U S A
Ph: 704-357-3355

www.uwm.org

Rev. Jim & Jennifer

BP 51, Mission Protestante

Kayes

Republic of MALI

Phone 223-253-1423

MALI cell : 223-xxxx

E-mail:  malibowers@gmail.com

Acronymes :

AECPS = Association Évangélique de Chrétiens Pulaarophone au Sénégal (Assoc. of Fulani-speaking Christians in Sénégal)

CAR = Central African Republic

CARLA = Computer Assisted Related Language Adaptation software

CMA, C&MA = Christian & Missionary Alliance

CRC = Christian Reformed Church

CRWM = Christian Reformed World Mission

CRWRA = Christian Reformed World Relief Agency

IMB = International Mission Board, formerly Foreign Mission Board of the Southern Baptist Convention

JCMWA = Joint Christian Ministry in West Africa (known in French by the acronym MICCAO)

MICCAO = Ministère Chrétien en Common en  Afrique de l’Ouest  (known in English by the acronym JCMWA)

NTM = New Tribes Mission

PMI = Spanish speaking mission based in Madrid.

SBC = Southern Baptist Convention (also IMB)

SIL = Summer Institute of Linguistics, on-field identification of Wycliffe Bible Translators

SIM = SIM International, formerly Sudan Interior Mission, now Serving In Mission

UEEB = Union des Église Évangéliques de Benin (Union of Beninese Evangelical Churches)

UWM = United World Mission

WA = West Africa

WEC = WEC International, formerly Worldwide Evangelisation Crusade