User:Kimbravo99/sandbox

 Fulani People 

The Fulani people can be found in Mali, Nigeria, Guinea, Cameroon, Senegal and Niger. In addition they can also be found in Central African Republic and Egypt. The Fulani people, also referred to as Fula, are very nomadic people who's lives revolve around herding cattle, sheep and goat through farm crops and urban areas. In addition, "The Fulani were the first group of people in West Africa to convert to Islam through jihads, or holy wars, and were able to take over much of West Africa and establish themselves not only as a religious group but also as a political and economical force". Thus, meaning that they take pride in what they do and who they are as a group. But even so, the Fulani community finds cattle a very important commodity. In fact, wealth can be determined by the number of cattle that one owns which can cause conflict between other ethnic groups. This is because sometimes a cow might escape and go into someone else property and start eating their grass or even destroy their property. Furthermore, this is why most Fulani people live near large plain areas, to keep the cattle safe.

 Fulani Movement 

The Fulani movement was located in West Africa and there seem to be a set pattern to it. At first the movement seemed peaceful. It was so peaceful that local officials gave the Fulani society land grants. This means that they gave them land so that the cattle was able to roam freely and would not disturb nobody. But as time went on, there were more people who converted into Islam and with that increase " Fulani resentment at being ruled by pagans, or imperfect Muslims, increased". By the 17th century, the majority of Fulani migrants were Muslim which made it harder for the Fulani community to integrate into society like they did in the past. This sparked a revolt by the 18th century, which lead to a lot of uneasiness in societies.

 Fulani Cattle 

The Fulani people are know to have two main species of cattle, humpless cattle and zebus (humped cattle). Although their are only two main species theses cattle exist in many variants. The Futa Jalon who reside in Guinea know are known to own humpless cattle. Two types of zebus cattle are called "peul" and "mbororooji" the mbororooji are found east of the Niger River and are owned by Pastoralists while the peul are owned by settled Fulani. Lastly, another cattle called the Bovine cattle resulted from natural and cultural influence according to myths they lived by rivers and were found by Fulani where they were domesticated. The Fulani people maintained control over their cattle by evoking fear to them and also kept them a little wild so that hey were not easily stolen.

 Fulani Cattle Economy 

The Fulani economy was able to thrive due to the ideal weather conditions which allowed them to get good vegetation for cattle grazing all year long. On top of this the Fulani also adopted systems of cash crops for coffee and tea, which in turn boosted their economy. The Fulani people relied on the Hausa traders to sell their cattle while the Fulani controlled production and raising their capital. When the Fulani people faced colonization, the British found out about their thriving economy. Instead of colonization the British make Ardo Sabga (Fulani leader) the tax collector (jangali). As a result, Fulani people could continue their Cattle breeding and cattle production with the protection of the British.

 References