December 2004

World View

Mande peoples of West Africa

By Chuck Satterwhite

The descendants of one of the world’s oldest dynasties still exist in sub-Saharan West Africa, but they have little opportunity to hear about Jesus. The Mande [mahn-day] people trace their heritage back to one of the most powerful and most renowned empires of all West Africa — the Mali Empire. The Mali Empire was a flourishing medieval merchant empire in the 13th to 16th centuries that greatly influenced West African history and the social customs of all of the Mande peoples. There are 53 people groups that make up the Mande peoples of West Africa — a group of approximately 15 million people living in eight West African countries — Mauritania, Mali, Liberia, Burkina Faso, Guinea, Sierra Leone, Ghana and Cote d’Ivoire.

The Mande gained popular attention with the making of the television series of Alex Haley’s book Roots, which showed the plight of slavery in the United States. Though outlawed in the USA, slavery still exists in the Mande culture, however, due to a class-like system which includes slaves as the lowest socio-economic group. During the 20th century, European colonialists drastically changed the social structure by outlawing slavery, but the ingrained social custom outlasted the colonial laws.

Currently, there is little Christian work among this people because of its vast size and the many locations in West Africa where the 53 groups of Mande peoples live. Forty of the 53 are considered unreached — meaning they have little to no access to the gospel — because there are few if any Christians working among them. There are few Christian resources that have been translated into the different dialects. For great impact to be made on this group, dedicated workers are needed to serve among the Mande as well as people worldwide dedicated to prayer for God to move among the Mande.

The Mande peoples primarily practice Islam. The practices vary among regions where the Mande peoples live due to the mixture of Islam with native beliefs. Some practices include witchcraft, black magic and sorcery. The practice of sorcery can be seen in the marabout, the village healer and counselor. Marabouts are believed to have talents to foretell the future, interpret natural signs and make herbal concoctions for healing both illnesses and injuries inflicted by humans or by evil spirits. Villagers who have made pilgrimages to Mecca, or who are descendants of those who have, are highly respected in this Muslim society.

The Mande are a patrilineal group which means that the men are in leadership over their families and the clan. The oldest male acts as the head of the village. Duties of this mostly agricultural society are divided between men and women, but men primarily do heavy farm work and occupy village-based leadership positions, such as headman or religious leader. Women have both farm and domestic duties such as cooking, cleaning and childrearing. For cooking, women gather the firewood, harvest and sort food and prepare it.

The Mande have several rites of passage. The first is a name-giving ceremony that is led by a marabout a week after birth. The marabout shaves the infant’s head and announces the name of the child. Another rite of passage occurs at puberty when both male and females are circumcised. Some Western human rights watch groups, however, are trying to garner national attention for the plight of women during female circumcision, calling the practice female mutilation. This rite is the most important rite of passage among the Mande peoples, though, because neither men nor women can be considered adults or be married without it.

Marriage is important because it creates and cements bonds between families. Marriages are arranged, sometimes beginning at the birth of a girl when the boy is 12 years old or less. The preferred marriage partner for a male is his mother’s brother’s daughter.

The final rite of passage is death. Death is not seen as natural in the Mande worldview. Mandes believe death is caused by some evil force. The person is also believed to be raised again to either heaven, hell or purgatory, which may be a belief stemming from colonial days and the Catholic influence brought by Europeans. At death, the body is washed and the water collected so it cannot cause sickness. A marabout says a eulogy and the imam says final prayers.