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April-May
2006
World
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Fulbe Jeeri of West Africa
By
Jason Smith
At a glance:
Religion: Sufi Muslim
Location: Senegal, Gambia, Guinea, Mali, Mauritania
Population: 400,000-420,000
 Language: Pulaar
Diet: Rice, millet, cow peas, dairy products
Life Expectancy: M 54, F 57
Health Care: Limited access to health care facilities, poor water, nutrition and sanitation
Getting Deeper:
So who are the Fulbe Jeeri? The Fulbe Jeeri are a subgroup of the Fulani people group. These proud, independent people are the largest nomadic people group in the world.
The Fulbe are bound by a strong moral code. This code is based largely on traditional Islamic tenets, such as prescribed prayer five times a day, giving to the poor and observing a month of fasting. Traditional Islamic beliefs intermingle with Spiritism. Many wear magic charms to ward off illness, danger or evil spirits. The Fulbe also endeavor to maintain their ideal qualities of modesty, reserve, fortitude and patience.
For thousands of years, this group has braved the harsh climate of the African Sahel, an arid area in Senegal. They are now faced by another potentially greater problem. Increasing development and sedentary farming have limited grazing areas. This, coupled with an increasingly fragile ecology, has forced many of the Fulbe to settle in larger towns. There they find work as farmers, traders, government employees and day laborers. True nomadic herding is on the decline, but it is still held as the ideal. Many Fulbe have become seminomadic, living in a permanent village and moving only when grazing areas or water become limited.
The Fulbe Jeeri are part of the Western Fulani ethnic group. They live primarily in northern and eastern Senegal but there are also significant numbers living in Mauritania and Mali. The estimated population is between 350,000 and 400,000. They have a mixed economy of cattle-raising and agriculture. They think of themselves as herdsmen, but are distinguished from true nomads because they cultivate millet fields and millet forms the greater part of their food each year. Water, or the lack of it, dominates their life. The Fulbe Jeeri are fervent Moslems though the Islam they practice is mixed with traditional animistic religions. There are only about two dozen Fulbe believers and no viable church. |
