The Wangara, an Old Soninke Diaspora in West Africa?

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The Wangara are a central element of a Soninke diaspora and go back for centuries in history, namely to the Soninke kingdom of Ghana. They were known as Wakoré, who probably obtained royal trade privileges. Certain groups holding the imamates in key settlements such as the Sa(gha)nogo, Kamaghaté, Diaba(gha)té, Timité, Cissé-Haidara, Fofana and Bagayogo are of Soninke origin, but other people identify themselves with them claiming “Wangara” status. Certain identity markers remain stable over the centuries: long-distance trade in precious commodities, Moslem, scholars and imams; the ethnic groups identified with them do shift and are often not Mande but assimilated to their group identity aspiring to integration in the trade network: Bambara, Bobo, Senoufo, Songhay, Hausa, Gonja and others.