Fulani Herders Research Articles

The Motive of the Motif: Tattoos of Fulbe Pastoralists

Though Islam discourages altering the body, and in spite of reformist jihads which spread through northern Nigeria and southern Niger in the mid-nineteenth century, for a long while Fulani herders in these areas wore elaborate facial and body tattoos. When I first visited the area in the 1970s, I was struck by the beauty and diversity of these designs, which seemed to me symbolic of the outsider status the herders cultivated so carefully among sedentary neighbors. This interest, which I was able to explore over a three-year period while a student in northern Nigeria, led to many return visits to the region as I studied Fulani herding communities. Eventually, I began to understand that the tattoos expressed multiple and complex social meanings. This essay is based on research carried out during several periods of residence and visits to Nigeria and the Republic of Niger. These studies, which began during my residence in Zaria, Kaduna State, in Nigeria, focused on aesthetic and other social meanings of facial and body tattoos worn by Fulbe nomadic pastoralists. I was interested in determining whether placement on the body, image or motif, or the time and procedure of tattooing held any particular social, religious, or magical function. A primary concern was to distinguish those tattoos which might have a special social function (i.e., identification) from tattoos which were purely decorative. I saw the tattoos that Fulbe wore as a discursive practice that had its own internal logic, and it was this logic that I sought to understand (Faris 1988:29). Field research was first carried out over a two-year period of residence in Zaria, Nigeria (1975–1977), and complemented by short visits to Nigeria throughout 1981–1984 while I was resident in the Republic of Niger. I was fortunate to be able to continue visiting Niger on a regular basis from 1984 to 1990.1 Fulbe people throughout West Africa have long been known by neighbors and strangers for their distinctive physical features and the blue facial tattoos they wear, particularly the women (Rubin 1988:19). Facial and body tattoos were worn by pastoral Fulbe in northern Nigeria and central Niger for at least a century, roughly from the late nineteenth century to the late twentieth. I cannot offer any definite proof that the tattoos were worn in an earlier era, though perhaps new research in local documents, using ajami texts from the region, might shed light on this.2 In this essay I argue that one critical factor in the proliferation of tattoo styles and their former widespread use in the Zaria, Kano, and Katsina emirates, as well as the Sokoto Caliphate, was the increasing density of the Fulbe pastoralist population, which began in the time of Ousman Dan Fodio, the great Fulani Islamic reformist of the mid-nineteenth century onwards. Why would these pastoralists, who self-identified as Muslims, wear irreversible forms of body art (Rubin 1988:13)?3 My findings suggest that a large concentration of Fulbe pastoralists, partially encouraged by the jihad of Fodio and his subsequent rise to power and later motivated by the relative peace of British rule, led to a regional cultural specificity that included the wearing of diverse facial tattoos. Tattoo patterns functioned as embodied indicators of clan and geographic affiliations. Fulbe also wore distinguishing styles of dress and jewelry that functioned to identify particular Fulbe communities. In the following text I describe how the unprecedented number and diversity of Fulbe pastoralists in the area increased the need for outward displays of specific Fulbe identities in south central Niger and north central Nigeria. Brief return visits in 1990, 1992, and 2011 gave me an opportunity to see if tattoos were still popular twenty-five years later. Generally tall and lithe, Fulbe pastoralists express their cultural difference through dress, comportment, and their mobility.

Management of natural resources in a conflicting environment in Ghana: unmasking a messy policy problem

Resource use conflict is an enduring problem for science and policy making. Using in-depth interviews and focus group discussions with resource users, policy makers and key informants, we explored four case examples of resource use conflict within lands and forestry, fisheries, oil and the mining sectors in Ghana. Results indicate that resource use conflict consists of a complex, non-linear system of balancing and reinforcing feedback loops that recur across resource sectors. The conflicts are difficult to clearly define, have many interdependencies and are multi-causal. Specifically, dysfunctional policy, commoditisation of land, infringement on rights of users, shift from communal to private land ownership, renegotiation of rights, and unclear roles and responsibilities of government agencies, exacerbate conflicts among resource users, managers and policy makers in Ghana. In addition, supranational policy such as the protocol of the Economic Community of West African States, which promotes free movement of people and goods within the 16-nation community, is a driver of conflict between native farmers and nomadic Fulani herders. Clear policy directions from government that outlines the specific roles of various departments involved in resource issues together with a holistic community participatory approach is therefore required to comprehensively understand and address such conflicts.

Institutions for Collective Action among Settled Fulani Agro-Pastoralists in Southwest Nigeria

ABSTRACT The study identifies institutions for organizing collective action among settled Fulani agro-pastoralists in southwest Nigeria and examines their functions, processes and tools for fostering collective action. Four Fulani communties were selected purposively in Ekiti State; data were collected from 55 settled pastoralists through informal interviews and focus group discussion. The analysis of data was based on qualitative analysis and presentation. Two major forms of local institutions were identified: Fulani traditional council (FTC) and Fulani herders' association. FTC is a leadership institution and has three levels: the Jawmu saare (the head of the household), Mawdo (camp leader) and Ardo (community leader). These function in a way that set goals for collective action are achieved, through negotiation and conflict resolution. A normalized probability scoring on the effectiveness of collective action in securing access to land reveals 89% probability for gaining more access to land through negotiation, 68% probability through conflict management and 90% through payment of dues. The processes for collective action were hierarchical and participatory and meetings and financial contribution were observed as the major tool for organizing collective action functions. The institutions will become more relevant to socioeconomic development of pastoral communities if their activities can be coordinated towards policy negotiation with local governments, advocacy efforts, and livelihoods support and development. Efforts by local government authorities and extension/veterinary services to supporting these institutions for service provision is desired and their leadership potential should be further developed in the areas of political engagements.

‘Orienting’ Fulani herders of Mauritania: Struggles for Identity, Political Marginalization and Mobilization Since the 1950s Islamization

The Maghreb Review, Vol. 35, 3, 2010 © The Maghreb Review 2010 This publication is printed on longlife paper ‘ORIENTING’ FULANI HERDERS OF MAURITANIA: STRUGGLES FOR IDENTITY, POLITICAL MARGINALIZATION AND MOBILIZATION SINCE THE 1950S ISLAMIZATION BY RICCARDO CIAVOLELLA* INTRODUCTION This article offers a diachronic analysis of the political condition of pastoral Fulani (or Fulbe) with nomadic origins in Mauritania, such as the Fulaabe lineage and Fulbe jeeri and Fulbe waalo groups. Despite their relatively small demographic importance, their history reveals critical political and cultural dynamics at the core of the country’s evolution. Particularly, it highlights the limits of polarized discourses of identity between Arab/African and nomadic/sedentary categories. The issue is relevant to the political and public debate in Mauritania since the 1990s, when a handful of intellectuals lobbied for the recognition of an arab origin for Fulbe (Sall, 1999). The aim of this strategy was the acquisition of power and it raised a long debate within the Negro-Mauritanian political movement and, on the opposite side, among the supporters of the Arab identity of the country close to governing elites. ‘ORIENTING’ FULANI HERDERS OF MAURITANIA 307 But that debate focuses exclusively on the trajectory of a few individuals aiming for a political career. It neglects the history from below of all the Fulani communities of nomadic and pastoral origin. Their history inside the Mauritanian state since its colonial foundation is marked by an increased marginalization. This process of exclusion came to a climax with the ethnic persecutions of 1989. Fulani herders also occupy a difficult position in the Mauritanian political arena compared with the sedentary Negro-Mauritanian elite, which disposes of better power networks and economic assets. Stemming from an analysis of the debate about their place in the cultural and socio-political context of Mauritania, this article retraces the historical foundations of the Fulani herders’ political and social conditions. In particular, it analyses how some intellectuals tried to mobilize Fulani marginality as a strategic discourse for claiming social and political integration and also discusses the place of Fulani marginal communities in the context of highly ethnically polarized political strife. Fulbe or Haalpulaar’en: Conflicting Stories in the Margins of a Long History In Mauritania, there are some issues which constantly recur in conversations in taxis, courtyards, rural villages, taxis-brousse, political parties’ headquarters and intellectual debates. One of these is about the existence of a cultural, racial or ethnic difference between Fulbe and Haalpulaar’en. Self-defining Haalpulaar’en usually consider that both ethnic names refer to the same group, as ‘Haalpulaar’en’ literally means ‘those who speak the pulaar’ or language of the Fulbe (Wane, 1969). The shared language is then the criterion for defining a unique ethno-cultural identity. The term ‘Fulbe’ has a particular meaning only when evoking their pastoralist and nomadic ancestors before Haalpulaar’en historical sedentarization in the 16th century, or when describing the specific noble group (rimbe) of herders inside the Haalpulaar’en status hierarchy. Nevertheless, some self-defining Fulbe reject these linguistic and social criteria of ethnic unification with Haalpulaar’en. They rather define their particular identity as related to their historical or current pastoral and nomadic way of life. They claim a cultural specificity in opposition to the sedentary and farming society of the Haalpulaar’en, whom they call ‘Fuutankoobe’, or the inhabitants of the Fuuta Tooro historical region. The issue reminds us of the long anthropological debate about Fulbe identity. Colonial administrators and ethnographers, such as Delafosse and Faidherbe (Pondopoulo, 1996, 2009), usually opted for a differentiation between ‘Peuls’ (Fulbe) and ‘Toucouleurs’ (Haalpulaar’en), based on racial and cultural criteria: ‘real’ Fulbe had to be of fair complexion, representing an intermediate race between “Sub-Saharan African Negros” and “white Arabs” of the North (Boëtsch and Ferrié, 1999), and following a pastoral and nomadic way of life, like any other supposedly Hamitic ethnic group with Eastern origins. Combining cultural and racial categories, the colonial ‘anthropological reason’ 308 RICCARDO CIAVOLELLA (Amselle, 1990) draws a clear distinction between Fulani nomads and sedentary people, based on a set of opposite ethnic characteristics. This has profoundly contributed to the creation of the myth of pure nomadic and pastoral Fulani, opposed to political...

Fulani Knowledge of the Ecological Impacts of Khaya senegalensis (Meliaceae) Foliage Harvest in Benin and its Implications for Sustainable Harvest

Fulani Knowledge of the Ecological Impacts ofKhaya senegalensis(Meliaceae) Foliage Harvest in Benin and Its Implications for Sustainable Harvest. An improved understanding of how local people view their impacts on the resources they exploit and how they perceive that their resources are affected by other factors can provide insight into reasons some resources are overexploited and into strategies to conserve them. In West Africa, various tree species are heavily harvested by indigenous herders for foliage to feed their cattle. The reported declines in populations of several of these species have both biological and cultural implications, as cattle are an integral part of indigenous cultures and livelihoods. In this study we investigated Fulani herders’ practices, knowledge, and perceptions of the ecological impacts of harvesting foliage of African mahogany, Khaya senegalensis, in Benin, and we tested some of the factors that may influence them. Fulani herders have detailed ecological knowledge of their impacts on the resources they depend on, and this is finely tuned to local ecological conditions. This knowledge is also widely spread across different sectors of Fulani communities and is highly congruent with scientific findings. However, due to the open-access context of K. senegalensis populations, detailed knowledge of sustainability does not translate into sustainable practices. Fulani perceptions of threats to populations differ significantly between ecological regions and provide key insights for locally relevant resource management plans. Traditional Fulani practices such as the sopoodu provide a basis for sustainable management of proposed Fulani-owned K. senegalensis plantations. This study illustrates how the assessment of local ecological knowledge, practices, and perceptions can play a key role in the design of culturally-appropriate conservation plans.

Impacts of bark and foliage harvest on Khaya senegalensis (Meliaceae) reproductive performance in Benin

Summary Increasing concern over the sustainability of harvesting non‐timber forest products (NTFP) has led to a growing literature on the ecological impacts of NTFP extraction. A large proportion of NTFP are harvested for multiple plant parts, but few studies have assessed the impacts of harvesting multi‐use species. In addition, few studies have assessed how harvest effects may vary across space. This information is necessary for designing effective conservation plans for the many NTFP species that are harvested from variable ecological contexts. This study assessed the impacts of combined bark and foliage harvest on Khaya senegalensis (Meliaceae) reproductive performance in Benin. K. senegalensis bark is an important medicine for malaria, the leaves are pruned by indigenous Fulani herders as a critical source of fodder for their livestock, and the timber is highly prized. Data on reproductive characteristics were collected from 12 populations spread across two ecological regions (Sudanian and Sudano–Guinean). Half the populations had a history of high harvest intensity and half were subject to low/no harvest. Trees produced more fruit and began fruiting at a significantly smaller size in the drier Sudanian region than in the wetter Sudano–Guinean region. However, pruning decreased fruit production significantly in the Sudanian region but not in the Sudano–Guinean region. Pruning had a significantly greater impact on fruit production in larger trees than in smaller trees. High harvest populations in the Sudano–Guinean region had significantly higher rates of seed production than low harvest populations, although the seeds were significantly lighter. There were no significant effects of debarking or combined debarking and pruning on reproductive performance. Synthesis and applications. This study illustrates that heavy rates of foliage harvest can decrease rates and patterns of reproduction in K. senegalensis, and that the impacts may vary across environmental contexts. Lowered rates of reproduction may lead to decreases in K. senegalensis population size over the long term. Effective ex situ conservation strategies for K. senegalensis include increasing the availability of its fodder and bark by promoting K. senegalensis plantations programmes involving Fulani harvesters.

Ethnic variations in health-seeking behaviours and attitudes between Fulani herders and Oruba farmers in southwestern Nigeria

Rural Yoruba and Fulani residents of two local governments in Oyo State, Nigeria, were surveyed to determine differences in health-seeking behaviour. Fulani residents were more likely to use private facilities during a recent illness, while Yoruba residents more commonly used government facilities: a fact reflected in the overall attitudes of those surveyed. The need for greater outreach and involvement of minority populations is recommended to enhance public service utilization.

Nderkaaku : la folle jeunesse chez les Foulbé de l'Adamaoua

nderkaaku : the Revolt of Young Fulani Herders in Adamawa. The Fulani of the Ngaoundéré area in Adamawa often complain about bad relationships between parents and children. When they become young adults, boys do not obey their fathers anymore. They escape for a life of adventure, called nderkaaku in the local Fulani language. The parents resent this situation, eventhough it has taken place for many generations. When the family lacks cattle, the young men have to move away. Inheritance rules, which favor the eldests, lead to conflicts and give them further reasons to leave. They take the cattle to the urban markets, where they learn about modern life. Although parents consider their departure as a failure for the family, nderkaaku thus strengthens a dynamic Fulani diaspora.

Décadence et résistance du pastoralisme. Les Peuls de la vallée du fleuve Sénégal

C. Santoir — Pastoralism : Decline and Resistance (Fulani in the Senegal River Valley). Since the 1972 drought, herders have moved from the Senegal river valley toward southern farming areas with better weather. In the river valley (outside the delta), changes have occurred in dry season pastoral migrations. Yearly transhumance toward the valley has been replaced with wide-ranging nomadism, sometimes lasting several consecutive years. Successive climatic crises have forced pastoral Systems to adjust to smaller herd sizes, failed crops and the environment's lasting deterioration. Some Fulani herders have settled on the river valley's edge and, thanks to irrigation, are growing crops—more or less successfully. But most Fulani survive by leading a tradi-tional, pastoral way of life, even though they are more often involved in nonagricul-tural activities. Changes in agriculture in the valley may not radically change pastoralism nor put an end to it; for the latter is still quite active.

Les Foulbé de l'Adamaoua et l'élevage : de l'idéologie pastorale à la pluri-activité

J. Boutrais — The Adamawa Fulani and Stock Raising : From Herding Ideology to Economie Diversification. Even when settled, the Fulani have such an intense relation with raising cattle that it tends to transfigure reality. Since this people arrived on the Adamawa Plateau, the position of pastoralism in their society has changed, periods of herding being followed, in an almost cyclic rhythm, by trends toward depastoralization. The importance of raising livestock varies as a function of lineage stratification. Furthermore, the geo-graphical distribution of the Fulani around the political center is linked to pastoralism. A cross-sectional analysis of the Ngaoundere lamidat brings to light this opposition between center and periphery ; but the percentage of Fulani herders also reflects each cross-section's ecological context. Though still defining themselves as a pastoral people, the Adamawa Fulani now engage in many other activities. In rural areas, agriculture is pursued, often along with herding. Trading, especially if related to cattle, is also attracting more and more people. The Fulani also value religious knowledge to vary-ing degrees.