History of Mandingo Tribe

The Mandingo tribe from West Africa are descendants of the Mali Empire. The empire is believed to have thrived under King Sundiata Keita. Today the tribe is not only Africa's most prominent ethno-linguistic group, but also the most spread out. The tribe comprises sub-tribes like the Mandé, Dyula, Bambara and Bozo. They migrated to select regions across West Africa from Mali. Struggling for independence all through the thirteenth century, from previously dominant empires, the Mandingos founded an empire of their own, spanning the terrain of West Africa.

History of Mandingo Tribe

Mandingos migrated from west of the Niger River into the heartland of West Africa. They are believed to have been the original inhabitants of the legendary ancient city of Djenné-Jeno. The main reasons cited in their oral and written traditions were the search of better agricultural lands and the desire for territorial expansion. Their ancestors battled the Fula forces of the Kingdom of Fouta Djallon. On arrival, the tribe, more than half of them, converted to Islam. They did not show much resistance while giving up their indigenous beliefs and accepting the Islam belief structure.

They set up home in West Africa and lived harmoniously, till the onslaught of slavery. The need for additional farm hands and the initiation or the Industrial Revolution brought many westerners to West Africa. The hunt was for people who submitted easily and thus, from the 16th century, right through to the 18th century, more than a third of the Mandingo population was shipped out of Africa. This is the reason behind the presence of the tribe in the United States today.

Mandingo Features

Settlements

Today, the tribe thrives primarily in West Africa. They inhabit large areas of Gambia, Mali, Guinea, Leone, Senegal, Cote d'Ivoire, Liberia, Burkina Faso, Niger, Chad, Guinea Bissau and Mauritania. The settlements are characteristic of:

• Family-centric compounds in rural settings.
• Preference for an autonomous and self-ruled polity.
• Leadership offered by a chief and a group of village elders.
• Oral tradition of learning and the use of stories, proverbs and songs to hand down history.
• Recent development of Qur'anic schools that encourage the Arabic script.
• Dwellings along trade routes.
• Dyoula or merchant-built trading centers.
• Merchant networks within highland production areas.
• Supervision of overland trade in conjunction with that along the coast and interior.

Occupations

The Mandingo tribe mainly trade in rice, groundnuts and millet. The society is patriarchal and of the 'clan' culture. After their migration to West Africa, the Mandingos enriched the region with surplus agricultural produce and a labor-intensive economy. Using all their human resources, they contribute towards an agrarian culture. Men are also employed as butchers, tailors, drivers, carpenters, blacksmiths and soldiers. Most Mandingo women are house-wives.

Culture

Mandingo culture includes rich and varied musical and spiritual traditions. Though the impact of western education is the least on the tribe, more than half of them can read the Arabic script. Village traditions include:

• Naming a child seven days after birth.
• Versatile 'praise' singers, also called griots.
• Exquisite display of drumming and the kora, a twenty-one string instrument.
• Arranged marriages and polygamy.
• Genitalia-modifying rituals at the onset of adulthood.
• The belief that God's power is in the word and not the understanding of language.

Popular Mandingos

• Kunta Kinte, a central character in Alex Haley's Roots.
• Martin R. Delany, a 19th century US politician.
• Alhaji Ahmad Tejan Kabbah, ex-President of Sierra Leone.
• Karamoh Kabba, author and journalist.
• Mohamed Saccoh, musician.
• Sidique Mansaray, football star.
• Kabiné Komara, Prime Minister of Guinea.
• Demba Camara, singer.
• Modibo Sidibé, Prime Minister of Mali.
• Omar Faderah, Bun Jeng, Muslim scholar.