Editing Caste (section)

====West Africa====
[[File:GriotFête.jpg|thumb|upright|A [[Griot]], who have been described as an endogamous caste of West Africa who specialise in oral story telling and culture preservation. They have been also referred to as the bard caste.]]
Among the [[Igbo people|Igbo]] of [[Nigeria]] – especially [[Enugu State|Enugu]], [[Anambra State|Anambra]], [[Imo State|Imo]], [[Abia State|Abia]], [[Ebonyi State|Ebonyi]], [[Edo State|Edo]] and [[Delta state|Delta]] states of the country – scholar [[Elijah Obinna]] finds that the [[Osu caste system]] has been and continues to be a major social issue. The Osu caste is determined by one's birth into a particular family irrespective of the religion practised by the individual. Once born into Osu caste, this Nigerian person is an outcast, shunned and ostracised, with limited opportunities or acceptance, regardless of his or her ability or merit. Obinna discusses how this caste system-related identity and power is deployed within government, Church and indigenous communities.<ref name="Obinna1"/>

The ''osu'' class systems of eastern [[Nigeria]] and southern [[Cameroon]] are derived from indigenous religious beliefs and discriminate against the "Osus" people as "owned by deities" and outcasts.

The [[Songhai people|Songhai]] economy was based on a caste system. The most common were metalworkers, fishermen, and carpenters. Lower caste participants consisted of mostly non-farm working immigrants, who at times were provided special privileges and held high positions in society. At the top were noblemen and direct descendants of the original Songhai people, followed by freemen and traders.<ref>{{cite web |url=http://www.africankingdoms.com|title=Kingdoms of Ancient African History |website=africankingdoms.com |access-date=22 October 2017 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20190519102901/http://africankingdoms.com/ |archive-date=19 May 2019}}</ref>

In a review of social stratification systems in Africa, Richter reports that the term caste has been used by French and American scholars to many groups of West African artisans. These groups have been described as inferior, deprived of all political power, have a specific occupation, are hereditary and sometimes despised by others. Richter illustrates caste system in [[Ivory Coast]], with six sub-caste categories. Unlike other parts of the world, mobility is sometimes possible within sub-castes, but not across caste lines. Farmers and artisans have been, claims Richter, distinct castes. Certain sub-castes are shunned more than others. For example, exogamy is rare for women born into families of woodcarvers.<ref>{{cite journal |title=Further considerations of caste in West Africa: The Senufo |first=Dolores |last=Richter |journal=[[Africa (journal)|Africa]] |date= January 1980 |volume=50 |issue=1 |pages=37–54 |doi=10.2307/1158641 |jstor=1158641 |s2cid=146454269}}</ref>

Similarly, the [[Mandé peoples|Mandé]] societies in [[Gambia]], [[Ghana]], [[Guinea]], [[Ivory Coast]], [[Liberia]], [[Senegal]] and [[Sierra Leone]] have social stratification systems that divide society by ethnic ties. The Mande class system regards the ''jonow'' slaves as inferior. Similarly, the [[Wolof people|Wolof]] in Senegal is divided into three main groups, the ''geer'' (freeborn/nobles), ''jaam'' (slaves and slave descendants) and the underclass ''neeno''. In various parts of West Africa, [[Fula people|Fulani]] societies also have class divisions. Other castes include ''Griots'', ''Forgerons'', and ''Cordonniers''.<ref name="Griot">{{cite journal |last1=Feder |first1=Lisa |title=Negotiating between Manding and American1 Sensibilities. Anthropology and Humanism |journal=Two World Systems Collide |date=June 2020 |volume=45 |issue=1 |page=60 |doi=10.1111/anhu.12280 |url=https://anthrosource.onlinelibrary.wiley.com/doi/abs/10.1111/anhu.12280 |access-date=8 March 2025}}</ref>{{citation needed|date=August 2024}}

Tamari has described endogamous castes of over fifteen West African peoples, including the [[Toucouleur people|Tukulor]], [[Songhai people|Songhay]], [[Dogon people|Dogon]], [[Senufo people|Senufo]], [[Minyanka language|Minianka]], Moors, [[Mandinka people|Manding]], [[Soninke people|Soninke]], [[Wolof people|Wolof]], [[Serer people|Serer]], [[Fula people|Fulani]], and [[Tuareg people|Tuareg]]. Castes appeared among the [[Mandinka people|''Malinke'' people]] no later than 14th century, and was present among the ''Wolof'' and ''Soninke'', as well as some ''Songhay'' and ''Fulani'' populations, no later than 16th century. Tamari claims that wars, such as the ''Sosso-Malinke'' war described in the ''Sunjata'' epic, led to the formation of blacksmith and bard castes among the people that ultimately became the Mali empire.{{citation needed|date=August 2024}}

As West Africa evolved over time, sub-castes emerged that acquired secondary specialisations or changed occupations. Endogamy was prevalent within a caste or among a limited number of castes, yet castes did not form demographic isolates according to Tamari. Social status according to caste was inherited by off-springs automatically; but this inheritance was paternal. That is, children of higher caste men and lower caste or slave concubines would have the caste status of the father.<ref name="tamari1">{{cite journal |journal=[[The Journal of African History]] |year=1991 |volume=32 |issue=2 |pages=221–250 |doi=10.1017/S0021853700025718 |title=The Development of Caste Systems in West Africa |first=Tal |last=Tamari |s2cid=162509491}}</ref>