Editing Fula people (section)

==Geographic distribution==
[[File:A distribution map of Fula people in Africa.jpg|275x275px|thumb|A distribution map of Fula people. Dark green: a major ethnic group; Medium: significant; Light: minor.<ref name="Juang2008p492"/><ref>[https://www.cia.gov/the-world-factbook/countries/mali/ Mali: People & Society], [https://www.cia.gov/the-world-factbook/countries/burkina-faso/ Burkina Faso: People & Society], [https://www.cia.gov/the-world-factbook/countries/guinea/ Guinea: People & Society], [https://www.cia.gov/the-world-factbook/countries/senegal/ Senegal: People & Society], [https://www.cia.gov/the-world-factbook/countries/niger/ Niger: People & Society], CIA Factbook (2015)</ref>]]

The Fula people are widely distributed, across the [[Sahel]] from the [[Atlantic Ocean|Atlantic coast]] to the [[Red Sea]], particularly in [[West Africa]]. In addition, many also speak other languages of the countries they inhabit, making many Fulani bilingual or even trilingual. Such languages include [[French language|French]], [[Hausa language|Hausa]], [[Bambara language|Bambara]], [[Wolof language|Wolof]], [[Soninke people|Soninke]], and [[Arabic]].

Major concentrations of Fulani people exist in the [[Fouta Djallon]] highlands of central Guinea and south into the northernmost reaches of Sierra Leone; the [[Futa Tooro]] savannah grasslands of Senegal and southern Mauritania; the [[Inner Niger Delta|Macina]] inland Niger river delta system around Central Mali; and especially in the regions around [[Mopti]] and the Nioro Du Sahel in the [[Kayes]] region; the [[Borgu]] settlements of Benin, Togo, and west-central Nigeria; the northern parts of Burkina Faso in the [[Sahel region]]'s provinces of [[Séno Province|Seno]], [[Oudalan Province|Wadalan]], and [[Soum Province|Soum]]; and the areas occupied by the [[Sokoto Caliphate]], which includes what is now southern Niger and northern Nigeria (such as [[Adamawa region|Adamawa]], [[Tahoua]], [[Katsina (city)|Katsina]], [[Sokoto (city)|Sokoto]], [[Kebbi State|Kebbi]], [[Zinder]], [[Bauchi (city)|Bauchi]], [[Diffa]], [[Yobe]], [[Gombe State|Gombe]], and further east, into the [[Benue River]] valley systems of north eastern Nigeria and northern Cameroon).

This is the area known as the ''Fombina/Hombina'', literally meaning 'the south' in ''Adamawa Fulfulde'', because it represented the most southern and eastern reaches of Fulɓe hegemonic dominance in [[West Africa]]. In this area, [[Fulfulde]] is the local lingua franca, and language of cross cultural communication. Further east of this area, Fulani communities become predominantly nomadic, and exist at less organized social systems. These are the areas of the [[Chari-Baguirmi region]] and its river systems, in Chad and the Central African Republic, the [[Ouaddaï highlands]] of Eastern Chad, the areas around [[Kordofan]], [[Darfur]] and the [[Blue Nile]], [[Sennar]], [[Kassala]] regions of Sudan,<ref>{{Cite book | url = https://books.google.com/books?id=fX6pCg3iDHcC&q=fulani+blue+nile&pg=PA140 | title = Changing Identifications and Alliances in North-east Africa: Volume II: Sudan, Uganda, and the Ethiopia-Sudan Borderlands | isbn = 9781845459635 | editor1-last = Schlee | editor1-first = Gunther | editor2-last = Watson|editor2-first=Elizabeth | date = 2013-10-15| publisher = Berghahn Books }}</ref> as well as the [[Red Sea]] coastal city of [[Port Sudan]]. The Fulani on their way to or back from the pilgrimage to [[Mecca]], Saudi Arabia, settled in many parts of eastern Sudan, today representing a distinct community of over two million people referred to as the ''Fellata''.<ref>{{cite book |author=Al-Amin Abu-Manga |author2=Nuhu Auwalu Wakili |title= Fulfulde in the Sudan: process of adaptation to Arabic |year=1986 |publisher=D. Reimer |page=7 |url= https://books.google.com/books?id=8IYOAAAAYAAJ |isbn=9783496008859 |quote=The Fulani in the Sudan are known by the loose generic term 'Fellata'}}</ref><ref>{{cite web |url=https://www.cia.gov/the-world-factbook/countries/sudan/ |title=The World Factbook |publisher= CIA |access-date= 2013-12-28}}</ref><ref>{{cite web |url=http://concernedafricascholars.org/bulletin/issue86/sikainga |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20130513123656/http://concernedafricascholars.org/bulletin/issue86/sikainga/ |url-status=usurped |archive-date=May 13, 2013 |title= Association of Concerned Africa Scholars » Citizenship and Identity in Post-Secession Northern Sudan |publisher=Association of Concerned Africa Scholars |access-date=2013-12-28}}</ref>[[File:1997_275-27_Wodaabe_fashion.jpg|left|thumb|''Bodaado'' (singular of ''[[Wodaabe]]'') Fula man with the typical [[Fulani hat]] above a turban]]While their early settlements in West Africa were in the vicinity of the tri-border point of present-day Mali, Senegal, and Mauritania, they are now, after centuries of gradual migrations and conquests, spread throughout a wide band of West and Central Africa. The Fulani People occupy a vast geographical expanse located roughly in a longitudinal east–west band immediately south of the Sahara, and just north of the coastal rain forest and swamps. There are estimates of more than 25 million Fulani people.<ref name="Danver2015p31"/>

There are generally three different types of Fulani based on settlement patterns, viz: the nomadic-pastoral or ''Mbororo'', the semi-nomadic, and the settled or "town" Fulani. The pastoral Fulani move around with their cattle throughout the year. Typically, they do not stay around for long stretches (not more than 2–4 months at a time). The semi-nomadic Fulani can either be Fulɓe families who happen to settle down temporarily at particular times of the year or Fulɓe families who do not "browse" around past their immediate surroundings, and even though they possess livestock, they do not wander away from a fixed or settled homestead not too far away, they are basically "in-betweeners".<ref name="Chad Ethnic Groups">{{Cite web|title=Chad Ethnic Groups|url=https://study.com/academy/lesson/chad-ethnic-groups.html|website=Study.com|language=en|access-date=2020-05-25}}</ref>

Settled Fulani live in villages, towns, and cities permanently and have given up nomadic life completely, in favor of an urban one. These processes of settlement, concentration, and military conquest led to the existence of organized and long-established communities of Fulani, varying in size from small villages to towns. Today, some major Fulani towns include: [[Labé]], [[Pita, Guinea|Pita]], [[Mamou]], and [[Dalaba]] in Guinea; [[Kaedi]], [[Matam, Senegal|Matam]] and [[Podor]], Kolda in Senegal and Mauritania; [[Bandiagara]], [[Mopti]], [[Dori, Burkina Faso|Dori]], [[Gorom-Gorom]], and [[Djibo]] in Mali and Burkina Faso, on the bend of the Niger; and [[Birnin Kebbi]], [[Katsina (city)|Katsina]], [[Gombe, Nigeria|Gombe]], [[Yola, Nigeria|Yola]], [[Digil]], [[Jalingo]], Bauchi, Misau, 
Jama'are, [[Mayo Belwa]], [[Mubi (town)|Mubi]], [[Maroua]], [[Ngaoundere]], Azare ,[[Dukku]], Kumo, [[Girei]], Damaturu, Bertoua, and [[Garoua]] in the countries of Cameroon and Nigeria. In most of these communities, the Fulani are usually perceived as a [[ruling class]]{{Citation needed|date=November 2024}}.

Fulani communities are sometimes grouped and named based on the areas they occupy. Although within each region, there are even further divisions and sub-groupings as well. Below is a list of the main Fulɓe groups.

{| class="wikitable"
| colspan=12 style="text-align:center;"| '''Main Fulani sub-groups, national and subnational locations, cluster group and dialectal variety'''
|-
| '''Fulbe Adamawa<br />{{lang|ff|𞤊𞤵𞤤𞤩𞤫 𞤀𞤣𞤢𞤥𞤢𞤱𞤢}}''' ||

{{plainlist|
* {{Flag|Nigeria}}: [[Adamawa State]], [[Taraba State]], [[Borno State]], [[Yobe State]]
* {{Flag|Cameroon}}: [[Adamawa region]], [[North region (Cameroon)|Northern region]], [[Far North region, Cameroon|Far North region]], [[Centre region (Cameroon)|Centre region]]
* {{Flag|Chad}}: [[Mayo-Kebbi Est]], [[Mayo-Kebbi Ouest region]], [[Logone Oriental (region)|Logone Oriental]], [[Logone Occidental (region)|Logone Occidental]] Etc. 
* {{Flag|Central African Republic|C.A.R}}: [[Nana-Mambéré]], [[Ouham-Pendé]], [[Mambéré-Kadéï]]
* {{Flag|Sudan}}
}}
| rowspan="2" |[[Adamawa Fulfulde|Fulfulde Adamawa]] (Fombinaare)
| rowspan="5"| Eastern 
|-
|'''Fulbe Bagirmi<br />{{lang|ff|𞤊𞤵𞤤𞤩𞤫 𞤄𞤢𞤺𞤭𞤪𞤥𞤭}}'''||
{{plainlist|
* {{Flag|Central African Republic|C.A.R}}
* {{Flag|Chad}}: [[Chari-Baguirmi (region)|Chari Bagirmi region]], [[Mandoul region]], [[Moyen-Chari (region)|Moyen Chari]]
}}
|-
| '''Fulbe Sokoto<br />{{lang|ff|𞤊𞤵𞤤𞤩𞤫 𞤅𞤮𞤳𞤮𞤼𞤮}}''' ||
{{plainlist|
* {{Flag|Nigeria}}: [[Sokoto State]], [[Kebbi State]], [[Katsina State]], [[Kano State]], [[Zamfara State]], [[Jigawa State]], [[Niger State]], [[Kwara State]]
* {{Flag|Niger}}: [[Tahoua region]], [[Maradi region]], [[Dosso region]], [[Zinder region]]
}}
|[[Nigerian Fulfulde|Fulfulde Sokoto]] (Woylaare)
|-
| '''Fulbe Gombe<br />{{lang|ff|𞤊𞤵𞤤𞤩𞤫 𞤘𞤮𞤲'𞤦𞤫}}''' ||{{Flag|Nigeria}}: [[Gombe State]], [[Bauchi State]], [[Yobe State]], [[Borno State]], [[Plateau State]] 
|Fulfulde Woylaare-Fombinaare transitional
|-
| '''Fulbe Mbororo<br />{{lang|ff|𞤊𞤵𞤤𞤩𞤫 𞤐'𞤄𞤮𞤪𞤮𞤪𞤮}}''' ||
{{plainlist|
* {{Flag|Nigeria}}: All across the northern, central and some southern states of the country as transient herders
* {{Flag|Cameroon}}: All over the country in 9 of the country's 10 regions/provinces as transient herders  
* {{Flag|Chad}}: All across southern and central Chad as herders 
* {{Flag|Central African Republic|CAR}}: Ubiquitous across the countryside 
* {{Flag|Niger}}: All across the country south of the Sahara as herders and nomads. Note that the [[Wodaabe|Woɗaaɓe]] are themselves an even smaller subgroup of the Mbororo'en. Thus: All Woɗaaɓe are Bororos, but not every Bororo is a Boɗaaɗo (Woɗaaɓe person) 
* {{Flag|Sudan}}
}} 
|Fulfulde Sokoto (Woylaare) & Adamawa (Fombinaare)
|-
| '''Fulbe Borgu<br />{{lang|ff|𞤊𞤵𞤤𞤩𞤫 𞤄𞤮𞤪𞤺𞤵}}''' ||
{{plainlist|
* {{Flag|Nigeria}}: [[Niger State]], [[Kebbi State]], [[Kwara State]]
* {{Flag|Benin}}: [[Borgou Department|Borgou]], [[Atakora Department|Atakora]], [[Alibori Department|Alibori]], [[Donga Department|Donga]] 
* {{Flag|Togo}}: [[Savanes region, Togo|Savanes region]], [[Kara region]], [[Centrale region, Togo|Centrale region]]
}}
|[[Borgu Fulfulde|Fulfulde Borgu]] & [[Western Niger Fulfulde|Jelgoore]]
| rowspan="3"| Central 
|-
| '''Fulbe Jelgooji<br />{{lang|ff|𞤊𞤵𞤤𞤩𞤫 𞤔𞤫𞤤𞤺𞤮𞥅𞤶𞤭}}''' ||
{{plainlist|
* {{Flag|Mali}} 
* {{Flag|Niger}}: [[Tillabéri region]], [[Dosso region]]
* {{Flag|Burkina Faso}}: [[Sahel region]], [[Est region (Burkina Faso)|Est region]], [[Centre-Nord region]], all across the country, most especially in the countryside
}}
|[[Western Niger Fulfulde|Fulfulde Jelgoore]] & (Massinakoore)
|-
| '''Fulbe Massina<br />{{lang|ff|𞤊𞤵𞤤𞤩𞤫 𞤃𞤢𞤧𞥆𞤭𞤲𞤢}}''' ||
{{plainlist|
* {{Flag|Mali}}: [[Mopti region]], [[Gao region]], [[Ségou region]], all over the country 
* {{Flag|Ivory Coast}}: Mostly concentrated in the Northern regions 
* {{Flag|Ghana}}: in the northern and central regions 
}}
|[[Maasina Fulfulde|Fulfulde Massinakoore]]
|-
| '''Fulbe Nioro<br />{{lang|ff|𞤊𞤵𞤤𞤩𞤫 𞤻𞤮𞥅𞤪𞤮}}''' ||
{{plainlist|
* {{Flag|Mali}}: [[Kayes region]], [[Koulikoro region]]
* {{Flag|Senegal}}: [[Tambacounda region]] 
* {{Flag|Mauritania}}: [[Assaba region]]
}}
|Pulaar – Fulfulde
Fuua Tooro -Massinakoore transitional
| rowspan="4"| Western 
|-
| '''Fulbe Futa Jallon<br />{{lang|ff|𞤊𞤵𞤤𞤩𞤫 𞤊𞤵𞥅𞤼𞤢 𞤔𞤢𞤤𞤮𞥅}}''' || 
{{plainlist|
* {{Flag|Guinea}}: [[Labé region]], [[Mamou region]], [[Boké region]], [[Kindia region]], [[Faranah region]], [[Conakry]], all across the country as traders and merchants 
* {{Flag|Guinea-Bissau}}: [[Gabú region]], [[Tombali region]], [[Bafatá region]]
* {{Flag|Sierra Leone}}: [[North West Province, Sierra Leone|North-West]], [[Northern Province, Sierra Leone|Northern Province]], [[Western Area]], all across the country's major urban centres as a trading population
* {{Flag|Mali}}: Extreme southwest of country in the [[Kéniéba Cercle]]
}}
|[[Pular language|Pular Fuuta Jallon]]
|-
| '''Fulbe Futa Tooro<br />{{lang|ff|𞤊𞤵𞤤𞤩𞤫 𞤊𞤵𞥅𞤼𞤢 𞤚𞤮𞥅𞤪𞤮}}''' || 
{{plainlist|
* {{Flag|Senegal}}: [[Matam region]], [[Saint-Louis region]], [[Louga region]], [[Tambacounda region]], [[Kaffrine region]], all over the country 
* {{Flag|Mauritania}}: [[Trarza region]], [[Gorgol region]], [[Guidimaka region]], [[Brakna region]], [[Nouakchott]]
}}
|[[Pulaar language|Pulaar Fuuta Tooro]]
|-
| '''Fulbe Fuladu<br />{{lang|ff|𞤊𞤵𞤤𞤩𞤫 𞤊𞤵𞤤𞤢𞤣𞤵}}''' ||
{{plainlist|
* {{Flag|Senegal}}: [[Kolda region]], [[Sédhiou region]], South of [[Tambacounda region]]
* {{Flag|Guinea-Bissau}}: [[Gabu region]], [[Bafatá region]], [[Oio region]]
* {{Flag|Gambia}}: All across the country
}}
|Pulaar – Pular
Fuuta Tooro – Fuuta Jallon transitional
|}

In Ghana, the exact number of Fulani is unknown due to systematic oppression that includes not counting the Fulani in the Ghanaian census. This reflects widespread discrimination and negative stereotypes about the Fulani.<ref>{{Cite journal|last1=Bukari|first1=Kaderi Noagah|last2=Schareika|first2=Nicholaus|date=2015-11-04|title=Stereotypes, prejudices and exclusion of Fulani pastoralists in Ghana|journal=Pastoralism|volume=5|issue=1|pages=20|doi=10.1186/s13570-015-0043-8|issn=2041-7136|doi-access=free|bibcode=2015Pasto...5...20B }}</ref>