The Fulani (Peul): Philosophy and Guérewol!

The Fulani are semi nomadic pastoralists who live on the very southern edge of the Sahara desert, scattered right across the Sahel belt from Senegal to Sudan. The world Fulani comes from Hausa. In other parts of the continent, Fulanis are known as Fulɓe, Fula, Fulah (Mandinka) Pël, Peul or Peulh (Wollof), Futafula (Guinea Bissau) and Fallata, Fallatah, or Fellata (Arabic). Fulanis speak the Fulfilde language. In some countries, their language, Fulfulde, has been adopted by large parts of the population. In northern Cameroon for example, Fulfulde has almost completely replaced Hausa as the main lingua franca.

The appellation for Fulanis probably varies so much because there are over fifteen different groups. They used to be essentially a nomadic people, but the vast majority of them have become sedentary pastoralists, so that the Peuls of Senegal almost no longer meet with those in Benin again and so on. Some of them have also migrated and settled in Countries like the Democratic Republic of Congo and Congo Brazzaville. However, their biggest populations are in Senegal, Niger, Chad and Cameroon.

The Toucouleur, Sokoto and Kotoko civilisations were founded by Fulanis. These mostly faded away following attacks by the Almoravids as well as the start of colonialism.

Fulanis are typically very fair in complexion. In terms of phenotype, it is believed that they have Natufian Garamante ancestry, which branched off into the Horner and Berber people. There is speculation that they are the Africans that Europeans descended from because they carry North African Haplogroups, SLC24A5 depigmentation alleles, and have elongated faces. People often confuse them with Cushitic and Ethio-Semetic parts of Africa (Ethiopia, Eritrea, Somalia, etc.). However, they are not the same people. It is difficult to confirm all of this because humanity began in Africa and it is very difficult to pin down the origins and direction of migrations that have occurred for over millennia.

A full genome analysis was conducted by Vicente et al. in 2019, analysing several different Fulani subgroups from various geographic regions. They found that the Fulani people are characterised by the admixture of local West African and East African components, but also display West-Eurasian admixture, mediated through historical North African groups.

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Fulani/Peul philosophy: Pulaaku

Fulanis live according to the Pulaaku philosophy. Pulaaku is derived from the Fulfulde word puulade, which means to act like a Fulani ('fulbeness') or to live like a Peul. This philosophy has been shaped by the various migrations of different Fulani subgroups and the harsh terrain that they have to live in.

Pulaaku is built around the following core values: semteende (patience), munyal (tolerance), enãam (kindness), ngorgu (bravery), neɗããku (self-respect and dignity), dimu (purity), hakkiilo (care, caution and forethought), marugo na‟i (owning cattle), 'ardungal' (leadership), 'daraja' (honour or prestige obtained through position), and 'ndottaku' (honour accumulated with age).

This translates to some of the following lessons:

1. Tolerance: you have to be patient and understanding with the people around you. You also need to have high tolerance levels to accept the difficult living conditions that you will have to endure during your life.
2. Self-control: you should always show restraint in your relationships and interactions.
3. Patience: patience is a virtue and you have to wait for the right time to do anything or to get the things you want. You should not destroy things and people around you just to satisfy personal needs.
4. Greed: this is a particularly bad vice to have and you should never covet anything that is not yours.
5. Bravery: you have to stand up for your friends. You also have to protect the weak around you.
6. Pride and perseverance: you will face many difficult situations in life, and when they happen, you must show patience and perseverance. It is better to stay hungry than to behave like a beggar among strangers.

Although some Fulanis have occupied prominent positions in a number of African countries (Muhammadu Buhari in Nigeria, Ahmadou Ahidjo in Cameroon), they are still not very integrated in the socio-economic activities of the countries they live in. This is because they still centre most of their daily lives around cattle and their own ancestral beliefs.

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Guérewol

Every year, after the rainy season, nomadic Fulanis gather in different parts of the Sahel to celebrate the Guerewol festival. This is one of the unique events on the African continent: is an event where men prepare for months to look beautiful and dance in order to catch the attention of a woman.

For months, the men take care of their hair to make sure that it is long, beautiful and shiny. On the main festival day, they spend hours applying makeup. They start by applying an adobe-coloured foundation to their face. Then they put on blush, which may be red or pink in colour. That is followed by black eyeliner and lipstick. Finally, they apply either a delicate long line right down the nose to make it look longer and straight. Others delicately apply white dots on their forehead, which accentuates the beads and multi-coloured fabrics that they are wearing over their tunics.

It is time for the Yaake dance to begin. The beauty standards is the overall beauty of the makeup, the whiteness of the eyes and white teeth. White teeth is very big among the Fulani and they are always brushing their teeth with a stick (called chewing stick in West Africa). The men stand in a line in front of the gathered audience of women and start swaying backwards and forwards. As they sway, they chant the same songs repeatedly. They flash their teeth and open their eyes wide to show the ladies how beautiful they are. They have to outdo each other in showing their beautiful eyes and their white teeth.

While all this is going on, the women are furiously exchanging notes. If someone catches their fancy, the parents get involved, and in some cases, the marriage negotiations start on the same day. The dance has to go on as long as there is an audience. The men have to be seen, and they have to stay the course. Older women cheer on the men. Young referees are also on hand to inspect the men and make sure that they are on their best game.

The Guérewol festival is also an opportunity to celebrate Pulaaku. There are camel races, cultural displays and people from different communities come to buy cheese and leather goods made by the Peul.

Other Fulanis have similar celebrations. However, they are not as spectacular as the Guérewol of Chad and Niger. What is also interesting: in countries that are predominantly Muslim and where patriarchy still dominates, Guérewol is one of those traditions where women hold all the aces.

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Further reading

Guérewol: https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Gu%C3%A9rewol

Hampaté Bah, Ahmadou (1996). "Des Foulbé du Mali et de leur Culture" (PDF). Abbia: Revue culturelle Camerounaise: 23–54.