Mandinka people

The Mandinka or Malinke[note 1] are a West African ethnic group

Mandinka
primarily found in southern Mali, The Gambia, southern Senegal
and eastern Guinea.[19] Numbering about 11 million,[20][21] they
are the largest subgroup of the Mandé peoples and one of the
largest ethnic-linguistic groups in Africa. They speak the Manding
languages in the Mande language family, which are a lingua franca
in much of West Africa. Virtually all of Mandinka people are
adherent to Islam, mostly based on the Maliki jurisprudence. They
are predominantly subsistence farmers and live in rural villages.
Their largest urban center is Bamako, the capital of Mali.[22] Mansa Musa's visit to Mecca in
1324 CE with large amounts of gold
The Mandinka are the descendants of the Mali Empire, which rose attracted Middle Eastern Muslims
to power in the 13th century under the rule of king Sundiata Keita, and Europeans to Mali.[1][2]
who founded an empire that would go on to span a large part of
Total population
West Africa. They migrated west from the Niger River in search of
better agricultural lands and more opportunities for conquest.[23] c. 11 million[3]
Nowadays, the Mandinka inhabit the West Sudanian savanna Regions with significant
region extending from The Gambia and the Casamance region in populations
Senegal, Mali, Guinea and Guinea Bissau. Although widespread, Guinea 3,786,101
the Mandinka constitute the largest ethnic group only in the (29.4%)[4]
countries of Mali, Guinea and The Gambia.[24] Most Mandinka Mali 1,772,102
live in family-related compounds in traditional rural villages. Their (8.8%)[5]
traditional society has featured socially stratified
[16]: 43–44 [25][26] Senegal 900,617 (5.6%)[6]
castes. Mandinka communities have been fairly
autonomous and self-ruled, being led by a chief and group of The 700,568
elders. Mandinka has been an oral society, where mythologies, Gambia (34.4%)[7]
history and knowledge are verbally transmitted from one Ghana 647,458 (2%)[8]
generation to the next.[27] Their music and literary traditions are Guinea- 212,269
preserved by a caste of griots, known locally as jelis, as well as Bissau (14.7%)[9]
guilds and brotherhoods like the donso (hunters).[28] Liberia 166,849

Between the 16th and 19th centuries, many Muslim and non- (3.2%)[10]

Muslim Mandinka people, along with numerous other African Sierra 160,080
ethnic groups, were captured, enslaved and shipped to the Leone (2.3%)[11]
Americas. They intermixed with slaves and workers of other Languages
ethnicities, creating a Creole culture. The Mandinka people
Manding languages (primary)

Western Maninka, Eastern

Maninka, Kita Maninka
language, Mandinka

English
significantly influenced the African heritage of descended peoples French
now found in Brazil, the Southern United States and, to a lesser Portuguese
extent, the Caribbean.[29] Arabic
Religion

History Sunni Islam (Almost entirely)[12]

Related ethnic groups
Other Mandé peoples, especially
Origins the Bambara, Dioula, Yalunka, and
The history of Mandinka, as with many Mandé peoples, begins Khassonké
with the Ghana Empire, also known as Wagadu. Mande hunters
founded communities in Manden, which would become the political and cultural center of the
Mandinka,[30] but also in Bambuk and the Senegal river valley. The Mande diaspora from Ghana extended
from the Atlantic Ocean to Gao.[31][32]

The mythical ancestors of the Malinké and the Bambara people are Kontron and Sanin, the founding
"hunter brotherhood". Manden was famous for the large number of animals and game that it sheltered, as
well as its dense vegetation, so was a very popular hunting ground. The Camara (or Kamara) are believed
to be the oldest family to have lived in Manden, after having left Wagadou, due to drought. They founded
the first village of Manding, Kiri, then Kirina, Siby, Kita. A very large number of families that make up the
Mandinka community were born in Manden. Manding is the province from which the Mali Empire started,
under the leadership of Sundiata Keita. The Manden were initially a part of many fragmented kingdoms that
formed after the collapse of Ghana empire in the 11th century.[33]

Mali Empire
During the rule of Sundiata Keita, these kingdoms were consolidated, and the Mandinka expanded west
from the Niger River basin under Sundiata's general Tiramakhan Traore. This expansion was a part of
creating a region of conquest, according to the oral tradition of the Mandinka people. This migration began
in the later part of the 13th century.[33]

Another group of Mandinka people, under Faran Kamara – the son

of the king of Tabou – expanded southeast of Mali, while a third The beginnings of Mandinka
group expanded with Fakoli Kourouma.[35] We originated from Tumbuktu
in the land of the Mandinka: the
With the migration, many gold artisans and metal working Mandinka Arabs were our neighbours
smiths settled along the coast and in the hilly Fouta Djallon and there... All the Mandinka came
plateau areas of West Africa. Their presence and products attracted from Mali to Kaabu.
Mandika merchants and brought trading caravans from north Africa
and the eastern Sahel, states Toby Green – a professor of African —Mandinka de Bijini, Transl:
History and Culture. It also brought conflicts with other ethnic Toby Green
groups, such as the Wolof people, particularly the Jolof Empire.[33] The oral traditions in Guinea-
Bissau[34]
The caravan trade to North Africa and Middle East brought Islamic
people into Mandinka people's original and expanded home
region.[36] The Muslim traders sought presence in the host Mandinka
community, and this likely initiated proselytizing efforts to convert the Mandinka from their traditional
religious beliefs into Islam. In Ghana, for example, the Almoravids had divided its capital into two parts by
1077, one part was Muslim and the other non-Muslim. The Muslim influence from North Africa had arrived
in the Mandinka region before this, via Islamic trading diasporas.[36]

In 1324, Mansa Musa who

ruled Mali, went on Hajj
pilgrimage to Mecca with a
caravan carrying gold. Shihab
al-Umari, the Arabic historian,
described his visit and stated
that Musa built mosques in his
kingdom, established Islamic
prayers and took back Maliki
school of Sunni jurists with
him.[2] According to Richard
Turner – a professor of African
American Religious History,
Musa was highly influential in
attracting North African and A map of West Africa showing Mandinka peoples, languages and influence,
Middle Eastern Muslims to 1906.
West Africa.[2]

The Mandinka people of Mali converted early, but those who migrated to the west did not convert and
retained their traditional religious rites. One of the legends among the Mandingo of western Africa is that
the general Tiramakhan Traore led the migration, because people in Mali had converted to Islam and he did
not want to.[37] Another legend gives a contrasting account, and states that Traore himself had converted
and married Muhammad's granddaughter.[37] The Traore's marriage with a Muhammad's granddaughter,
states Toby Green, is fanciful, but these conflicting oral histories suggest that Islam had arrived well before
the 13th century and had a complex interaction with the Mandinka people.[37]

Through a series of conflicts, primarily with the Fula-led jihads under Imamate of Futa Jallon, many
Mandinka converted to Islam.[38][39] In contemporary West Africa, the Mandinka are predominantly
Muslim, with a few regions where significant portions of the population are not Muslim, such as Guinea
Bissau, where 35 percent of the Mandinka practice Islam, more than 20 percent are Christian, and 15
percent follow traditional beliefs.[40]

Slavery
Slave raiding, capture and trading in the Mandinka regions may have existed in significant numbers before
the European colonial era,[33] as is evidenced in the memoirs of the 14th century Moroccan traveller and
Islamic historian Ibn Battuta.[41] Slaves were part of the socially stratified Mandinka people, and several
Mandinka language words, such as Jong or Jongo refer to slaves.[42][25] There were fourteen Mandinke
kingdoms along the Gambia River in the Senegambia region during the early 19th century, for example,
where slaves were a part of the social strata in all these kingdoms.[43]
According to Toby Green, selling slaves Slave shipment between 1501 and 1867, by region[44][note 2]
along with gold was already a significant
Region Total embarked Total disembarked
part of the trans-Saharan caravan trade
West central Africa 5.69 million
across the Sahel between West Africa and
the Middle East after the 13th century.[45] Bight of Benin 2.00 million
With the arrival of Portuguese explorers in Bight of Biafra 1.6 million
Africa as they looked for a sea route to Gold Coast 1.21 million
India, the European purchase of slaves had
Windward Coast 0.34 million
begun. The shipment of slaves by the
Portuguese, primarily from the Jolof Sierra Leone 0.39 million
people, along with some Mandinka, started Senegambia 0.76 million
in the 15th century, states Green, but the Mozambique 0.54 million
earliest evidence of a trade involving
Mandinka slaves is from and after 1497 Brazil (South America) 4.7 million

CE.[46] In parallel with the start of the Rest of South America 0.9 million
trans-Atlantic slave trade, the institution of Caribbean 4.1 million
slavery and slave-trading of West Africans North America 0.4 million
into the Mediterranean region and inside
Europe 0.01 million
Africa continued as a historic normal
practice.[46]

Slavery grew significantly between the 16th and 19th centuries.[39][47] The Portuguese considered slave
sources in Guinea and Senegambia parts of Mandinka territory as belonging to them; their 16th to 18th-
century slave trade-related documents refer to "our Guinea" and complain about slave traders from other
European nations superseding them in the slave trade. Their slave exports from this region nearly doubled
in the second half of the 18th century compared to the first, and most of these slaves disembarked in
Brazil.[48]

Scholars have offered several theories on the source of the transatlantic slave trade of Mandinka people.
According to Boubacar Barry, a professor of History and African Studies, chronic violence between ethnic
groups such as the Mandinka people and their neighbours, combined with weapons sold by slave traders
and lucrative income from slave ships to the slave sellers, fed the practice of groups raiding for captives,
conducting manhunts, and taking slaves.[49] The victimised ethnic group felt justified in retaliating. Slavery
was already an accepted practice before the 15th century, when most enslaved people were taken on routes
to North Africa and western Asia by Arab traders.

As the demand grew, states Barry, Futa Jallon, led by an Islamic military theocracy, became one of the
centers of this slavery-perpetuating violence. Farim of Kaabu (the commander of Mandinka people in
Kaabu) energetically hunted for slaves on a large scale.[50] Martin Klein (a professor of African Studies)
states that Kaabu was one of the early suppliers of African slaves to European merchants.[51]

The historian Walter Rodney states that Mandinka and other ethnic groups already held slaves who had
inherited slavery by birth, and who could be sold.[52] The Islamic armies from Sudan had long established
the practice of slave raids and trade.[52] Fula jihad from Futa Jallon plateau perpetuated and expanded this
practice.[53]
These jihads captured the highest number of slaves to sell to Portuguese traders at the ports controlled by
Mandinka people.[48] The insecure ethnic groups, states Rodney, stopped working productively and tried to
withdraw for security, which made their social and economic conditions more desperate. Though less
powerful, such groups also joined the retaliatory cycle of slave raids and violence.[52]

Walter Hawthorne (a professor of African History) states that the Barry and Rodney explanation was not
universally true for all of Senegambia and Guinea, where high concentrations of Mandinka people have
traditionally lived.[48] Hawthorne says that numerous Mandinka were not exported to the various European
colonies in North America, South America and the Caribbean until the period between the mid-18th
through to the 19th century. During these years, slave trade records show that nearly 33% of the slaves from
Senegambia and Guinea-Bissau coasts were Mandinka people.[48] Hawthorne suggests three causes of
Mandinka people being taken captive as slaves during this era: small-scale jihads by Muslims against non-
Muslim Mandinka, non-religious reasons such as the economic greed of Islamic elites who wanted imports
of goods and tools from the coast, and attacks by the Fula people on the Mandinka's Kaabu, with
consequent cycle of violence.[54]

Wassoulou Empire

Economy
In the 21st century, the Mandinka continue as rural subsistence
farmers who rely on peanuts, rice, millet, maize, and small-scale
husbandry for their livelihood. During the wet season, men plant
peanuts as their main cash crop. Men also grow millet. The women
grow rice (traditionally, African rice), tending the plants by
hand.[55] This is extremely labour-intensive and physically
demanding work. Only about 50% of the rice consumption needs
are met by local planting; the rest is imported from Asia and the
United States.[55]

The oldest male is the head of the family, and marriages are
commonly arranged. Small mud houses with conical thatch or tin
roofs make up their villages, which are organised on the basis of
clan groups. While farming is the predominant profession among
the Mandinka, men also work as tailors, butchers, taxi drivers,
woodworkers, metalworkers, soldiers, nurses, and extension
A Mandinka marabout
workers for aid agencies.

Religion
Today, most Mandinka people practice Islam.[23][56]

Some Mandinka syncretise Islam and traditional African religions. Among these syncretists, it is believed
that spirits can be controlled mainly through the power of a marabout, who knows the protective formulas.
In most cases, the people do not make important decisions without first consulting a marabout. Marabouts,
who have Islamic training, write Qur'anic verses on slips of paper and sew them into leather pouches
(talisman); these are worn as protective amulets.

The conversion of the Mandinka to Islam took place over many centuries. According to Robert Wyndham
Nicholls, Mandinka in Senegambia started converting to Islam as early as the 17th century, and most of
Mandinka leatherworkers there converted to Islam before the 19th century. Mandinka musicians, however,
were last, converting to Islam mostly in the first half of the 20th century. As in other locales, these Muslims
have continued some of their pre-Islamic religious practices as well, such as their annual rain ceremony and
"sacrifice of the black bull" to their past deities.[57]

Society and culture

Most Mandinka live in family-related compounds in traditional rural
villages. Mandinka villages are fairly autonomous and self-ruled,
being led by a council of upper-class elders and a chief who
functions as a first among equals.

Family and political organisation

In Mandinka society the lu (extended family) is the basic unit, and
is led by a fa (family head) who manages relations with other fa. A
Mandinka dancing
dugu (village) is formed by a collection of lu, and the dugu is led by
the fa of the most important lu, aided by the dugu-tigi (village head
or fa of the first lu that settled there). A group of dugu-tigi form a kafu (confederation) headed by a kafu-tigi.
The Keita clan initially held the status of kafu-tigi before Sundiata's expansion and the creation of the
mansa (king/emperor).[58]

Social stratification
The Mandinka people have traditionally been a socially stratified society, as are many West African ethnic
groups with castes.[59][60] The Mandinka society, states Arnold Hughes, a professor of West African
Studies and African Politics, has been "divided into three endogamous castes – the freeborn (foro), slaves
(jongo), and artisans and praise singers (nyamolo).[25] The freeborn castes are primarily farmers. The
enslaved strata included labor providers to the farmers, as well as leather workers, pottery makers, metal
smiths, griots, and others.[24]

The Mandinka Muslim clerics and scribes have traditionally been considered a separate occupational caste
called Jakhanke, with their Islamic roots traceable to about the 13th century.[61][62]

The Mandinka castes are hereditary, and marriages outside the caste was forbidden.[24] Their caste system
is similar to those of other ethnic groups of the African Sahel region.[63] These castes are also common
across Mandinka communities such as those in The Gambia,[64] Mali, Guinea, and other countries.[65][26]

Rites of passage
The Mandinka practice a rite of passage, kuyangwoo, which marks the beginning of adulthood for their
children. At an age between four and fourteen, the youngsters have their genitalia ritually cut (see articles on
male and female genital cutting), in separate groups according to their sex. In years past, the children spent
up to a year in the bush, but that has been reduced now to coincide with their physical healing time,
between three and four weeks.

During this time, they learn about their adult social responsibilities and rules of behaviour. Preparation is
made in the village or compound for the return of the children. A celebration marks the return of these new
adults to their families. As a result of these traditional teachings, in marriage a woman's loyalty remains to
her parents and her family; a man's to his.

Female genital mutilation

The women among the Mandinka people, like other ethnic groups near them, have traditionally practiced
female genital mutilation (FGM), traditionally referred to as "female circumcision." According to UNICEF,
the female genital mutilation prevalence rates among the Mandinka of The Gambia is the highest at over
96%, followed by FGM among the women of the Jola people at 91%, and Fula people at 88%.[66]

Among the Mandinka women of some other countries of West Africa, the FGM prevalence rates are lower,
but still range between 40% and 90%.[67][68] This cultural practice, locally called Niaka or Kuyungo or
Musolula Karoola or Bondo,[69] involves the partial or total removal of the clitoris, or alternatively, the
partial or total removal of the labia minora with the clitoris.[66]

Some surveys, such as those by the Gambia Committee on Traditional Practices (GAMCOTRAP), estimate
FGM is prevalent among 100% of the Mandinka in Gambia.[66] In 2010, after community efforts of
UNICEF and the local government bodies, several Mandinka women's organization pledged to abandon
the female genital mutilation practices.[66]

Marriage
Marriages are traditionally arranged by family members rather than by either the bride or groom. This
practice is particularly prevalent in the rural areas. The suitor's family formally sends Kola nuts, a bitter nut
from a tree, to the male elders of the bride-to-be. If they accept the nuts, the courtship may begin.

Polygamy has been practiced among the Mandinka since pre-Islamic days. A Mandinka man is legally
allowed to have up to four wives, as long as he is able to care for each of them equally. Mandinka believe
the crowning glory of any woman is the ability to produce children, especially sons. The first wife has
authority over any subsequent wives. The husband has complete control over his wives and is responsible
for feeding and clothing them. He also helps the wives' parents when necessary. Wives are expected to live
together in harmony, at least superficially. They share work responsibilities of the compound, such as
cooking, laundry, and other tasks.

Music
Mandinka culture is rich in tradition, music, and spiritual ritual. The Mandinka continue a long oral history
tradition through stories, songs, and proverbs. In rural areas, the influence of western education is minimal;
the literacy rate in Latin script among these Mandinka is quite low. But, more than half the adult population
can read the local Arabic script (including Mandinka Ajami). Small
Qur'anic schools for children where this is taught are quite
common. Mandinka children are given their name on the eighth day
after their birth. The children are almost always named after a very
important person in their family.

The Mandinka have a rich oral history that is passed down through
sung versions by griots . This passing down of oral history through
music has made the practice of music one of the most distinctive
A Mandinka Griot Al-Haji Papa Susso
traits of the Mandinka. They have long been known for their
performing songs from the oral
drumming and also for their unique musical instrument, the kora. tradition of The Gambia on the kora.
The kora is a twenty-one-stringed West African harp made from a
halved, dried, hollowed-out gourd covered with cow or goat skin.
The strings are made of fishing line (these were traditionally made from a cow's tendons). It is played to
accompany a griot's singing or simply on its own.

A Mandinka religious and cultural site under consideration for World Heritage status is located in Guinea at
Gberedou/Hamana.[70]

The kora
The kora has become the hallmark of traditional Mandinka
musicians". The kora with its 21 strings is made from half a
calabash, covered with cow's hide fastened on by decorative tacks.
The kora has sound holes in the side which are used to store coins
Mandinka saber, Gallieni collection
MHNT offered to the praise singers, in appreciation of their performance.
The praise singers are called jalibaas or jalis in Mandinka.[71]

In literature and other media

Malian author Massa Makan Diabaté wrote novels that refer to Mandinka legends, including
Janjon, which won the 1971 Grand prix littéraire d'Afrique noire. His novels The Lieutenant
of Kouta, The Barber of Kouta and The Butcher of Kouta attempt to capture the proverbs and
customs of the Mandinka people.
In 1976 American writer Alex Haley published his novel Roots: The Saga of an American
Family, tracing his family connections through free and enslaved generations to an 18th-
century ancestor taken captive and brought to North America, a Mandinka man known as
Kunta Kinte. In the course of his research, he traveled to West Africa and heard about his
people from a griot. The book was on the New York Times bestseller for many weeks and
was also adapted as a popular TV mini-series. Many professional historians and at least one
genealogist commented that this familial link was highly improbable (see D. Wright's The
World And A Very Small Place).
Martin R. Delany, a 19th-century abolitionist, military leader, politician and physician in the
United States, was of partial Mandinka descent.
Sinéad O'Connor's 1988 hit "Mandinka" was inspired by Alex Haley's book.[72]
Mr. T, of American television fame, once claimed that his distinctive hairstyle was modelled
after a Mandinka warrior that he saw in National Geographic magazine.[73] In his
motivational video Be Somebody... or Be Somebody's Fool!, Mr. T states: "My folks came
 from Africa. They were from the Mandinka tribe. They wore their hair like this. These gold
chains I wear symbolize the fact that my ancestors were brought over here as slaves."[74] In
a 2006 interview, he reiterated that he modeled his hair style after photographs of Mandinka
men he saw in National Geographic.[75]

Notable people

Burkina Faso
Joffrey Bazié, Burkinabé footballer
Amadou Coulibaly, Burkinabé footballer
Yaya Darlaine Coulibaly
Djibril Ouattara
Joseph Ki-Zerbo, political leader and historian
Bakary Koné, Burkinabé footballer
Cheick Kongo, Burkinabé mixed martial artist
General Sangoulé Lamizana, former President 1966–1980
Oumarou Nébié
Gustavo Sangaré
Colonel Saye Zerbo, former President 1980–1982

The Gambia
Adama Barrow, politician; third president of The Gambia since 2017
Modou Barrow
Musa Barrow
Assan Ceesay
Jatto Ceesay, footballer
Ousainou Darboe, Foreign Minister of The Gambia
Sheriff Mustapha Dibba, veteran politician and the First vice President of The Gambia
Alieu Fadera
Abdoulie Janneh, former UN Under-Secretary General
Sidia Jatta, opposition politician
Alhajj Sir Dawda Kairaba Jawara, first President of The Gambia
Sona Jobarteh, first female kora artist (musician)
Modou Jobe
Jaliba Kuyateh, kora artist and celebrated musician in the Mandinka language
Alasana Manneh
Kekuta Manneh
Yankuba Minteh
Professor Lamin O. Sanneh, academician and author
Abdoulie Sanyang
Amadou Sanyang
Ebrima Sohna
Alagie Sosseh
 Foday Musa Suso, international musician.
Mohamadou Sumareh
Momodou Touray
Saikou Touray

Guinea
Sekouba Bambino, Guinean musician
Abdoul Camara
Moussa Camara
Ibrahima Cissé
Momo Cissé
Seydouba Cissé
Alpha Condé, former Guinean President
Cheick Condé Ahmed Sékou Touré, the President
of Guinea from 1958 to 1984
Mamady Condé, Guinean foreign minister from 2004 to
2007
Sékou Condé, Guinean footballer
Sona Tata Condé, Guinean musician
Amadou Diawara
Djeli Moussa Diawara, Guinean musician (also known as Jali Musa Jawara - 32-stringed
Kora player)
Kaba Diawara, Guinean footballer
Mamady Doumbouya, Guinean military officer
Daouda Jabi, Guinean footballer
Mamadi Kaba, Guinean footballer
Sory Kaba, Guinean footballer
Mamadou Kane
Mory Kanté, Guinean kora musician
Alhassane Keita, Guinean footballer
Mamady Keïta, Guinean musician
Naby Keita, Guinean footballer
Kabiné Komara, former Prime Minister of Guinea
Famoudou Konaté, Guinean musician
Mory Konaté
General Sékouba Konaté, former Head of State of Guinea
Lansana Kouyaté, former prime minister of Guinea
N'Faly Kouyate, Guinean musician
Fodé Mansaré, Guinean footballer
Petit Sory, Guinean footballer
Morlaye Sylla
Sekou Touré, President of Guinea from 1958 to 1984; grandson of Samory Touré
Diarra Traoré, former Prime Minister of Guinea
Samori Ture, founder of the Wassoulou Empire, an Islamic military state that resisted French
rule in West Africa
 Mohamed Yattara

Guinea Bissau
Aladje
Yalany Baio, Bissau-Guinean footballer
Mamadi Camará
Romário Baró
Mimito Biai, Bissau-Guinean footballer
Sana Canté, Bissau-Guinean activist
Rui Dabó, Bissau-Guinean footballer
Tomás Dabó, Bissau-Guinean footballer
João Jaquité, Bissau-Guinean footballer
Jorginho
Madi Queta, Bissau-Guinean footballer
Neemias Queta, Bissau-Guinean basketball player
Alfa Semedo
Panutche Camará, Bissau-Guinean footballer

Ivory Coast
Sidiki Bakaba, Ivorian actor and filmmaker
Alpha Blondy, Ivorian (reggae) musician
Ibrahim Cissé, Ivorian footballer
Sekou Cissé, Ivorian footballer
Fousseny Coulibaly, footballer
Kafoumba Coulibaly, footballer
Souleymane Coulibaly
Siriki Dembélé, Ivorian footballer
Henriette Diabaté, former Ivorian politician
Oumar Diakité
Ismaël Diomandé
Sinaly Diomande, footballer
Cheick Doukouré Tiken Jah Fakoly

Emmanuel Eboué, footballer

Tiken Jah Fakoly, Ivorian (reggae) musician
Moryké Fofana
Hassane Kamara, Ivorian Footballer
Abdul Kader Keïta, Ivorian footballer
Fadel Keïta
Karim Konaté, footballer
Arouna Koné, Ivorian footballer
Bakari Koné, Ivorian footballer
Moussa Koné
Tiassé Koné, Ivorian footballer
 Ahmadou Kourouma, Ivorian writer
Alassane Ouattara, Côte d'Ivoire president since 2010; Prime Minister of Côte d'Ivoire, 1990
- 1993
Badra Ali Sangaré
Ibrahim Sangaré
Alpha Sissoko
Guillaume Soro, Ivorian politician
Kolo Touré, Ivorian footballer
Sékou Touré Ivorian politician, environmental engineer, former UN Executive
Yaya Touré, Ivorian footballer
Abdou Razack Traoré
Adama Traoré
Hamed Traorè
Lacina Traoré
Marco Zoro, footballer

Liberia
Prince Balde
Momolu Dukuly, former Liberian Foreign Minister
Abu Kamara
Mohammed Kamara
Nohan Kenneh
Amara Mohamed Konneh, Minister of Finance
G. V. Kromah, member of the defunct Liberian Council of State
Alex Nimely
Sylvanus Nimely
Mohammed Sangare
Ansu Toure

Mali
Zoumana Camara
Soumaila Coulibaly, Malian footballer
Bako Dagnon, Malian female griot singer
Souleymane Dembélé
Cheick Diabaté, Malian footballer
Massa Makan Diabaté, Malian historian, writer and playwright
Mamadou Diabate, Malian musician
Toumani Diabaté, Malian musician
Drissa Diakité
Yoro Diakité, former Malian Prime Minister
Aboubacar Diarra
Mahamadou Diarra
Fatoumata Diawara, Malian musician
 Fousseni Diawara, Malian footballer
Daba Diawara, Malian politician
Moussa Djenepo
Diaranké Fofana
Youssouf Fofana
Aoua Kéita, Malian politician and activist
Ibrahim Boubacar Keïta, President of Mali, September 2013 -
August 2020
Habib Keïta
Modibo Keïta, President of Mali from 1960 to 1968
Salif Keita, Malian musician
Seydou Keita, Malian footballer
Sundiata Keita, founder of the Mali Empire
Tiécoro Keita Seydou Keita in action for
Amy Koita, Malian musician FC Barcelona in 2008

Ibrahima Konaté
Pa Konate
Sidy Koné
Makan Konaté
Moussa Kouyate, Malian musician
Mansa Musa, (c. 1280 – c. 1337), the ninth, especially renowned, Mansa (emperor) of the
Mali Empire
Hadi Sacko
Oumou Sangaré, Malian musician
Djibril Sidibé, Malian footballer
Mamady Sidibé, Malian footballer
Modibo Sidibé, Prime Minister of Mali, 2007 - 2011
Baba Sissoko, Malian musician
Mohamed Sissoko, Malian footballer
Adama Soumaoro
Almamy Touré
Amadou Toumani Touré, President of Mali from 2002 to 2012
Birama Touré
Adama Traoré
Djimi Traoré
Dramane Traoré
Kalilou Traoré
Mahamane Traoré
Sidiki Diabaté

Senegal
Brancou Badio
Ibrahima Baldé
Keita Baldé, Senegalese footballer
 Dawda Camara
Lamine Camara
Papa Demba Camara, Senegalese footballer
Souleymane Camara
Pathé Ciss
Aliou Cissé, former Senegalese footballer
Pape Abou Cissé
Papiss Cissé, Senegalese footballer
Aly Cissokho
Issa Cissokho
Abdou Diakhaté
Pape Diakhaté
Lamine Diatta
Krépin Diatta, Senegalese footballer
Souleymane Diawara, Senegalese footballer
Baba Diawara
Boukary Dramé, Senegalese footballer
Lamine Gassama, Senegalese footballer
Sidiki Kaba, Justice Minister of Senegal
General Balla Keita, MiNUSCA Force Commander
Seckou Keita, Senegalese musician
Kalidou Koulibaly
Moussa Konaté, Senegalese footballer
Cheikhou Kouyaté, Senegalese footballer
Moustapha Mbow
Opa Nguette, Senegalese footballer
Amadou Onana
Abdoulaye Sané
Lamine Sané, Senegalese footballer
Boubakary Soumaré
Tony Sylva
Amara Traoré, former Senegalese footballer
Aminata Touré, former Prime Minister of Senegal
Zargo Touré, Senegalese footballer

Sierra Leone
Amadou Bakayoko
Ibrahim Jaffa Condeh, Sierra Leonean journalist and news anchor
Kanji Daramy, journalist and spokesman for former Sierra Leone's president Ahmad Tejan
Kabbah. He is also the former Chairman of Sierra Leone National Telecommunications
Commission
Mabinty Daramy, current Sierra Leone's Deputy Minister of Trade and Industry
Mohamed B. Daramy, former minister of Development and Economic Planning from 2002 to
2007, former ECOWAS Commissioner of Income Tax
 Kemoh Fadika, current Sierra Leone's High Commissioner to the Gambia and former High
Commissioner to Nigeria, former Ambassador to Egypt and Iran.
Lansana Fadika, Sierra Leonean businessman and former SLPP chairman for the Western
Area. He is the younger brother of Kemoh Fadika
Saidu Fofanah
Bomba Jawara, former MP of Sierra Leone from Koinadugu District (SLPP)
Ahmad Tejan Kabbah, President of Sierra Leone from 1996 to 2007
Haja Afsatu Kabba, former Sierra Leone's Minister of Marine Resources and Fisheries;
Energy and Power; Lands
Karamoh Kabba, Sierra Leonean author, writer and journalist
Mohamed Kakay, former MP of Sierra Leone from Koinadugu District (SLPP)
Alhaji Kamara
Glen Kamara
Mohamed Kamara
Musa Noah Kamara
Saidu Bah Kamara
Kadijatu Kebbay, Sierra Leonean model; Miss University Sierra Leone 2006 winner and
represent Sierra Leone at the Miss World 2006 contest
Brima Dawson Kuyateh, journalist and the current president of the Sierra Leone Reporters
Union
Sidique Mansaray, Sierra Leonean footballer
Tejan Amadu Mansaray, former MP of Sierra Leone representing Koinadugu District (APC)
Shekuba Saccoh, former Sierra Leone's ambassador to Guinea and former Minister of Social
Welfare
K-Man (born Mohamed Saccoh), Sierra Leonean musician
Alhaji A. B. Sheriff, former MP from Koinadugu District (SLPP)
Sheka Tarawalie, Sierra Leonean journalist and former State House Press Secretary to
president Koroma. Former Deputy Minister of Information and current Deputy Minister of
Internal Affairs.
Mohamed Buya Turay
Sitta Umaru Turay, Sierra Leonean journalist

Togo
Mohamed Kader Toure
Assimiou Touré

United States
Aboubacar Keita
Mo Bamba, professional basketball player
Martin Delany, abolitionist, journalist, physician and writer (had two Mandinka grandparents
brought to America as slaves)
Alex Haley, writer, author of the 1976 book Roots: The Saga of an American Family
Kunta Kinte, documented captured Mandinka warrior during the last years of the Atlantic
slave trade. He is Alex Haley's ancestor and the key character in Haley's book Roots, and is
also portrayed in the record-breaking TV miniseries Roots.
 Gabourey Sidibe, actress
Foday Musa Suso, griot musician and composer
Sheck Wes, rapper and professional basketball player.

See also
Djembe
Gravikord
Mande languages
Mandingo people of Sierra Leone
Mane people
N'Ko alphabet

Notes
1. Alternative spellings include Maninka, Manding, Mandinga, Mandingo and Mandinko.
Forms with g are generally considered archaic and are mostly found in 19th-century and
early-20th-century literature.[13][14][15] They have been sometimes erroneously referred to as
Dioula or Bambara, which are other closely related Mandé peoples.[16][17][18]
2. This slave trade volume excludes the slave trade by Swahili-Arabs in East Africa and North
African ethnic groups to the Middle East and elsewhere. The exports and imports do not
match, because of the large number of deaths and violent retaliation by captured people on
the ships involved in the slave trade.[44]

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Further reading
Charry, Eric S. (2000). Mande Music: Traditional and Modern Music of the Maninka and
Mandinka of Western Africa. Chicago: University of Chicago Press. ISBN 0-226-10161-4.
Lucie Gallistel Colvin. Historical Dictionary of Senegal. Scarecrow Press/ Metuchen. NJ -
Kondon (1981), pp. 216–217
 Pascal James Imperato. Historical Dictionary of Mali. Scarecrow Press/ Metuchen. NJ -
Kondon (1986), pp. 190–191
Robert J. Mundt. Historical Dictionary of the Ivory Coast (Côte d'Ivoire). Scarecrow Press/
Metuchen. NJ - Kondon (1987), pp. 98–99
Robert W. Nicholls. "The Mocko Jumbie of the U.S. Virgin Islands; History and Antecedents".
African Arts, Vol. 32, No. 3 (Autumn 1999), pp. 48–61, 94–96
Matt Schaffer (editor). "Djinns, Stars and Warriors: Mandinka Legends from Pakao, Senegal"
(African Sources for African History, 5), Brill Academic Publishers (2003). ISBN 978-90-04-
13124-8
Schaffer Matt (2005). "Bound to Africa: The Mandinka Legacy in The New World" ([Link]
[Link]/demo/history_in_africa/v032/[Link]). History in Africa. 32: 321–369.
doi:10.1353/hia.2005.0021 ([Link] S2CID 52045769 (ht
tps://[Link]/CorpusID:52045769).
ETHNOLOGUE Languages of the World- Thirteenth Edition (1996) ([Link]
om/show_language.asp?code=mnk).
Pauls, Elizabeth Prine (February 2007). "Malinke people". In: Editors of Encyclopaedia
Britannica, (online) Encyclopaedia Britannica. ([Link]

External links
Mandinka ([Link]
tural/oldworld/africa/[Link])
Malinke ([Link]
ral/oldworld/africa/[Link])
A UK based website devoted to playing Malinke djembe rhythms ([Link]
b/20190627172151/[Link]
The Ethnologue page for this people group ([Link]
p?code=mlq)
Texts on Wikisource:
"Mandingo". New International Encyclopedia. 1905.
"Mandingo". Encyclopædia Britannica (11th ed.). 1911.

Retrieved from "[Link]