Galleries

The history and culture of Futa Toro, Senegal and Mauritania

Fuuta Tooro Oral History Project

The Fulbe people have played a prominent role in West African history, and a complete background on the Fuuta Tooro Oral History Project is available as part of this gallery.

As cattle pastoralists, the Fulbe people spread across 2,000 miles of savanna land, from Senegambia in the west to Cameroun in the east, over the last one thousand years. As Muslim revolutionaries some of them established Islamic regimes over the last three centuries in four widely separated zones of the savanna. It was in these areas that they adapted the Arabic script to the writing of their language, Fulfulde, and developed other institutions for the dissemination of Islam in West Africa. More than any other single people, the Fulbe have led in the process whereby Islam has become the majority faith of the savanna region. The interviews below are representative samples from the collection still being digitized for this project.

Interview with Ceerno Daahir Aan: The Toorobbe

Introduction
French translation
Audio Clip in Pulaar (RealMedia)
Audio Clip in Pulaar linked to a French translation transcript (QuickTime)
Audio Clip in Pulaar linked to a French and English translation transcript (QuickTime)
Segment transcribed in Pulaar & translated to English

Interview with Mammadu Njaari Mben: The Toorobbe and the Deeniyankoobe

Introduction
French Translation
Audio Clip in Pulaar
Audio Clip in Pulaar linked to a French and English translation transcript (QuickTime)
Audio Clip in Pulaar linked to a French and English translation transcript (RealMedia)
Segment transcribed in Pulaar & translated to English

Audio Clip in Pulaar linked to a French and English translation transcript. Part I (QuickTime)
Audio Clip in Pulaar linked to a French and English translation transcript. Part II(QuickTime)