15th century – 17th century
Guinea, Ivory Coast, Middle Niger, and Gold Coast
Dyula communities were Muslim Mande-speaking trading groups associated with the wider Wangara network. In Guinea and the north-western Ivory Coast, Malinke-mori traders lived among Malinke populations and expanded southward through kola commerce and later trade with European coastal factories. Other Dyula groups established communities among non-Muslim and non-Mande peoples in the north-eastern Ivory Coast, along routes from Jenne to Be’o and Bonduku. Their settlements included Kong, Bobo-Dyulasso, Buna, and Bonduku.
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The Story
Dyula was the most widely recognized name associated with Wangara traders and eventually became a synonym for a trader. The extract presents Dyula identity as connected to Mande-speaking origins, Muslim affiliation, commercial specialization, and migration into regions inhabited by different linguistic and religious communities. As traders dispersed, local names and forms of identity developed around the places where they settled.
One group lived among Malinke populations in Guinea and the north-western Ivory Coast and was also called Malinke-mori, meaning Muslim Malinke. These communities were distinguished from their neighbours by Islam and commercial activity. They had first moved south for kola trade, while their migration intensified from the sixteenth century as they pursued commerce with European factories on the coast.
A second group settled in commercial communities among non-Muslim and non-Mande peoples in the north-eastern Ivory Coast. Their route ran from Jenne to Be’o and later Bonduku, and they formed a distinct ethnic group in their new setting. The communities of Kong, Bobo-Dyulasso, Buna, and Bonduku were founded toward the end of the seventeenth century, although some Muslim groups claimed origins in the older market town of Be’o.
The extract also links Dyula mobility to the Gold Coast. Wangara traders reportedly visited the Portuguese fort at Elmina by the end of the fifteenth century, and Mande-speaking warriors later advanced south from the Middle Niger along a Dyula route, crossed the Black Volta, and founded the kingdom of Gonja. These movements show how commercial routes could also facilitate political and military expansion.
15th century – 17th century
Guinea, Ivory Coast, Middle Niger, and Gold Coast
Dyula communities were Muslim Mande-speaking trading groups associated with the wider Wangara network. In Guinea and the north-western Ivory Coast, Malinke-mori traders lived among Malinke populations and expanded southward through kola commerce and later trade with European coastal factories. Other Dyula groups established communities among non-Muslim and non-Mande peoples in the north-eastern Ivory Coast, along routes from Jenne to Be’o and Bonduku. Their settlements included Kong, Bobo-Dyulasso, Buna, and Bonduku.
Continue exploring
The Story
Dyula was the most widely recognized name associated with Wangara traders and eventually became a synonym for a trader. The extract presents Dyula identity as connected to Mande-speaking origins, Muslim affiliation, commercial specialization, and migration into regions inhabited by different linguistic and religious communities. As traders dispersed, local names and forms of identity developed around the places where they settled.
One group lived among Malinke populations in Guinea and the north-western Ivory Coast and was also called Malinke-mori, meaning Muslim Malinke. These communities were distinguished from their neighbours by Islam and commercial activity. They had first moved south for kola trade, while their migration intensified from the sixteenth century as they pursued commerce with European factories on the coast.
A second group settled in commercial communities among non-Muslim and non-Mande peoples in the north-eastern Ivory Coast. Their route ran from Jenne to Be’o and later Bonduku, and they formed a distinct ethnic group in their new setting. The communities of Kong, Bobo-Dyulasso, Buna, and Bonduku were founded toward the end of the seventeenth century, although some Muslim groups claimed origins in the older market town of Be’o.
The extract also links Dyula mobility to the Gold Coast. Wangara traders reportedly visited the Portuguese fort at Elmina by the end of the fifteenth century, and Mande-speaking warriors later advanced south from the Middle Niger along a Dyula route, crossed the Black Volta, and founded the kingdom of Gonja. These movements show how commercial routes could also facilitate political and military expansion.
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