From 12th century
Northern and eastern Futa Jallon and Bure
The Jallonke were a Mandingo-related people living on the northern and eastern sides of the Futa Jallon and extending eastward into Bure. Their society was organized through patrilineal kinship groups, villages and small chiefdoms resembling the Mandingo kafu. They were probably at least partly tributary to Mali during the empire’s height. Later Fulani settlement and the jihad of Karamoxo Alfa, beginning in 1727, brought about their subjugation, although their name remained attached to the region.
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The Story
The Jallonke occupied the northern and eastern sides of the Futa Jallon massif and spread eastward into Bure, the gold-producing region. They belonged to the Mandingo cultural sphere and shared linguistic ties with the Soso, although the two groups developed distinct social and political arrangements. Their highland environment connected pastoral, agricultural and commercial activities.
Jallonke society was traditionally organized through patrilineal kinship groups, villages and small chiefdoms comparable to the Mandingo kafu. During the period of Mali’s greatest power, they were probably at least partly tributary to the empire. The text treats this relationship cautiously, linking its weakening to disturbances at the end of the fifteenth century and in the upper Niger near the end of the sixteenth.
Fulani groups later settled among the Jallonke and Soso on the high plateaux. These herders initially retained a marginal role and practised their traditional religion, but Muslim arrivals at the end of the seventeenth century changed the balance of power. The process culminated in Karamoxo Alfa’s jihad, which began in 1727 and subjugated the Jallonke.
The region continued to bear the Jallonke name after their political subjugation. Their history therefore reflects the persistence of an ethnonym and regional identity despite the transformation of political authority by Fulani expansion and Islamic movements.
From 12th century
Northern and eastern Futa Jallon and Bure
The Jallonke were a Mandingo-related people living on the northern and eastern sides of the Futa Jallon and extending eastward into Bure. Their society was organized through patrilineal kinship groups, villages and small chiefdoms resembling the Mandingo kafu. They were probably at least partly tributary to Mali during the empire’s height. Later Fulani settlement and the jihad of Karamoxo Alfa, beginning in 1727, brought about their subjugation, although their name remained attached to the region.
Continue exploring
The Story
The Jallonke occupied the northern and eastern sides of the Futa Jallon massif and spread eastward into Bure, the gold-producing region. They belonged to the Mandingo cultural sphere and shared linguistic ties with the Soso, although the two groups developed distinct social and political arrangements. Their highland environment connected pastoral, agricultural and commercial activities.
Jallonke society was traditionally organized through patrilineal kinship groups, villages and small chiefdoms comparable to the Mandingo kafu. During the period of Mali’s greatest power, they were probably at least partly tributary to the empire. The text treats this relationship cautiously, linking its weakening to disturbances at the end of the fifteenth century and in the upper Niger near the end of the sixteenth.
Fulani groups later settled among the Jallonke and Soso on the high plateaux. These herders initially retained a marginal role and practised their traditional religion, but Muslim arrivals at the end of the seventeenth century changed the balance of power. The process culminated in Karamoxo Alfa’s jihad, which began in 1727 and subjugated the Jallonke.
The region continued to bear the Jallonke name after their political subjugation. Their history therefore reflects the persistence of an ethnonym and regional identity despite the transformation of political authority by Fulani expansion and Islamic movements.
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