Mane, Malian Soldiers
Encyclopedia
The Manneh were in origin Mandé
[nyancho jong kende falla] soldiers who invaded the western coast of Africa from the east during the first half of the sixteenth century. There is really no room for doubt as to their origin, from the evidence of their dress and weapons (which were observed at the time by Europeans), their language, as well as from the evidence of Mane tradition, recorded in writing about 1625.
before the seventeenth century was undoubtedly that stemming from Mandé initiative in the successive empires of Ghana
and Mali
(and to some extent of Songhai
also). This had direct political consequences in the lands immediately to the west and south of the Mandé heartland around the upper reaches of the Niger
and Senegal
rivers. One result was the Fulani
dispersion eastward past the farthest reaches of Mandé influence, and the other was the settlement of Mandé-speakers along the West Atlantic coast.
, one of the major tributaries of the Senegal, whose head-waters were firmly in Mande occupation. The other, separated from the Gambia by the Fouta Djallon
massif which the Fulani were occupying, ran south into modern Sierra Leone
close by the Susu
settlement. In both areas, political organizations were established under rulers called farimas. Initially these seem often to have paid tribute to Mali
, and even after the decline of the great Mali power in the later fifteenth century, they maintained some idea of its ultimate supremacy.
) some 600 miles further east. There is no corroboration for this either in Portuguese records (but these are notoriously defective for the period), or in the surviving traditions of modern Ghanaian peoples. But in view of what will be said shortly about Mandé connections with the Gold Coast, it would be by no means impossible for a Mandé military contingent to have got there over the trade roads leading south-east from Jenne. Its decision to return home westwards along the coast could conceivably have been in some way connected with the rise of Songhai military power along the middle Niger. Since there is certainly some evidence that Mandé as far west as the Gambia knew about other Mandé trading activities in the Gold Coast hinterland, such a decision need not have been such a step into the unknown as might have been supposed.
By about the 1540s the Manneh [nyancho jong kende falla] were advancing westwards parallel to the coastline of modern Liberia
, fighting in turn with each tribal group that they came across. They were almost invariably successful. Following each victory, some of them settled down as overlords of a new petty state, while others were enabled to sweep up in their train some of the local people as auxiliaries (called Sumbas) and, thus reinforced, to continue to further victories further west still. The Mane advance was really only halted when, in the north-west of what is now Sierra Leone, they came up against the Susu, like themselves a Mandé people, and possessing similar weapons, military organization and tactics.
as the dominant stock of southern Sierra Leone. Further north, the Loko
are also Mandé-speaking, but there is reason to believe that their ethnic base was originally of ‘West Atlantic’ origin. Their neighbors, the Temne, though speaking a West Atlantic language, seem to have an aristocracy of Mane origin, and it seems that some chieftaincies among the Kru, the dominant stock of much of modern Liberia, may have arisen the same way.
Mandé influence in lands to the east of Liberia, in the modern republics of the Ivory Coast and Ghana, seems to have been primarily commercial in intent, though, as the speculation about the early history of the Manneh may have already suggested, this could and did occasion considerable consequences in the political sphere. It was connected with the expansion of the specialized class of Muslim Mandé traders called the Dyula, who seem in origin to have been connected with, if not identical with, the Soninke Wangara
gold traders.
Mandé
Mandé or Manden is a large group of related ethnic groups in West Africa who speak any of the many Mande languages spread throughout the region. Various Mandé groups are found in Benin, Burkina Faso, Côte d'Ivoire, Chad, The Gambia, Ghana, Guinea, Guinea-Bissau, Liberia, Mali, Mauritania, Niger,...
[nyancho jong kende falla] soldiers who invaded the western coast of Africa from the east during the first half of the sixteenth century. There is really no room for doubt as to their origin, from the evidence of their dress and weapons (which were observed at the time by Europeans), their language, as well as from the evidence of Mane tradition, recorded in writing about 1625.
Origin
The widest deployment of political and economic power in the SudanSudan (region)
The Sudan is the name given to a geographic region to the south of the Sahara, stretching from Western to Eastern Africa. The name derives from the Arabic bilâd as-sûdân or "land of the Blacks"...
before the seventeenth century was undoubtedly that stemming from Mandé initiative in the successive empires of Ghana
Ghana Empire
The Ghana Empire or Wagadou Empire was located in what is now southeastern Mauritania, and Western Mali. Complex societies had existed in the region since about 1500 BCE, and around Ghana's core region since about 300 CE...
and Mali
Mali Empire
The Mali Empire or Mandingo Empire or Manden Kurufa was a West African empire of the Mandinka from c. 1230 to c. 1600. The empire was founded by Sundiata Keita and became renowned for the wealth of its rulers, especially Mansa Musa I...
(and to some extent of Songhai
Songhai Empire
The Songhai Empire, also known as the Songhay Empire, was a state located in western Africa. From the early 15th to the late 16th century, Songhai was one of the largest Islamic empires in history. This empire bore the same name as its leading ethnic group, the Songhai. Its capital was the city...
also). This had direct political consequences in the lands immediately to the west and south of the Mandé heartland around the upper reaches of the Niger
Niger
Niger , officially named the Republic of Niger, is a landlocked country in Western Africa, named after the Niger River. It borders Nigeria and Benin to the south, Burkina Faso and Mali to the west, Algeria and Libya to the north and Chad to the east...
and Senegal
Senegal
Senegal , officially the Republic of Senegal , is a country in western Africa. It owes its name to the Sénégal River that borders it to the east and north...
rivers. One result was the Fulani
Fula people
Fula people or Fulani or Fulbe are an ethnic group spread over many countries, predominantly in West Africa, but found also in Central Africa and Sudanese North Africa...
dispersion eastward past the farthest reaches of Mandé influence, and the other was the settlement of Mandé-speakers along the West Atlantic coast.
Expansion
Mandé-speakers moved west and south of their homeland as traders and conquerors. In the case of traders, an important incentive was probably access to the supplies of salt obtainable from the coast. This move towards the coastlands led to a number of Mandé pioneers carving out kingdoms for themselves in emulation of the major model of Mali. There seem to have been two major axes for the Mandé expansion. One was along the line of the river Gambia, a most useful artery for trade, which rises within a few miles of the sources of the FalemeFaleme
Faleme is a commune in the Cercle of Kayes in the Kayes Region of south-western Mali. The principal town lies at Diboli. As of 1998 the commune had a population of 5,864. Faleme is in the process of acquiring telephone service for its residents....
, one of the major tributaries of the Senegal, whose head-waters were firmly in Mande occupation. The other, separated from the Gambia by the Fouta Djallon
Fouta Djallon
Fouta Djallon is a highland region in the centre of Guinea, West Africa. The indigenous name is Fuuta-Jaloo...
massif which the Fulani were occupying, ran south into modern Sierra Leone
Sierra Leone
Sierra Leone , officially the Republic of Sierra Leone, is a country in West Africa. It is bordered by Guinea to the north and east, Liberia to the southeast, and the Atlantic Ocean to the west and southwest. Sierra Leone covers a total area of and has an estimated population between 5.4 and 6.4...
close by the Susu
Susu people
The Soso are a major Mande ethnic group living primarily in Guinea. Smaller communities are also located in the neighboring countries of Sierra Leone, Senegal and Mali. The Susu are descendants of the thirteenth century Mali Empire...
settlement. In both areas, political organizations were established under rulers called farimas. Initially these seem often to have paid tribute to Mali
Mali
Mali , officially the Republic of Mali , is a landlocked country in Western Africa. Mali borders Algeria on the north, Niger on the east, Burkina Faso and the Côte d'Ivoire on the south, Guinea on the south-west, and Senegal and Mauritania on the west. Its size is just over 1,240,000 km² with...
, and even after the decline of the great Mali power in the later fifteenth century, they maintained some idea of its ultimate supremacy.
Conquest
A final Mandé contribution to the ethnic and political geography of the West Atlantic lands came when these were invaded from the east during the first half of the sixteenth century by marauding bands of conquerors called the Manneh. There is really no room for doubt, from the evidence of their dress and weapons (which were observed at the time by Europeans), as well as from the evidence of their language, that the Mane were in origin Mandé soldiers. But how they came to be advancing parallel to the coast from the east, is another matter. External sources cannot take them back further than about the middle of the Liberian coastline. But there is a Mane tradition, recorded in writing about 1625, to the effect that they first reached the coast close by a Portuguese fortress. This, it seems, can only have been on the Gold Coast (i.e. the coast of modern GhanaGhana
Ghana , officially the Republic of Ghana, is a country located in West Africa. It is bordered by Côte d'Ivoire to the west, Burkina Faso to the north, Togo to the east, and the Gulf of Guinea to the south...
) some 600 miles further east. There is no corroboration for this either in Portuguese records (but these are notoriously defective for the period), or in the surviving traditions of modern Ghanaian peoples. But in view of what will be said shortly about Mandé connections with the Gold Coast, it would be by no means impossible for a Mandé military contingent to have got there over the trade roads leading south-east from Jenne. Its decision to return home westwards along the coast could conceivably have been in some way connected with the rise of Songhai military power along the middle Niger. Since there is certainly some evidence that Mandé as far west as the Gambia knew about other Mandé trading activities in the Gold Coast hinterland, such a decision need not have been such a step into the unknown as might have been supposed.
By about the 1540s the Manneh [nyancho jong kende falla] were advancing westwards parallel to the coastline of modern Liberia
Liberia
Liberia , officially the Republic of Liberia, is a country in West Africa. It is bordered by Sierra Leone on the west, Guinea on the north and Côte d'Ivoire on the east. Liberia's coastline is composed of mostly mangrove forests while the more sparsely populated inland consists of forests that open...
, fighting in turn with each tribal group that they came across. They were almost invariably successful. Following each victory, some of them settled down as overlords of a new petty state, while others were enabled to sweep up in their train some of the local people as auxiliaries (called Sumbas) and, thus reinforced, to continue to further victories further west still. The Mane advance was really only halted when, in the north-west of what is now Sierra Leone, they came up against the Susu, like themselves a Mandé people, and possessing similar weapons, military organization and tactics.
Legacy
The end result of the Manneh conquests was considerably to complicate the ethnic situation in the southern and south-eastern borderland of West Atlantic territory. It seems to have been these conquests which established the Mandé-speaking MendeMende people
The Mende people are one of the two largest and most dominant ethnic group in Sierra Leone, along with the Temne. The Mende make up 30% of Sierra Leone's total population or 1,932,015 members...
as the dominant stock of southern Sierra Leone. Further north, the Loko
Loko people
The Loko are one of the indigenous ethnic groups in Sierra Leone. They speak a Mande language that is also called Loko. The majority of the Loko people live in or around the capital city of Freetown and in the Northern Province of the country, particularly in Port Loko District. The Loko were among...
are also Mandé-speaking, but there is reason to believe that their ethnic base was originally of ‘West Atlantic’ origin. Their neighbors, the Temne, though speaking a West Atlantic language, seem to have an aristocracy of Mane origin, and it seems that some chieftaincies among the Kru, the dominant stock of much of modern Liberia, may have arisen the same way.
Mandé influence in lands to the east of Liberia, in the modern republics of the Ivory Coast and Ghana, seems to have been primarily commercial in intent, though, as the speculation about the early history of the Manneh may have already suggested, this could and did occasion considerable consequences in the political sphere. It was connected with the expansion of the specialized class of Muslim Mandé traders called the Dyula, who seem in origin to have been connected with, if not identical with, the Soninke Wangara
Soninke Wangara
The Wangara were Soninke clans specialized in trade, Islamic scholarship and law . Particularly active in the gold trade, they were a group of Mande traders, loosely associated to the medieval West African Empires of Ghana and Mali.-History:A Malian source, cited in the Tarikh al-Sudan,...
gold traders.