The Mandingo are a people of West Africa, primarily Senegal, Gambia, and Guinea, but some also live in Berkina Faso, Mali, and Côte d'Ivoire. Mandingo is a language of the Niger-Congo family. Their culture is rich in tradition, music, and spiritual ritual. Many Mandingoes are rural subsistence farmers who rely on peanuts, rice, millets, and some goats for their livelihood. Because the Mandingo rely on their crops for food, little profit is made from them. This causes many men to take part time work in small businesses. However, even with a part time job, the average annual income is only $130. The oldest male is the head of the family and marriages are commonly arranged. Small mud houses with thatch or tin roofs make up their villages which are organized on the basis of the clan groups.
The Mandingo practice Islam but have infused much of their own culture into the religion. For example, a Mandingo may practice salat, Islamic prayer five times a day to Allah, but may also recognize and even sacrifice to a village god or spirit.
The Mandingo have a rich oral history that is passed down through praise singers (griots). This passing down of oral history through music has made music one of the most distinctive traits of the Mandingo. They have long been known for their drumming and also for their unique musical instrument, the kora. The kora is a twenty-one string harp-like instrument made out of a gourd covered with cow skin. The strings are made of fishing line. It is played to accompany a groit's singing or simply on its own.
Though this page has been carefully researched, the author does not claim expertise on the Mandingo.
Please send questions, comments, and corrections to emuseum@mnsu.edu and include the URL of this page.
If you are Mandingo, your feedback is much appreciated.
References:
Christus Rex et Redemptor Mundi
Mandinka. Electronic document, http://www.christusrex.org/www1/pater/JPN-mandinka.html.
Cora Connections
2005 Land and its People. Electronic document, http://www.coraconnection.com/pages/geo.html.
Joshua Project
2000 Unreached People Profile: Mandinka. Electronic document, http://www.ad2000.org/peoples/jpl1163.htm.
The Free Online Dictionary
2008 Definition: Malinke. Electronic document, http://www.thefreedictionary.com/Mandinka, accessed December 30, 2008.
Written by Kathy Gfeller