Almost all the population of Mali is African. The major groups include the Bambara, the Tuareg, the Soninke, the Sénufo, the Songhai, the Malinké, and the Fulani. The Fulani settled in the Fouta Djallon region of Guinea almost 300 years ago. Since that time, they have spread throughout West Africa. The ones who remain in Fouta Djallon and the surrounding areas are called the Futa Jalon. They make up just one part of the Fulani group.

Today, nomadic Tuareg and other Berber tribes roam the Sahel and parts of the Sahara Desert. The Futa Jalon of Mali are located mainly in the central region of the country, but can also be found from the border of Guinea to Kenieba.

What are their lives like?
The Futa Jalon make a living mainly as farmers and herdsmen. Gathering forest products, hunting, fishing, and trading are also part of their daily lives. Staple crops include millet, rice, and peanuts. Cattle are their main type of livestock, but sheep and goats are also raised. The cattle are not the usual Fulani humped breed, but a native Fouta Djallon breed called Ndama, which is resistant to the disease-carrying tsetse fly.

Herding cattle is usually a male activity, although the women milk and help take care of the cattle. The women also tend to the small livestock and poultry, cultivate gardens, and carry containers of milk and cheese to the local markets for sale or trade.

Although Futa Jalon villages are scattered, each village has a central court and a mosque. Together, these compose a miside, or community. Each miside has a headman who handles village affairs and answers to a chief.

Houses belonging to the settled Futa Jalon are typically round with mud walls and thatched roofs. Each hut has an encircling veranda. The nomadic Futa Jalon live in open, beehive-shaped huts with no walls or verandas. Each hut is surrounded by a cattle corral.

Daughters remain with their mothers until they marry. However, as soon as a son reaches puberty, he leaves the family compound and lives alone in a nearby compound, usually with some cattle. This new compound will become the home of the son and his future wife.

The first marriage of a man is usually arranged by the man's father. A bride-service of helping the girl's father with his livestock is performed by the man, who usually marries while he is in his early twenties. Polygyny (the practice of having more than one wife) is common, up to the Muslim limit of four wives. There is one chief wife, however, who has authority over the other wives.

Children belong to "age-sets" until they marry. An age-set occurs at three or four year intervals, with every child born in those years belonging to that set. The children in an age-set go to school together and often work together. When the time for marriage arrives, they may even help one another with the bride-service. Within each age-set are a leader, a deputy, and a judge.

What are their beliefs?
The Futa Jalon in Mali are 100% Muslim. As such, they follow the teachings of the Koran, Islam's holy book. They believe that Allah is the only god and that Mohammed is his prophet. To teach their children the Muslim faith, some of the Futa Jalon villages have established Islamic schools.

What are their needs?
The Futa Jalon have portions of the Bible written in their language, but they do not have the Jesus film or any Christian radio broadcasts available to them. In addition, no missions agencies are currently working among them. Consequently, there are no known Futa Jalon Christians in Mali. Apparently, they are very devoted to Islam and view it as a fulfillment of their needs. To win the Futa Jalon to Christ, further prayer is needed so that their hearts and eyes will be opened to the Truth.

Prayer Points

• Ask the Lord of the harvest to call missionaries to work among the Futa Jalon of Mali.
• Pray that the Jesus film, Christian radio broadcasts, and other evangelical materials will be made available to the Futa Jalon.
• Pray that God will reveal Himself to the Futa Jalon through dreams and visions.
• Ask the Holy Spirit to soften the hearts of the Futa Jalon towards the Gospel.
• Ask the Lord to save key leaders among the Futa Jalon who will boldly declare the Gospel.
• Take authority over the spiritual principalities and powers that are keeping the Futa Jalon bound.
• Ask God to raise up prayer teams who will begin breaking up the spiritual soil of Mali through worship and intercession.
• Pray that strong local churches will be raised up among the Futa Jalon by the year 2000.

See also the following Groups:
The Fula Jalon of Guinea; The Fula Jalon of Sierra Leone; and The Fulani of Gambia.

THE PEOPLE

• People name: Futa Jalon
• Country: Mali
• Their language: Futa Jalon
• Population: (1990) 48,400
  (1995) 56,800
  (2000) 66,100
• Largest religion: Mulsim (Malikite) 100%
• Christians: 0%
• Church members: 0
• Scriptures in their own language: Portions
• Jesus Film in their own language: None
• Christian broadcasts in their own language: None
• Mission agencies working among this people: 0
• Persons who have heard the Gospel: 5,100 (9%) Those evangelized by local Christians: 0 (0%)
  Those evangelized from the outside: 5,100 (9%)
• Persons who have never heard the Gospel: 51,700 (91%)

• Country: Mali
• Population: (1990) 9,211,700
  (1995) 10,795,300
  (2000) 12,599,300
• Major peoples in size order: Bambara 31.4%
  Fula Macina 9.6%
  Soninke 7.4%
  Sanghai 6.3%
• Major religions: Muslim 85.3%
  Ethnic religionist 12%
  Christian 2.7%
• Number of denominations: 18