Unravelling history of Africa’s largest pastoralist community

THE Fulani people are Africa’s largest pastoralist group. There are between 25 million and 40 million Fulani people across 17 African countries, from the Atlantic shores of Senegal and Mauritania to Sudan.

- CARINA SCHLEBUSCH, CESAR FORTES-LIMA and VIKTOR CERNY

The Fulani have long intrigued social anthropologists with their complex cultural heritage. They raise mainly cattle, goats and sheep in the vast, arid Sahel region. Some are nomadic but many have adopted a sedentary lifestyle. In the wide geographical belt where they live, they speak 11 dialects.

Their origins and migratory patterns have been subjects of scientific debates. Certain physical characteristics are similar to those commonly observed in European populations. These, combined with specific cultural practices like scarification, have given the impression that their ancestors came to West Africa from elsewhere.

One way to find out more about a population’s history is by studying their genes. This also informs medical research.

African populations remain under-represented in genomic studies. Only about 1.1% of genomic data being used for studies of the links between genes and diseases have come from people of African descent. This means they may miss out on the potential benefits of genomic research, like early detection of disease and drugs designed for specific biological targets.

Commonly available genomic datasets also lack comprehensive Fulani DNA samples covering the entire region they inhabit.

To address this gap, an international team of researchers specialising in human diversity and evolution spent a decade conducting field research among Fulani nomads throughout the Sahel/savannah belt.