Futa Tooro

Futa Toro and West African kingdoms, c. 18th century.

Futa Toro (Wolof and Fula: Fuuta Tooro, فُوتَ تࣷورࣷ‎, 𞤆𞤵𞥄𞤼𞤢 𞤚𞤮𞥄𞤪𞤮; Arabic: فوتا تورو), often simply the Futa, is a semidesert region around the middle run of the Senegal River. This region, along the border of Senegal and Mauritania, is historically significant as the center of several Fulani states, and a source of jihad armies and migrants to the Fouta Djallon.[1][2]

The word Futa is a general name the Fulbe gave to any area they lived in, while Toro was the actual identity of the region for its inhabitants, likely derived from the ancient kingdom of Takrur.[3] The people of the area mostly speak Pulaar, a dialect of the Fula language that spans West Africa from Senegal to Cameroon. They identified themselves by the language giving rise to the name Haalpulaar'en meaning those who speak Pulaar. The Haalpulaar'en are also known as Toucouleurs (var. Tukolor), a name also derived from of Takrur.

  1. ^ Anthony Appiah; Henry Louis Gates (2010). Encyclopedia of Africa. Oxford University Press. p. 496. ISBN 978-0-19-533770-9.
  2. ^ Sohail H. Hashmi (2012). Just Wars, Holy Wars, and Jihads: Christian, Jewish, and Muslim Encounters and Exchanges. Oxford University Press. pp. 247–249. ISBN 978-0-19-975504-2.
  3. ^ John A. Shoup (31 October 2011). Ethnic Groups of Africa and the Middle East: An Encyclopedia. ABC-CLIO. p. 97. ISBN 978-1-59884-362-0.