Glossary

AEEMCI [Association des élèves et étudiants musulmans de la Côte d'Ivoire]: Muslim Student Association of Côte d'Ivoire, a quasi-official association with a platform of moderate reform

'alim (Arabic): see 'ulama'

banmana (Manding): "refusers"; term generically applied to "unbelievers"—non-Muslim peoples of the Western Sudan (though not to peoples living to the south, in or toward the forest); in the Korhogo region, often used by Dyula to refer specifically to Senufo

bayani karamogoya (Manding): see karamogoya

dhikr (Arabic): "remembrance"; specifically, special litianies associated with each Sufi order

Dieli: an ethnic and occupational minority in the Korhogo region, formerly associated with leatherworking; their "native" language (which is rapidly disappearing) is distinct from any other in the region

donba (Manding): holiday celebrating the birth of the Prophet

duau (Manding, from Arabic du'a , petitionary prayer): blessing in the form of a petitionary prayer in someone else's behalf

Dyula: literally, "trader"; an ethnic category in northern Côte d'Ivoire referring to Manding-speaking Muslim minorities historically specialized in trade and weaving; nowadays, more broadly used in much of Côte d'Ivoire to refer to all Manding-speaking Muslims, if not all African Muslims in general

fijembele (Sienar): often called "castes"; members of hereditary minorities associated with various nonagricultural occupations

fiqh (Arabic): the study of Islamic jurisprudence

Fodonon: a dialect of Sienar, spoken as a native language by an enclaved minority within the chiefdom of Korhogo, as well as in other areas; also refers to native speakers of the language, except for members of "caste" groups

Fono: Sienar-speaking "caste" of blacksmiths

furu (Manding): marriage, to marry; also the name of a specific ceremony among the Dyula that finalizes the marriage

gba (Manding): hearth; recognized section of a large kabila

griot (French): professional musician or praise singer in West Africa, generally member of a hereditary "caste"

Hausa: a West African people (and the language they speak) from northern Nigeria and parts of Niger; Hausa is, like Manding, associated with a trading diaspora and is consequently a lingua franca in much of West Africa

hajj (Arabic): the pilgrimage to Mecca; al-Hajj, hajji (Manding ladji ), is a title of respect accorded to those who have accomplished the pilgrimage

Hijaz: region of the Arabian Peninsula where the holy cities of Mecca and Medina are located

horon (Manding): a freeborn person

imam (Arabic): office designating the leader of prayer at a given mosque

isnad (Arabic): chain of transmitters of knowledge

jaka (Manding): see zakat

jihad (Arabic): "struggle," generally used to refer to violent conflict between Muslims and "unbelievers"

jinn (Arabic; Manding jina ): a powerful and dangerous kind of spirit; among the Dyula, invariably associated with a specific locale in the "bush"

kabila (Manding; possibly derived from Arabic qabila ): clan ward, a recognized residential section of a community associated with a specific patronym (dyamu ), whose members either claim descent in the male line from a common ancestor or from a slave owned by a member of the group

kalan (Manding, probably from Arabic qar'a , "to recite"): to recite from a written text; to read; to study; kalan ke , "to make or do kalan ," to read or recite from a written liturgical text on a formal occasion, or alternatively to deliver an extemporized sermon

karamogo (Manding): Muslim cleric, scholar; karamogo fa , "scholar father," i.e., teacher; karamogo den , "scholar child," i.e., pupil

karamogoya (Manding): scholarship; bayani karamogoya , "public" knowledge, specifically of religious duties; siru or siri karamogoya , "private" knowledge of written charms and other techniques applied to the pursuit of this-worldly ends

konyo mina (Manding): literally, "seizing the bride," an elaborate wedding ceremony performed only on the occasion of a woman's first marriage, associated with her transition from childhood to adulthood

Kpeem: Sienar-speaking "caste" of brass casters

Kule: Sienar-speaking "caste" of sculptors

lo (Manding): "secret" initiation societies among the Dyula tun tigi , similar to the Senufo poro ; also refers to any mask associated with such societies, or to the spirits such masks personify

lon-ni-baga (Manding): a learned person; i.e., the equivalent of the Arabic term 'alim

madrasa (Arabic): school; in Côte d'Ivoire and neighboring countries, one that incorporates the Western model of classroom education but whose curriculum emphasizes Arabic language and Muslim religious instruction

Maliki (Arabic): one of the four "orthodox" Sunni schools of Islamic jurisprudence, based on the writings of Malik ibn Anas (715–95) of Medina, followed by the overwhelming majority of Muslims in the Maghreb and in West Africa

makafo or makafu (Manding): a loose association of several kabilas , one of which is usually "host" (diatigi ) to the others

Manding: northern Mande language, widely spoken as a lingua franca throughout much of West Africa, and as a native language by Dyula as well as by other peoples, such as the Banmana (or Bambara), Maninka (or Malinke), and Marka

Mande: most generally, a family of West African languages; the term is often used to refer specifically to the Manding language as well as to Manding-speaking peoples, most of whom trace their origins to Manden, the heartland of the medieval West African empire of Mali

Milaga: a numerically small, Manding-speaking "caste" group in the Korhogo region, formerly specialized as blacksmiths

mory (Manding): "scholar," a Muslim cleric, but more usually referring in the Korhogo region to a hereditary category, as distinct from tun tigi , of kabilas , whether or not they specialized in Islamic scholarship, whose members did not initiate their youths into "secret" societies and who were expected to conform to "orthodox" Sunni standards of piety

Mouride: Sufi order based in Senegal, founded by Ahmad Bamba; from Arabic murid (see below)

murid (Arabic): disciple, particularly, in a Sufi order, the disciple of a specific shaykh

poro (Sienar): the generic name for the "secret" societies into which Senufo males are initiated

Qadiri (Arabic): an adherent of the Qadiriyya

Qadiriyya (Arabic): one of the oldest Sufi orders, tracing its origins to 'Abd-ul-Qadir al-Jilani (d. 1166) in Baghdad

Ramadan (Arabic): month of obligatory fasting

RDA [Rassemblement démocratique africaine]: pro-independence political party in French West Africa, led by Félix Houphouët-Boigny in Côte d'Ivoire; after independence, the Ivoirian branch became the PDCI (Parti démocratique de la Côte d'Ivoire), until 1990 the only party in the country

salatu: certain formulaic prayers or blessings in Arabic recited from a text on specific occasions, notably as part of funeral ceremonies on the third day after burial

san jon (Manding): a slave acquired by purchase, as opposed to a slave "born in the house" (worosso )

saraka (Manding, from Arabic sadaqa ): technically, a nonobligatory pious donation; refers among the Dyula to a variety of prestations offered in different contexts to different ends

sebe (Manding): to write; a written charm or amulet

seri (Manding): the act of prayer, as performed five times daily; seri ji , "prayer water," the water used for ablutions before praying

sura (Arabic): a named section of the Qur'an

senambele (Sienar): term used to refer to all native speakers of Sienar except those of "caste" status

Senufo: used generally to refer to all the various Sienar-speaking peoples

shari'a (Arabic): Islamic law

sharif (Arabic; pl. 'ashraf ): a direct descendant of the Prophet

shaykh (Arabic): elder, leader; in Sufi orders, the individual who has initiated one and to whom one remains responsible

Sienar: the various dialects of a language, member of the Gur (or Voltaic) family of West African languages, spoken by peoples in northern Côte d'Ivoire, southeastern Mali, and southwestern Burkina Faso

silama (Manding): Muslim; silamaya "Muslimness," i.e., Islam

siru or siri karamogoya (Manding): see karamogoya

Sufi (Arabic): originally, a Muslim mystic; nowadays, usually refers to a member of one of several orders or brotherhoods (Arabic tariqa , pl. turuq ), each based on the (more or less) esoteric teachings of the founder

sunna (Arabic): code of behavior modeled on the exemplary actions of Muhammad and his companions, as transmitted through authoritative traditions (hadith )

tabaski (Manding): Muslim holiday commemorating and reenacting Ibrahim's (Abraham's) sacrifice of a ram in lieu of his son, as well as the pilgrimage (hajj ) to Mecca

tafsir (Arabic): Qur'anic exegesis

Tiembara: a dialect of Sienar, the native language of the chiefs and the majority of the population of the chiefdom of Korhogo; also used to refer to native speakers (except for "caste" groups) of the language

Tijani (Arabic): an adherent of the Tijaniyya

Tijaniyya (Arabic): Sufi order founded in the Maghreb by Ahmad al-Tijani (1737–1815)

tun tigi (Manding): "warriors," a hereditary category, as distinct from mory , of kabilas whose young men were initiated into "secret" lo societies and whose members were not expected to conform rigorously to "orthodox" Sunni standards of piety

'ulama' (Arabic, plural; singular, 'alim ): learned individuals; specifically Muslim clerics

umma (Arabic): the global Muslim community

Wahhabi (Arabic): literally, a follower of the teachings of the Islamic reformer Muhammad ibn 'Abd-al-Wahhab (d. 1791); in francophone West Africa, the term has been used, originally disparagingly by colonial authorities, to refer to adherents of "radical" Muslim reform

wali (Arabic): saint

worosso (Manding): a slave "born in the house," as opposed to a slave acquired by purchase (san jon )

yere (Manding): oneself; yere bonya , "to aggrandize oneself," to place oneself above others; yere fo , "to speak oneself," to boast

zakat (Arabic): a fixed portion of one's wealth or income that must, as a religious obligation, be distributed annually to the needy in the community; pronounced jaka in Dyula