Susu people

The Susu people are a Mande ethnic group living primarily in Guinea and Northwestern Sierra Leone, particularly in Kambia District.[3][4] Influential in Guinea, smaller communities of Susu people are also found in the neighboring Guinea-Bissau and Senegal.

Susu
Sosso
Susu men with traditional musical instruments in 1935
Total population
~2.2 million [1]
Regions with significant populations
 Guinea2,042,287
 Sierra Leone203,779[2]
 Senegal46,000
 Guinea Bissau5,700
Languages
Susu, French, English
Religion
Predominantly Sunni Islam
Related ethnic groups
Mandé peoples, especially the Yalunka people, Mikhifore people, Kuranko people, Soninke people, Mandinka people

The Susu are a patrilineal society, predominantly Muslim, who favor endogamous cross-cousin marriages with polygynous households.[3] They have a caste system like all Manding-speaking peoples of West Africa. The artisans such as smiths, carpenters, musicians, jewelers, and leatherworkers are separate castes and believed to have descended from the medieval era of slavery.[3][5]

The Susu people are also referred to as Soosoo, Sosoe, Soso, Sosso, Sousou, Susso, Sussu, or Soussou; rarer variants of their name are also encountered such as Sossé, Suzée, Socé, Caxi, Saxi, Saxe, and Sexi.[6][7]

Demographics and language
Main article: Susu language

Their language, called Sosoxui by native speakers, serves as a major trade language along the Guinean coast, particularly in its southwest, including the capital city of Conakry. It belongs to the Niger-Congo family of languages.[8]

In the old Susu language, "Guinea" means woman and this is the derivation for the country's name.[9]

History
Susu territory in red on the map "Peoples of the Southern Rivers" by Élisée Reclus (19th century)
Further information: Sosso Empire

The Susu are descendants of their Manding ancestors who originally lived in the mountainous Mali-Guinea border. They were once ruled by Sumanguru Kanté – a Susu leader, but after that, they were ruled by the thirteenth century Mali Empire. In the fifteenth century, they migrated west to the Fouta Djallon plateau of Guinea, as the Mali empire disintegrated.[10] Susu people were traditionally animist .

The Fula people dominated the region from the Fouta Djallon. The Fulani created an Islamic theocracy, thereafter began slave raids as a part of Jihad that impacted many West African ethnic groups including the Susu people.[11][12][13] In particular, states Ismail Rashid, the Jihad effort of Fulani elites starting in the 1720s theologically justified enslavement of the non-Islamic people and also led to successful conversion of previously animist peoples to Islam.[14] The political environment led the Susu people to convert to Islam in the seventeenth and eighteenth century, along with further westward and southward migration towards the plains of Guinea.[14][15][16]

The colonial-era Europeans arrived in the Guinea region of resident Susu people in the late eighteenth century for trade, but got politically involved during the era of Temne wars that attacked the Susu people along with other ethnic groups.[17] While Temne sought British support, the Susu sought the French. The region split, with Temne speaking Sierra Leone regions going with the British colonial empire, and Susu speaking Guinea regions becoming a part of the French colonial empire in the late nineteenth century during the Scramble for Africa.[18]

Society and culture
A Susu yeliba playing a three-string kora in 1905

The Susu live with their extended family. Polygyny is an accepted practice since Islamic law allows men to have as many as four wives. This is not always practiced because having multiple wives requires more means than most men have. The men provide for their families by working the rice fields, fishing, or engaging in trade. The women cook the food and take care of the children. They often engage in small commerce, usually of vegetables they have raised in their garden. Often women will have their room or hut next to their husband's lodging where they will stay with their children.

Over 99% of Susu are Muslim, and Islam dominates their religious culture and practices. Most Islamic holidays are observed, the most important being the celebration that follows Ramadan (a month of prayer and fasting). The Susu people, like other Manding-speaking peoples, have a caste system regionally referred to by terms such as Nyamakala, Naxamala and Galabbolalauba. According to David Conrad and Barbara Frank, the terms and social categories in this caste-based social stratification system of Susu people shows cases of borrowing from Arabic only, but the likelihood is that these terms are linked to Latin, Greek or Aramaic.[19]

The artisans among Susu people, such as smiths, carpenters, musicians, and bards (Yeliba), jewelers, and leatherworkers, are separate castes. The Susu people believe that these castes have descended from the medieval era slaves.[3][5] The Susu castes are not limited to Guinea, but are found in other regions where Susu people live, such as in Sierra Leone where too they are linked to the historic slavery system that existed in the region, states Daniel Harmon.[20] The Susu castes in the regional Muslim communities were prevalent and recorded by sociologists in the late nineteenth and early twentieth centuries.[20]

Some Susu combine their Islamic faith with traditional beliefs, such as the existence of spirits who inhabit certain areas, and the belief in sorcerers who have the power to change into animals, cast evil spells on people, or heal people from certain ailments.

The Susu are primarily farmers, with rice and millet being their two principal crops. Mangoes, pineapples, and coconuts are also grown. The women make various kinds of palm oil from palm nuts. Ancient Susu houses were typically made of either mud or cement blocks, depending on the resources available.

Susu patronyms
Some common Susu surnames
  • Conté
  • Yansané
  • Doumbouya
  • Fofana
  • Sylla
  • Kanté
  • Soumah
  • Condé
  • Bangoura
  • Kaba
  • Oularé
  • Sankhon
  • Youla
  • Cissé
  • Camara
  • Touré
  • Kourouma (var : Kuruma or Koroma)

Notable Susu people

Political figures
  • Soumaoro Kanté, was a Thirteenth-century king of the Sosso Empire
  • Lansana Conté, former president of Guinea from 1984 to 2008
  • Manga Soumba Toumani, founder of Dubréka
  • Fodé Katibi Touré, founder of the kingdom of Morya in the prefecture of Forécariah
  • Manga Kindi Camara, founder of Kindia
  • Dala Modu Dumbuya, was an Important Sierra Leonean-Susu trader during the colonial era
  • Kandeh Yumkella, Sierra Leonean politician
  • Ibrahima Kassory Fofana, former Finance minister of Guinea
  • Facinet Touré, Guinean politician and former soldier of the French colonial army
  • Kerfalla Yansané, Minister of Economy and Finance of Guinea
  • Mohamed Saloum Bangoura, Deputy Director General of the Army Health Service
  • Fodé Bangoura, former Minister Secretary General to President Lansana Conté
  • Naby Youla, former Ambassador to the Republic of France
  • Sekou Mouké Yansané, Professor, Ambassador-Diplomat to the United Nations
  • Mamady Youla, Guinean businessman, politician, and former prime minister of Guinea
  • Makalé Camara, Minister of Foreign Affairs of Guinea
  • Arafan Camara, former Guinean defense minister
  • Eugène Camara, former prime minister of Guinea

Athletes

Artists
  • Sayon Camara, Guinean musician
  • Maciré Sylla, Guinean musician
  • Bouba Menguè, Guinean musician
  • Yaya Bangoura, Guinean musician
  • Macheté Touré, Guinean musician
  • Aly Sylla, Guinean musician
  • Mousto Camara, Guinean musician
  • Lévi Bobo, Guinean musician
  • Azaya, Guinean musician
  • Soul Bang's, Guinean musician
  • King Alasko, Guinean musician
  • Daddi Cool, Guinean-reggae musician
  • Takana Zion, Guinean-reggae musician
  • Fodé Fekangni Camara, Guinean comedian and musician
  • Banlieuz'Art, Guinean musical group
  • Instinct Killers, Group of musical artist and dancers
  • Les Espoirs de Coronthie, Guinean musical group

Prince Modupe, Guinean actor, Hollywood technical advisor on Africa and author of the autobiography, A Royal African (Praeger: New York, 1969) (published in 1957 by Harcourt, Brace & World as I Was a Savage)

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References
  1. "Susu estimated populace".
  2. "Sierra Leone 2015 Population and Housing Census National Analytical Report" (PDF). Statistics Sierra Leone. Retrieved 28 March 2020.
  3. Susu people, Encyclopædia Britannica
  4. Bankole Kamara Taylor (2014). Sierra Leone: The Land, Its People and History. New Africa Pres. p. 147. ISBN 978-9987-16-038-9.
  5. Tal Tamari (1991). "The Development of Caste Systems in West Africa". The Journal of African History. Cambridge University Press. 32 (2): 221–250. doi:10.1017/s0021853700025718. JSTOR 182616.
  6. https://data.bnf.fr/en/12409167/soussou__peuple_d_afrique_/
  7. David Henige (1994). History in Africa, Volume 21. African Studies Association. p. 21.
  8. Susu: A language of Guinea, Ethnologue
  9. Jamie Stokes (2009). Encyclopedia of the Peoples of Africa and the Middle East. Infobase Publishing. p. 266. ISBN 978-1-4381-2676-0.
  10. Diagram Group (2013). Encyclopedia of African Peoples. Routledge. p. 194. ISBN 978-1-135-96334-7.
  11. Ramon Sarro (2008). Politics of Religious Change on the Upper Guinea Coast: Iconoclasm Done and Undone. Edinburgh University Press. pp. 27–29. ISBN 978-0-7486-3666-2.
  12. David Robinson (2010). Les sociétés musulmanes africaines: configurations et trajectoires historiques (in French). Karthala, Paris. pp. 105–111. ISBN 978-2-8111-0382-8.
  13. Jonathan M. Bloom; Sheila S. Blair (2009). The Grove Encyclopedia of Islamic Art and Architecture. Oxford University Press. p. 130. ISBN 978-0-19-530991-1.
  14. Ismail Rashid (2003). Sylviane A. Diouf (ed.). Fighting the Slave Trade: West African Strategies. Ohio University Press. pp. 133–135. ISBN 978-0-8214-1517-7.
  15. Jamie Stokes (2009). Encyclopedia of the Peoples of Africa and the Middle East. Infobase Publishing. pp. 270–271. ISBN 978-1-4381-2676-0.
  16. Kevin Shillington (2013). Encyclopedia of African History 3-Volume Set. Routledge. p. 922. ISBN 978-1-135-45669-6.
  17. Kevin Shillington (2013). Encyclopedia of African History 3-Volume Set. Routledge. p. 923. ISBN 978-1-135-45669-6.
  18. Alexander Keese (2015). Ethnicity and the Colonial State: Finding and Representing Group Identifications in a Coastal West African and Global Perspective (1850–1960). BRILL Academic. pp. 15, 164–183, 300–301. ISBN 978-90-04-30735-3.
  19. David C. Conrad; Barbara E. Frank (1995). Status and Identity in West Africa: Nyamakalaw of Mande. Indiana University Press. pp. 78–80, 73–82. ISBN 0-253-11264-8.
  20. Daniel E. Harmon (2001). West Africa, 1880 to the Present: A Cultural Patchwork. Infobase. p. 101. ISBN 978-0-7910-5748-3.
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