The Dendi are an ethnic group located in
Benin
Benin, officially the Republic of Benin, is a country in West Africa. It was formerly known as Dahomey. It is bordered by Togo to the west, Nigeria to the east, Burkina Faso to the north-west, and Niger to the north-east. The majority of its po ...
,
Niger
Niger, officially the Republic of the Niger, is a landlocked country in West Africa. It is a unitary state Geography of Niger#Political geography, bordered by Libya to the Libya–Niger border, north-east, Chad to the Chad–Niger border, east ...
,
Nigeria
Nigeria, officially the Federal Republic of Nigeria, is a country in West Africa. It is situated between the Sahel to the north and the Gulf of Guinea in the Atlantic Ocean to the south. It covers an area of . With Demographics of Nigeria, ...
and northern
Togo
Togo, officially the Togolese Republic, is a country in West Africa. It is bordered by Ghana to Ghana–Togo border, the west, Benin to Benin–Togo border, the east and Burkina Faso to Burkina Faso–Togo border, the north. It is one of the le ...
mainly in the plains of the
Niger River
The Niger River ( ; ) is the main river of West Africa, extending about . Its drainage basin is in area. Its source is in the Guinea Highlands in south-eastern Guinea near the Sierra Leone border. It runs in a crescent shape through Mali, Nige ...
. They are part of the
Songhai people, and were an integral part of the
Songhai Empire
The Songhai Empire was a state located in the western part of the Sahel during the 15th and 16th centuries. At its peak, it was one of the largest African empires in history. The state is known by its historiographical name, derived from its lar ...
as the
Dendi province or Dendiganda. Derived from the Songhay language, the term "Dendi" translates to "down the river." The community consists of 195,633 people. Among them, only 4,505 live in Nigeria. In Niger they live in around the city of
Gaya. Their mother tongue is
Dendi.
History
The Dendi and the Songhai descended from the ancient
kingdom of Za, whose presence has been recorded since the eighth century between the towns of Kukiya and
Gao in modern
Mali
Mali, officially the Republic of Mali, is a landlocked country in West Africa. It is the List of African countries by area, eighth-largest country in Africa, with an area of over . The country is bordered to the north by Algeria, to the east b ...
. In 1010, the Arabs came to the territory. They converted the people to Islam, which was then mixed with their indigenous religion (based on the belief of the holy rivers, soil and hunting). The
Songhay Empire collapsed at the end of the sixteenth century, when
Morocco
Morocco, officially the Kingdom of Morocco, is a country in the Maghreb region of North Africa. It has coastlines on the Mediterranean Sea to the north and the Atlantic Ocean to the west, and has land borders with Algeria to Algeria–Morocc ...
conquered the territory.
Culture
The houses of many Dendis can be characterized by rectangular forms and mud fabrication, as well as corrugated tin roofs.
The Dendi people are
patrilineal because they believe all men share the same male ancestor. Dendi society is split into social groups, including a noble caste. Among Dendi nobles the first male child born in a marriage is urged to marry the daughter of his paternal uncle, to maintain the purity of the line of the father.
Men marry in their thirties, while girls do so in their teens. Dendis accept divorce. All children belong to the husband's lineage. Most men have one wife due to financial reasons, although Islam allows up to four wives. If a Dendi has several, each has her own house in the family compound.
Economy
The economy of the Dendi is very diverse and includes trading, a occupation they have done for many centuries. However, most Dendi also practice subsistence farming. Common crops grown by the Dendi in Niger include millet, maize, plantains, and manioc.
In Benin they grow rice, cowpeas, groundnuts, cassava, carrots, tomatoes, peppers, cabbage, millet and several types of squash. The Dendi have also cattle, camels, sheep, goats, and chickens. The Dendi of Niger drink milk of cows and goats.
Only men work the fields. In Benin, the women are dedicated to fruit production, tending gardens with mango, guava, citrus, papayas, bananas and dates and meal preparation. In Niger, the women grow vegetables and herbs in their gardens.
Religion
Almost all the Dendi are
Muslim
Muslims () are people who adhere to Islam, a Monotheism, monotheistic religion belonging to the Abrahamic religions, Abrahamic tradition. They consider the Quran, the foundational religious text of Islam, to be the verbatim word of the God ...
.
Some communities have
imams who teach Islamic philosophy and some Islamic rituals are practiced frequently. The Dendi community features multiple Islamic sects including
Ibadhi,
Ahmadi,
Alevi,
Yazidi,
Druze
The Druze ( ; , ' or ', , '), who Endonym and exonym, call themselves al-Muwaḥḥidūn (), are an Arabs, Arab Eastern esotericism, esoteric Religious denomination, religious group from West Asia who adhere to the Druze faith, an Abrahamic ...
and
Khariji. However, certain ancestral Dendi cultural traits, such as magic,
spirit possession
Spirit Possession is an altered state of consciousness and associated behaviors which are purportedly caused by the control of a human body and its functions by Supernatural#Spirit, spirits, ghosts, demons, angels, or Deity, gods. The concept ...
,
ancestor worship and
witchcraft
Witchcraft is the use of Magic (supernatural), magic by a person called a witch. Traditionally, "witchcraft" means the use of magic to inflict supernatural harm or misfortune on others, and this remains the most common and widespread meanin ...
, are also important. Thus, magician-healers and witches are present throughout the country, living in most villages. The ceremonies of spirit possession are celebrated and have their own characteristics according to the place. This type of ceremony, in some places, can be celebrated weekly or more often.
The main Dendi religious ceremonies are the "genji bi hori" (a festival celebrated to deliver offerings to the "black spirits" that control the
plague) and ''yenaandi'' (rain dance). Both ceremonies are celebrated in the dry season. Islamic
marabout
In the Muslim world, the marabout () is a Sayyid, descendant of Muhammad (Arabic: سـيّد, Romanization of Arabic, romanized: ''sayyid'' and ''sidi'' in the Maghreb) and a Islam, Muslim religious leader and teacher who historically had the f ...
s (holy men) perform the main prayers of the Dendis, but also use Dendis in healing the sick.
Notable People
Mahommah Gardo Baquaqua
[Lovejoy, Paul E. (2002). "IDENTIDADE E A MIRAGEM DA ETNICIDADE A JORNADA DE MAHOMMAH GARDO BAQUAQUA PARA AS AMÉRICAS" (PDF). Afroasia. Federal University of Bahia. Retrieved 2015-11-30.]
References
{{Authority control
Ethnic groups in Niger
Ethnic groups in Togo
Ethnic groups in Benin
Ethnic groups in Nigeria