The Fali people (called the Bana in

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, ...

)"Fali," ''The Peoples of Africa: An Ethnohistorical Dictionary'' (1996) (James Stuart Olson, editor). Greenwood : p. 174-175. are any of several small

ethnic group An ethnicity or ethnic group is a group of people with shared attributes, which they collectively believe to have, and long-term endogamy. Ethnicities share attributes like language, culture, common sets of ancestry, traditions, society, re ...

s of

Africa Africa is the world's second-largest and second-most populous continent after Asia. At about 30.3 million km2 (11.7 million square miles) including adjacent islands, it covers 20% of Earth's land area and 6% of its total surfac ...

. The Fali are concentrated in mountainous areas of northern

Cameroon Cameroon, officially the Republic of Cameroon, is a country in Central Africa. It shares boundaries with Nigeria to the west and north, Chad to the northeast, the Central African Republic to the east, and Equatorial Guinea, Gabon, and the R ...

, but some also live in northeastern

."Fali," ''Almanac of African Peoples and Nations'' (1999) (Muḥammad Zuhdī Yakan, editor). Transaction: p. 309."Fali," ''Encyclopedia of the Peoples of Africa and the Middle East, Volume 1'' (2009) (Jamie Stokes, editor). Infobase: p. 225. The Fali are composed of four major groups, each corresponding to a geographic region: The Bossoum Fali, the Kangou Fali, the Peske–Bori Fali, and the Tingelin Fali."Fali," ''Almanac of African Peoples and Nations'' (1999) (Muḥammad Zuhdī Yakan, editor). Transaction: p. 309. The Fali in Cameroon have been described as being centered on

Garoua Garoua (also Garua; Fula: 𞤺𞤢𞤪𞤱𞤢, Garwa) is a port city and the capital of the North Region of Cameroon, lying on the Benue River. A thriving centre of the textiles and cotton industries, the city has approximately 1,285,000 inhab ...

as well as the rocky

plateaus In geology and physical geography, a plateau (; ; : plateaus or plateaux), also called a high plain or a tableland, is an area of a highland consisting of flat terrain that is raised sharply above the surrounding area on at least one side. Oft ...

and peaks of the Adamawa mountains in the country's north."Fali," ''Encyclopedia of the Peoples of Africa and the Middle East, Volume 1'' (2009) (Jamie Stokes, editor). Infobase: p. 225.Fali
" ''

Encyclopædia Britannica The is a general knowledge, general-knowledge English-language encyclopaedia. It has been published by Encyclopædia Britannica, Inc. since 1768, although the company has changed ownership seven times. The 2010 version of the 15th edition, ...

'' (2011). The Fali are sometimes referred to as the

Kirdi The Kirdi () are the many cultures and ethnic groups who inhabit northwestern Cameroon and northeastern Nigeria. The term was applied to various ethnic groups who refused to convert to Islam after Islamic conquests of the region and was a pe ...

, meaning "

pagan Paganism (, later 'civilian') is a term first used in the fourth century by early Christians for people in the Roman Empire who practiced polytheism, or ethnic religions other than Christianity, Judaism, and Samaritanism. In the time of the ...

," a term given by the neighboring

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 ...

Fulani The Fula, Fulani, or Fulɓe people are an ethnic group in Sahara, Sahel and West Africa, widely dispersed across the region. Inhabiting many countries, they live mainly in West Africa and northern parts of Central Africa, South Sudan, Darfur, ...

; after they fought against the jihadists and rejected Islam. Today the Fali in Mubi North Adamawa state are predominantly Christians.

Origins

The term ''Fali'' is from a

Fula Fula may refer to: *Fula people (or Fulani, Fulɓe) *Fula language (or Pulaar, Fulfulde, Fulani) **The Fula variety known as the Pulaar language **The Fula variety known as the Pular language **The Fula variety known as Maasina Fulfulde *Fula alpha ...

word meaning "perched," a reference to how Fali compounds appear on the sides of mountains.Fali
" ''

'' (2011). The Fali in Nigeria primarily live in the Mubi District, Mubi Division of the former

Gongola State Gongola State is a former administrative division of Nigeria. It was created on 3 February 1976 from the Adamawa and Sardauna Provinces of North State, together with the Wukari Division of the then Benue-Plateau State. It existed until 27 Aug ...

."Fali," ''The Peoples of Africa: An Ethnohistorical Dictionary'' (1996) (James Stuart Olson, editor). Greenwood : p. 174-175. The Fali people trace their ancestry to the Ngomma, who founded the ancient capital of Timpil. Other accounts trace the Fali's origins to the

Sao civilization The Sao civilization (also called So) flourished in Central Africa from the 6th century BCE or 5th century BCE, to as late as the 16th century AD. The Sao lived by the Chari River basin in territory that later became part of Cameroon and Chad. The ...

Lake Chad Lake Chad (, Kanuri language, Kanuri: ''Sádǝ'', ) is an endorheic freshwater lake located at the junction of four countries: Nigeria, Niger, Chad, and Cameroon, in western and central Africa respectively, with a catchment area in excess of . ...

, which flourished from the tenth to the 16th centuries."Fali," ''Almanac of African Peoples and Nations'' (1999) (Muḥammad Zuhdī Yakan, editor). Transaction: p. 309.

Culture

The Fali speak various languages that are somehow related. The differences between these dialects can be observed at the level of vocabulary, grammar, pronunciation and semantics. The Fali primarily engage in farming and hunting. Major crops include

millet Millets () are a highly varied group of small-seeded grasses, widely grown around the world as cereal crops or grains for fodder and human food. Most millets belong to the tribe Paniceae. Millets are important crops in the Semi-arid climate, ...

chickpea The chickpea or chick pea (''Cicer arietinum'') is an annual plant, annual legume of the family (biology), family Fabaceae, subfamily Faboideae, cultivated for its edible seeds. Its different types are variously known as gram," Bengal gram, ga ...

peanut The peanut (''Arachis hypogaea''), also known as the groundnut, goober (US), goober pea, pindar (US) or monkey nut (UK), is a legume crop grown mainly for its edible seeds. It is widely grown in the tropics and subtropics by small and large ...

s (groundnuts),

squash Squash most often refers to: * Squash (sport), the high-speed racquet sport also known as squash racquets * Squash (plant), the fruit of vines of the genus ''Cucurbita'' Squash may also refer to: Sports * Squash (professional wrestling), an extr ...

tobacco Tobacco is the common name of several plants in the genus '' Nicotiana'' of the family Solanaceae, and the general term for any product prepared from the cured leaves of these plants. More than 70 species of tobacco are known, but the ...

okra Okra (, ), ''Abelmoschus esculentus'', known in some English-speaking countries as lady's fingers, is a flowering plant in the Malvaceae, mallow family native to East Africa. Cultivated in tropical, subtropical, and warm temperate regions aro ...

, and

cotton Cotton (), first recorded in ancient India, is a soft, fluffy staple fiber that grows in a boll, or protective case, around the seeds of the cotton plants of the genus '' Gossypium'' in the mallow family Malvaceae. The fiber is almost pure ...

.Fali
" ''

'' (2011). The Fali are

exogamous Exogamy is the social norm of mating or marrying outside one's social group. The group defines the scope and extent of exogamy, and the rules and enforcement mechanisms that ensure its continuity. One form of exogamy is dual exogamy, in which tw ...

patrilineal Patrilineality, also known as the male line, the spear side or agnatic kinship, is a common kinship system in which an individual's family membership derives from and is recorded through their father's lineage. It generally involves the inheritanc ...

, and hierarchical, with society being made up of clans with distinct territories and chiefs, and tracing their origin to a common ancestor. They observe virilocal residence. ''

Cissus quadrangularis ''Cissus quadrangularis'' is a perennial plant of the grape family. It is commonly known as veldt grape, winged treebine or adamant creeper. The species is native to tropical Asia, the Arabian Peninsula and much of Africa. Description ''Cis ...

'' is significant to Fali in Cameroon, and the Fali are reported to wash their dead in a

decoction Decoction is a method of extraction by boiling herbal or plant material (which may include stems, roots, bark and rhizomes) to dissolve the chemicals of the material. It is the most common preparation method in various herbal medicine systems. D ...

of the plant.Hans Dieter Neuwinger, ''African Ethnobotany, Poisons and Drugs: Chemistry, Pharmacology, Toxicology'' (1996). CRC Press: p. 33. The Fali believe that the development of the plants is important to fertility; a ''C. quadrangularis'' is planted on proposed construction sites, and if the plant does not flourish, a new site is chosen.

Religion

The original Fali religion is traditional African. It has been identified as

monotheistic Monotheism is the belief that one God is the only, or at least the dominant deity.F. L. Cross, Cross, F.L.; Livingstone, E.A., eds. (1974). "Monotheism". The Oxford Dictionary of the Christian Church (2 ed.). Oxford: Oxford University Press. A ...

, involving belief in a

creator god A creator deity or creator god is a deity responsible for the creation of the Earth, world, and universe in human religion and mythology. In monotheism, the single God is often also the creator. A number of monolatristic traditions separate a ...

, Muttaf, and a

mother goddess A mother goddess is a major goddess characterized as a mother or progenitor, either as an embodiment of motherhood and fertility or fulfilling the cosmological role of a creator- and/or destroyer-figure, typically associated the Earth, sky, ...

, Ona, the Earth. Followers of the Fali religion make prayers and offerings to

ancestors An ancestor, also known as a forefather, fore-elder, or a forebear, is a parent or ( recursively) the parent of an antecedent (i.e., a grandparent, great-grandparent, great-great-grandparent and so forth). ''Ancestor'' is "any person from w ...

intercede Intercession or intercessory prayer is the act of praying on behalf of others, or asking a saint in heaven to pray on behalf of oneself or for others. The Apostle Paul's exhortation to Timothy specified that intercession prayers should be made ...

with Faw on behalf of the living. The Fali "conceive of Muttaf not only as creator and organizer, but also as a just God who is undepictable by human intelligence." The religion also includes belief in

supernatural Supernatural phenomena or entities are those beyond the Scientific law, laws of nature. The term is derived from Medieval Latin , from Latin 'above, beyond, outside of' + 'nature'. Although the corollary term "nature" has had multiple meanin ...

beings, including

genies Jinn or djinn (), alternatively genies, are supernatural beings in pre-Islamic Arabian religion and Islam. Their existence is generally defined as parallel to humans, as they have free will, are accountable for their deeds, and can be either ...

, sacred

crocodile Crocodiles (family (biology), family Crocodylidae) or true crocodiles are large, semiaquatic reptiles that live throughout the tropics in Africa, Asia, the Americas and Australia. The term "crocodile" is sometimes used more loosely to include ...

s, and the black

snake Snakes are elongated limbless reptiles of the suborder Serpentes (). Cladistically squamates, snakes are ectothermic, amniote vertebrates covered in overlapping scales much like other members of the group. Many species of snakes have s ...

, the master of darkness. By 2009, increasing numbers of Fali were

Christians A Christian () is a person who follows or adheres to Christianity, a monotheistic Abrahamic religion based on the life and teachings of Jesus Christ. Christians form the largest religious community in the world. The words '' Christ'' and ''C ...

although many converts maintain

syncretic Syncretism () is the practice of combining different beliefs and various schools of thought. Syncretism involves the merging or assimilation of several originally discrete traditions, especially in the theology and mythology of religion, thus ...

beliefs. The total population of Fali is over 250,000 people, with 99 percent being

(in Nigeria) and the remainder being

Muslims 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 ...

and traditional believers. The dominant churches in Fali Land are Catholic, Baptist and EYN with few Pentecostal churches coming up in recent days.

References

{{Authority control Ethnic groups in Cameroon Ethnic groups in Nigeria