Lamido (Adlam: , pl. lamibe or lamidos) is the

Anglicisation Anglicisation or anglicization is a form of cultural assimilation whereby something non-English becomes assimilated into or influenced by the culture of England. It can be sociocultural, in which a non-English place adopts the English language ...

of a term from the

Fula language Fula ( ),Laurie Bauer, 2007, ''The Linguistics Student's Handbook'', Edinburgh also known as Fulani ( ) or Fulah (, , ; Adlam script, Adlam: , , ; Ajami script, Ajami: , , ), is a Senegambian languages, Senegambian language spoken by arou ...

or Fulfulde, used to refer to a

ruler A ruler, sometimes called a rule, scale, line gauge, or metre/meter stick, is an instrument used to make length measurements, whereby a length is read from a series of markings called "rules" along an edge of the device. Usually, the instr ...

. In the language it is properly ''laamiiɗo'' (, pl. ''laamiiɓe'' ), derived from the verbal root ''laamu-'' meaning "leadership", and hence may be translated more specifically as "leader". The title ''laamiiɗo'' is higher in rank than ''laamɗo'', which means simply a "leader" or "king". Therefore, "laamiiɗo" means a "great king" or "great leader". It has been used by the traditional leaders of certain Fulani emirates in West Africa, originally as head of confederations of ruling and subordinate (often vassal) states. Its use persists within a number of post-colonial republics. The word may have its origins from the old Serer title '' lamane'' (or ''laman'') which means master of the land, inheritor or heir in old Serer (Fula and Serer are closely related languages). The Lamans were the ancient Serer kings before the fall of the Serer lamanic class in the 14th century. The Fula title ''Lam Toro''—who later became leaders of

Futa Toro Futa Toro (Wolof language, Wolof and , , ; ), 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 F ...

, originated from the Serer title ''Laman''.The Seereer Resource Centre, ''Seereer Lamans and the Lamanic Era'' (2015) nThe Seereer Resource Centre

/ref>

States where the title "lamido" was used

Examples of Fula jihads#Fulani jihad states, Fulani Jihad states: * Bauchi Emirate, since its foundation in 1805. * Adamawa Emirate (Fombina), since its foundation in 1809. * Bibemi, since its 1770 foundation, until the higher Muslim title

Sultan Sultan (; ', ) is a position with several historical meanings. Originally, it was an Arabic abstract noun meaning "strength", "authority", "rulership", derived from the verbal noun ', meaning "authority" or "power". Later, it came to be use ...

was assumed.

Compound title

*Laamiiɗo juulɓe 'Emir of the Muslims (, lit. ''those who pray'')' was a title, alongside the proper Arabic '' Amir al-Mu´minin'' (which was maintained), of the

Imam Imam (; , '; : , ') is an Islamic leadership position. For Sunni Islam, Sunni Muslims, Imam is most commonly used as the title of a prayer leader of a mosque. In this context, imams may lead Salah, Islamic prayers, serve as community leaders, ...

`Usuman dan Muhammad Fodio, the original leader of the largest of the Fula jihads (conquests by the Fula people in the name of spreading

Islam Islam is an Abrahamic religions, Abrahamic monotheistic religion based on the Quran, and the teachings of Muhammad. Adherents of Islam are called Muslims, who are estimated to number Islam by country, 2 billion worldwide and are the world ...

) in Sokoto, the home state of the leader of the Fulbe jihad, whose heirs (since 1817) adopted the title

Sarkin Musulmi The sultan of Sokoto is the hereditary leader of the Sokoto Caliphate, a Sunni Muslim community in West Africa. The position may also be referred to as the 'Sokoto Caliph' or the "Commander of the Faithful" (''Amir-ul-Momineen'' in Arabic or ''Lami ...

and became known as Sultan of Sokoto, still considered the paramount ruler of traditional Islamic people in Nigeria *Baban-Lamido in Adamawa (now partially in

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 ...

) since its foundation in 1809

Sources and references

WorldStatesmen- here Nigerian Traditional states
Royal titles Fula language Monarchs {{Royalty-stub