SUMMARY

The Malinké people (alternate names are: Mandinka, Maninka, Manding, Mandingo, Mandin and Mande) have lived in sub-Saharan Africa for almost 7000 years. They are the descendants of the great Mali merchant empire in western Africa that flourished between the thirteenth and sixteenth centuries.

There are over 1,5 million Malinké spread across several African states in a wide arc that covers over 1300 kilometres of territory in Gambia, Senegal, Mali, Guinea Bissau, Guinea, Sierra Leone, Liberia and Côte d’Ivoire.

The Malinké are divided into several groups differentiated by a variety of dialects. Each group is governed by a tribal chief, a position that can only be achieved by inheritance. Some chief dynasties of the Malinké people are today considered as some of the oldest ones still in existence with over 13 centuries of uninterrupted ruling.

As many ethnicities located in the northern parts of the country, the majority of the Malinké people are Muslims and most villages have its own mosque. Historically, the Malinké are cultivators and pastoralists. In the Ivorian society of today, the ethnic group has however reoriented itself towards commerce and is well known for the manufacturing of pottery.

The Malinké have been involved in the non-state category of UCDP organized violence.