Malinke, also called Maninka, Mandinka, Mandingo, or Manding, a West African people occupying parts of The Gambia, Senegal, Mali, Guinea-Bissau, Guinea, Sierra Leone, Liberia and Ivory Coast.
They speak a Mandekan language of the Mande branch of the Niger-Congo family.
The contemporary Malinke are an agricultural people, cultivating such staples as millet and sorghum and tending small herds of cattle, kept primarily for trade, bride-price payments, and prestige. Houses are predominantly cylindrical, with thatched straw roofs, and are often grouped in substantial numbers and surrounded by a palisade. Descent, inheritance, and succession are patrilineal. Since about the 12th century they have mostly been Muslim.
Photo Gallery: © Yolanda Obanos & Jordi Zaragozà Anglès / Mali - Republic of Guinea - 2023-2025
Extended info about Malinke People