Kurtey people
Encyclopedia
The Kurtey people are a small ethnic group found along the Niger River
valley in parts of the West African nations of Niger
, Benin
, Mali
, and Nigeria
.
into the Niger River valley of modern Tillaberi Region, Niger in the 18th century, and their intermarriage with local Songhai, Zarma, Sorko and others. While retaining many aspects of Fula traditional culture, the Kurtey have assimilated into Songhai-Zarma ways of life and speak a Southern Songhay dialect. Some outside observers consider them a subsection of the Songhai people, while others describe them as communities with distinct histories, cultures, and ethnic self-identification within the larger Songhai speaking social space, of which the Songhai people are only one part
and Ayorou; in Niamey
(especially in Koutoukalé quarter); and in villages along the lower middle Niger from Gao to northern Nigeria. Some Kurtey continue to mark themselves with their traditional facial scarification: a small cross at the top of each cheekbone. The Kurtey are also one of six Nigerien ethnic groups who have historically carried out ritual Female circumcision. Kurtey traditionally engage in sedentary cattle raising -- a legacy of their Fula ancestry -- as well as fishing (like Sorko people), tobacco
farming, and riverine flood irrigated millet
and rice
farming.
before migrating to the area, enjoying close relations with the Fula Emirite of Say.
Niger River
The Niger River is the principal river of western Africa, extending about . Its drainage basin is in area. Its source is in the Guinea Highlands in southeastern Guinea...
valley in parts of the West African nations of Niger
Niger
Niger , officially named the Republic of Niger, is a landlocked country in Western Africa, named after the Niger River. It borders Nigeria and Benin to the south, Burkina Faso and Mali to the west, Algeria and Libya to the north and Chad to the east...
, Benin
Benin
Benin , officially the Republic of Benin, is a country in West Africa. It borders Togo to the west, Nigeria to the east and Burkina Faso and Niger to the north. Its small southern coastline on the Bight of Benin is where a majority of the population is located...
, Mali
Mali
Mali , officially the Republic of Mali , is a landlocked country in Western Africa. Mali borders Algeria on the north, Niger on the east, Burkina Faso and the Côte d'Ivoire on the south, Guinea on the south-west, and Senegal and Mauritania on the west. Its size is just over 1,240,000 km² with...
, and Nigeria
Nigeria
Nigeria , officially the Federal Republic of Nigeria, is a federal constitutional republic comprising 36 states and its Federal Capital Territory, Abuja. The country is located in West Africa and shares land borders with the Republic of Benin in the west, Chad and Cameroon in the east, and Niger in...
.
Assimilation into Songhai
The Kurtey were formed from the movement of Fula peopleFula people
Fula people or Fulani or Fulbe are an ethnic group spread over many countries, predominantly in West Africa, but found also in Central Africa and Sudanese North Africa...
into the Niger River valley of modern Tillaberi Region, Niger in the 18th century, and their intermarriage with local Songhai, Zarma, Sorko and others. While retaining many aspects of Fula traditional culture, the Kurtey have assimilated into Songhai-Zarma ways of life and speak a Southern Songhay dialect. Some outside observers consider them a subsection of the Songhai people, while others describe them as communities with distinct histories, cultures, and ethnic self-identification within the larger Songhai speaking social space, of which the Songhai people are only one part
Customs and demography
They today number less than 50000, concentrated on islands and along the Niger river banks near Sansani, DessaDessa
Dessa is a spoken word artist, author, and MC from Minneapolis, MN. She is best known as a member of the Doomtree Hip-Hop Collective.-Education:...
and Ayorou; in Niamey
Niamey
-Population:While Niamey's population has grown steadily since independence, the droughts of the early 1970s and 1980s, along with the economic crisis of the early 1980s, have propelled an exodus of rural inhabitants to Niger's largest city...
(especially in Koutoukalé quarter); and in villages along the lower middle Niger from Gao to northern Nigeria. Some Kurtey continue to mark themselves with their traditional facial scarification: a small cross at the top of each cheekbone. The Kurtey are also one of six Nigerien ethnic groups who have historically carried out ritual Female circumcision. Kurtey traditionally engage in sedentary cattle raising -- a legacy of their Fula ancestry -- as well as fishing (like Sorko people), tobacco
Tobacco
Tobacco is an agricultural product processed from the leaves of plants in the genus Nicotiana. It can be consumed, used as a pesticide and, in the form of nicotine tartrate, used in some medicines...
farming, and riverine flood irrigated millet
Millet
The millets are a group of small-seeded species of cereal crops or grains, widely grown around the world for food and fodder. They do not form a taxonomic group, but rather a functional or agronomic one. Their essential similarities are that they are small-seeded grasses grown in difficult...
and rice
Rice
Rice is the seed of the monocot plants Oryza sativa or Oryza glaberrima . As a cereal grain, it is the most important staple food for a large part of the world's human population, especially in East Asia, Southeast Asia, South Asia, the Middle East, and the West Indies...
farming.
Relations with others
In the 19th century, many Muslim Kurtey engaged in slave raiding amongst pagan Zarma along the Niger, earning them the Zarma nickname "Thieves of Men" While historically bitter rivals of the Wogo people who settled in the same area from the middle Niger beginning around 1800, the two ethnic groups have become closely related, settled in the same areas, speaking similar dialects, and sharing similar ways of life. Both were MuslimMuslim
A Muslim, also spelled Moslem, is an adherent of Islam, a monotheistic, Abrahamic religion based on the Quran, which Muslims consider the verbatim word of God as revealed to prophet Muhammad. "Muslim" is the Arabic term for "submitter" .Muslims believe that God is one and incomparable...
before migrating to the area, enjoying close relations with the Fula Emirite of Say.