Dyula People - Historical Background

Historical Background

The Mandé embraced Islam during the thirteenth century, following introduction to the faith through contact with the Soninké people and North African traders. By the 14th century the Malian empire (c.1230-1600) had reached its apogee, acquiring a considerable reputation for the Islamic practice of its court and the pilgrimages of several emperors who followed the tradition of Lahilatul Kalabi, the first black prince to make hajj to Mecca. It was at this time that Mali began encouraging some of its local merchants to establish colonies close to the gold fields of West Africa. This migrant trading class were known as dyula, the Mandingo word for “merchant”.

The dyula spread throughout the former area of Mandé culture, from the Atlantic coast of Senegambia to the Niger, and from the southern edge of the Sahara to forest zones further south. They established decentralized townships in non-Muslim colonies that were linked to an extensive commercial network, in what was described by professor Philip D. Curtin as a “trading diaspora.” Motivated by business imperatives, they expanded into new markets, founding settlements under the auspices of various local rulers who often permitted self-governance and autonomy. Organization of dyula trading companies were based a clan-family structure known as the lu - a working unit consisting of a father, his sons, and other attached males. Members of a given lu dispersed from the savanna to the forest, managed circulation of goods and information, placed orders, and effectively controlled the economic mechanisms of supply and demand.