🧑🤝🧑 Fulani
Also known as: Fula, Fulɓe, Peul
One of the largest herding peoples of West Africa and the Sahel; milk is soured in calabashes and turned into soft wagashi cheese.
The Fulani (Fulɓe) are one of the largest herding peoples of West Africa and the Sahel. Historically many Fulani led a nomadic or semi-nomadic life, and the milk of their zebu cows was the basis of their diet and a measure of well-being; today many Fulani are settled and combine herding with farming.
Fresh milk spoils quickly in the heat, so it is soured in calabashes. Soured milk, known in Nigeria as nono or kindirmo, is often eaten with fura — millet balls. The soft fresh cheese wagashi is curdled with the sap of the leaves of the Calotropis plant; this is the main method, although other plant coagulants such as papaya are also tried. Wagashi is popular in Benin, Nigeria, Ghana and neighbouring countries; it is sometimes coloured red with sorghum juice.
Processing and selling dairy products is traditionally women’s work, and it brings their families a regular income. Researchers note that the quality of market cheese depends heavily on hygiene.
How it connects to milk
🧑🤝🧑 Fulani ← tradition ← 🧀 Wagasi → made from → 🥛 Cow's milk → type of → 🥛 Milk
Links
- Where they live
- 🌍 West Africa
- Traditions
- 🧀 Wagasi
Frequently asked questions
What is wagashi?
A soft fresh Fulani cheese made from cow’s milk curdled with the sap of Calotropis leaves.
What are fura and nono?
Fura is millet balls and nono is soured milk; together they are a popular food and drink in Nigeria.
Who makes dairy products among the Fulani?
Traditionally, women process and sell the milk.
ℹ️ This page describes the people only through food: what they grow and make, and which foods and drinks matter in their traditions. History, language, religion and other parts of the culture are not covered here.