Soninke

(also Sarakole), a people living mainly in northern Mali and also in regions of Upper Volta, Senegal, Mauritania, and Gambia that border on Mali. The Soninke, who number approximately 800,000 (1973, estimate), speak a language that belongs to the northern group of the Mande family. The majority of the Soninke are Sunni Muslims. The Soninke formed the ethnic basis of the medieval state of Ghana. Most Soninke are engaged in land cultivation, growing millet, maize, and legumes, and in transhumant stock raising, principally of camels, goats, and sheep. Large numbers of Soninke migrate for seasonal work on peanut plantations in Senegal.