Yves Person (12 October 1925 - 17 November 1982) was an influential French Africanist and historian. [1] [2]
Born in 1925, Yves person received an education in history from the Sorbonne, Fula and Mandinka languages from the Ecole des Langues Orientales and ethnology from the Musée de l’Homme. Between 1948 and 1961 he served in the French Colonial administration in Dahomey, Guinea and Ivory Coast, then collected oral histories in Ivory Coast for two years to create post-independence history textbooks. [3]
He taught at the University of Dakar and the University of Montreal before finishing his career as professor of contemporary African history at the Sorbonne beginning in 1971. He was a pioneer in the use of native oral histories in academic research. [4]
Dyula is a language of the Mande language family spoken mainly in Burkina Faso, Ivory Coast and Mali, and also in some other countries, including Ghana, Guinea and Guinea-Bissau. It is one of the Manding languages and is most closely related to Bambara, being mutually intelligible with Bambara as well as Malinke. It is a trade language in West Africa and is spoken by millions of people, either as a first or second language. Similar to the other Mande languages, it uses tones. It may be written in the Latin, Arabic or N'Ko scripts.
The history of Senegal is commonly divided into a number of periods, encompassing the prehistoric era, the precolonial period, colonialism, and the contemporary era.
Bamako is the capital and largest city of Mali, with a 2022 population of 4,227,569. It is located on the Niger River, near the rapids that divide the upper and middle Niger valleys in the southwestern part of the country.
Ivory Coast, also known as Côte d'Ivoire and officially the Republic of Côte d'Ivoire, is a country on the southern coast of West Africa. Its capital city of Yamoussoukro is located in the centre of the country, while its largest city and economic centre is the port city of Abidjan. It borders Guinea to the northwest, Liberia to the west, Mali to the northwest, Burkina Faso to the northeast, Ghana to the east, and the Atlantic Ocean's Gulf of Guinea to the south. With 30.9 million inhabitants in 2023, Ivory Coast is the third-most populous country in West Africa. Its official language is French, and indigenous languages are also widely used, including Bété, Baoulé, Dyula, Dan, Anyin, and Cebaara Senufo. In total, there are around 78 different languages spoken in Ivory Coast. The country has a religiously diverse population, including numerous followers of Islam, Christianity, and traditional faiths often entailing animism.
The Dyula are a Mande ethnic group inhabiting several West African countries, including Mali, Côte d'Ivoire, Ghana, and Burkina Faso.
Samory Toure, also known as Samori Toure, Samory Touré, or Almamy Samore Lafiya Toure, was a Mandinka Muslim cleric, military strategist, and founder of the Wassoulou Empire, an Islamic empire that was stretched across present-day north and eastern Guinea, north-eastern Sierra Leone, southern Mali, northern Côte d'Ivoire and part of southern Burkina Faso.
Bouna is a town in north-eastern Ivory Coast. It is a sub-prefecture of and the seat of Bouna Department. It is also the seat of Bounkani Region in Zanzan District and a commune.
Kankan is the largest city in Guinea in land area, and the third largest in population, with a population of 198,013 people as of 2020. The city is located in eastern Guinea about 555 kilometres east of the national capital Conakry.
The Wassoulou Empire, also referred to as the Ouassalou Empire, Mandinka Empire, Samory's Empire or the Samorian State, was a short-lived West African state that existed from roughly 1878 until 1898, although dates vary from source to source. It spanned from what is now southwestern Mali and upper Guinea, with its capital in Bissandugu; it expanded further south into Northern Sierra Leone and east into northern Ivory Coast before its downfall.
Gyaman was a medieval Akan state, located in what is now the Bono region of Ghana and Ivory Coast. According to oral tradition, Gyaman was founded by the Akwamu, Aduana clan, a branch of the Akan, in the late 17th century. The Gyamans then proceeded to conquer the Kulangos, Nafanas, Ligbis, and other ethnic groups of the area.
Bondoukou is a city in northeastern Ivory Coast, 420 km northeast of Abidjan. It is the seat of both Zanzan District and Gontougo Region. It is also a commune and the seat of and a sub-prefecture of Bondoukou Department.
The Mandingo Wars were a series of conflicts from 1882 to 1898 between France and the Wassoulou Empire of the Mandingo people led by Samori Ture. Comparatively, the French faced serious resistance by the Mandinka, as they were able to make use of firearms and tactics that impeded French expansion in the area. The French were ultimately triumphant and established dominance over Mali, Guinea and the Ivory Coast.
The Kong Empire (1710–1898), also known as the Wattara Empire or Ouattara Empire for its founder, was a pre-colonial African Muslim state centered in northeastern Ivory Coast that also encompassed much of present-day Burkina Faso. It was founded by Dyula immigrants from the declining Mali Empire. It established a largely decentralized commercial empire based upon linkages by merchant houses protecting trade routes throughout the region. Kong rose to prominence in the 1800s as a key commercial center and center of Islamic studies. In 1898, Samori Ture attacked the city and burnt it down. Although the city was rebuilt, the Kong empire had dissipated and the French took control over the area.
Sofa is a Mandinka term for slave soldiers who served in the army of the Mali Empire. Sofas would also fight, in varying capacities, in the armies of later Mandé states such as the Bamana and Wassoulou empires.
Sheikh Al-Hajj Salim Suwari was a 13th-century West African Soninke karamogo who focused on the responsibilities of Muslim minorities residing in a non-Muslim society. He formulated an important theological rationale for peaceful coexistence with the non-Muslim ruling classes called the Suwarian tradition, which survives to this day despite the pressures of modernism.
The Siamou language, also known as Seme (Sɛmɛ), is a language spoken mainly in Burkina Faso. It is part of the Kru languages or unclassified within the proposed Niger–Congo languages. It is also spoken in Ivory Coast and Mali, and could likely be a language isolate.
The Kabadougou Kingdom was a Malinké warrior kingdom situated in north-west Côte d'Ivoire centered on the town of Odienné and bordered the Kingdom of Worodougou. It was ruled by the Touré dynasty, whose founder centered the society around slavery. The dynasty in an alliance with Samori Ture fought French colonization until 1898.
Father Henry Gravrand was a French Catholic missionary to Africa and an anthropologist who has written extensively on Serer religion and culture. He was one of the leading pioneers of interfaith dialog and believed that African religion was the "'first covenant between God and man". His works about the Serer people are cited by other historians and scholars writing on Serer history, religion and culture, for instance Martin A. Klein, Charles Becker, Alioune Sarr, Marguerite Dupire, Issa Laye Thiaw, etc. Papa Massène Sene argues that his approach lacks scientific rigor and include fundamental linguistic and historical errors. Alioune Sarr noted that Gravrand reported an oral tradition describing what he called the "Battle of Troubang", a dynastic war between the two maternal royal houses of Ñaanco and the Guelowar, an off-shot and relatives of the Ñaanco maternal dynasty of Kaabu, in modern-day Guinea Bissau. According to Charles Becker, Gravrand is confusing a description of the 1867 Battle of Kansala.
The Battles of Woyowoyanko are two military engagements that were fought near the Woyowoyanko river in April 1883, during the wars between France and the Wassulu Empire of Samori Ture in West Africa.
Joseph Gahama is a Burundian historian specialized in African history.