ABSTRACT
The Fulani refer to themselves as Fulbe and to their language as Fulfulde. To distinguish themselves from other Fulani, as they do in certain political and social contexts, they speak of themselves as Fulbe na'i or Fulbe ladde. The distinction has an ecological and a cultural basis, for in these respects they differ markedly from certain other peoples, all of whom are referred to by English-speaking scholars and observers as 'Fulani'. The 'Fulani' using the term in its broadest sense, together constitute a minority in the wider Hausa-speaking society of which they are a part. 'Fulani' is the Hausa name for the ethnic group. Hausa may also refer to Fulani as Filoni and Hilani. The high percentage of non-pastoral Fulani in Sokoto and Gwandu Emirates reflects the fact that these areas are the traditional strongholds of the Toroobe—'this is the land of the faithful'.
