ABSTRACT
The sedentary and semi-sedentary Fulbe living in Adamawa1 are without exception Muslim; the same goes for the minority of semi-nomadic Fulbe (bororo'en) based there, although all the indications are that among them Islamization is more recent and, on the whole, more superficial than among their sedentary cousins. Among the latter religious faith runs deep and sincere, is accompanied by no more superstitious practices or beliefs than subsist among the majority of the Muslims of the Middle East or the Maghrib, and moreover harbours no typically 'African' traits. This faith-of a 'quality', dare one say it, which is rather rare in black West Africa-has never been ground down, among the majority of those concerned, by its contact with economic conditions or modern politics, and even seems to have been refined in certain respects in the last few decades (witness, for example, the abandonment of non-Muslim rites of circumcision). This faith may be considered a characteristic element of this society and has endowed it with a rich written literature (in Arabic and Fula) that still flourishes and reflects the society's preoccupations and conflicts.
