ABSTRACT
This chapter addresses the broader context for this research, namely the sub-region of West Africa. It looks at the Fulani in the context of West Africa and reviews the ways in which this group has been represented in the literature in time, space and myth, as well as focusing on the issues of mobility, identity and survival that are pivotal to this study. Migration, of a short term, seasonal or permanent nature, whether forced or voluntary, involving movement to a neighboring village, or across the sub-region, crossing many language and culture groups, has been a part of the lives of many West African peoples since time immemorial. The Fulani are the most widely scattered ethnic group in the whole of West Africa. The language of the Fulani is given various names in different circumstances: Fulfulde, Pulaar, Fula, Peul. A conspicuous difference between Fulani populations is evident in terms of their political power and influence at the local and regional levels.
