Often misused to refer to the Mandinka people, who constitute a branch of the Mand?: Mandinka peopleMand? or Manden is a large family of ethnic groups in West Africa who speak any of the many related Mande languages of the region. Various Mand? groups are found in Benin, Burkina Faso, C?te d'Ivoire, Chad, The Gambia, Ghana, Guinea, Guinea-Bissau, Liberia, Mali, Mauritania, Niger, Nigeria, Senegal and Sierra Leone. The Mand? languages belong to a divergent branch of the Niger?Congo family, and are divided into two primary groups: East Mand? and West Mand?.The Mandinka people, a branch of the Mand?, are credited with the founding of the largest ancient West African empires. Other numerous Mand? groups include the Soninke, Bambara, and Dyula. Smaller groups include the Ligbi, Vai, and Bissa.Mande peoples inhabit various environments, from coastal rainforests to the sparse Sahel and Sahara. They have a wide range of cultures and beliefs, and are organized by language groups.
Language
Mande languages
Related
Bambara people
Bissa people
Busa language (Mande)
Dan language
Dyula people
Kpelle language
Ligbi language
Loko language
Mandinka people
Marka people
Mende people
Soninke people
Susu people
Vai people
Yalunka people
Religion
Sunni Islam
Total population
30000000
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