Quick facts about the Maninka
- Location: Guinea, Burkina Faso, Cote d’Ivoire, Liberia, Mali, Senegal, Sierra Leone
- Also Known As: Malinké, Mandingo
- Status: Engaged by IMB
- Population: 4,000,000
- Primary Religion: Folk Islam
- Number of Christians: around 2,250
- Language: Maninkakan (dialects change according to population segment)
- Maninka are only 0.06% Christian — 99% of the population is lost
- Steeped in Islam and African Traditional Religion
- Located mostly in rural areas
- Health care: Small local gov’t clinics with limited supplies, no prevention awareness or clean water in most villages; poor sanitation practices and African traditional medicines.
- Family Structure: Polygamous marriages
- Diet: rice with tomato and onion-based sauce with peanuts, ground millet, eggplant, leafy greens or meat/fish; fruits—mangoes, bananas, oranges, papayas, grapefruit.
The urgency of over four million Maninka who need to hear and believe is a daily reality for missionaries working among this people group. They need “beautiful feet” to help bring the good news! Pray that people seeking a place in full-time missions will be drawn to answer strategic personnel requests in Mali, Guinea and Senegal.
Learn more about the Maninka!
The Maninka trace their roots back to the vast, wealthy Mali Empire of West Africa, which rose to power in the 1200’s. Today, also known as the Malinké or Mandingo, they are the same people group numbering over four million and found in at least six countries of West Africa. They are a “gateway people” to more than 10 million Mandé speaking peoples of West Africa. These staunchly Muslim traders, skilled workers, and farmers pride themselves on spreading Islam throughout their trade routes, from the heart of West Africa to the Atlantic coast.