"To be Fula Is to Be Noble and Proud": How Pulaaku and Contemporary Social Media Are Shaping Diasporic Fula Identity

ABSTRACT:Individuals claiming Fula ethnicity are indigenous to some twenty African countries. Their diaspora has spread across the globe. Historically, Fula culture has centered on a code of conduct called pulaaku. Pulaaku indicates a way of life aimed in part at preventing shame. Pulaaku reflects shared images of Fula archetypes. Academic literature has presented pulaaku as a fundamental component of being Fula. Yet, contemporary Fula living in modern urban settings, whom Ba Konaré calls "Fulapolitans" (see Selasi 2005) are rarely familiar with a pastoral way of life. This article attempts to delineate the concept of pulaaku in contemporary urban settings, with reference to interviews. The results offer grounds to critique the contemporary understanding and experience of pulaaku among Fulapolitans and to highlight recent situational uses and re-appropriations of the concept.