The Susu are a patrilineal society, predominantly Muslim, who favor endogamous cross-cousin marriages with polygynous households.[4] They have a caste system like all Manding-speaking peoples of West Africa. The artisans such as smiths, carpenters, musicians, jewelers, and leatherworkers are separate castes and believed to have descended from the medieval era of slavery.[4][6]
Their language, calledSosokhoui orSosoxui by native speakers, serves as a major trade language along the Guinean coast, particularly in its southwest, including the capital city ofConakry. It belongs to the Niger-Congo family of languages.[7]
In theSusu language, "Guinea" means woman and this is the derivation for the country's name.[8]
The Susu people are also referred to asSoosoo,Sossoé,Sosoe,Sosso,Soso,Sousou,Susso,Sussu, orSoussou.[9] Most of those denominations are European as the Susu people tend to call themselves "Sossoka"
The meaning of the name "Soso or Susu" apparently derived from "Susuwi," meaning "horse" or "horseman" in the Susu language. The terms "Sawsaws," "Souses," and "Sussias" are all English corruptions of "Susu," rarer variants of their name are also encountered such asSouzo,Caxi,Saxi,Saxe, and even asSexi.[10][11][12]
The Susu are descendants of theirManding ancestors who lived in the mountainous Mali-Guinea border.[13] They are said to have originally been a section of the Soninke people that migrated out ofWagadou and were initially a clan of blacksmiths who displayed their clear intentions to object converting to Islam. In the twelfth century, when Ancient Ghana was in decline, they migrated south and established a capital city of Soso in the mountainous region ofKoulikoro. The Susu were once ruled bySumanguru Kanté, but after that, they were ruled by the thirteenth centuryMali Empire. In the fifteenth century, they migrated west to theFouta Djallon plateau of Guinea, as the Mali empire disintegrated.[14][15] The close familiarity with the Yalunka people suggest a hypothesis that they were once members of the same group in the Fouta Djallon, separated by Fula invaders, and that the Susu moved southward absorbing other people in the process.[16] The Susu people were traditionally animist.[citation needed]
TheFula people dominated the region from the Fouta Djallon. The Fulani created an Islamic theocracy, thereafter began slave raids as a part ofJihad that impacted many West African ethnic groups including the Susu people.[17][18][19] In particular, states Ismail Rashid, the Jihad effort of Fulani elites starting in the 1720s theologically justified enslavement of the non-Islamic people and also led to successful conversion of previously animist peoples to Islam.[20] The political environment led the Susu people to convert to Islam in the seventeenth and eighteenth century, along with further westward and southward migration towards the plains of Guinea.[20][21][22] On the Atlantic coast, they assimilated with the local peoples and dominated the estuarine region north of Sierra Leone.[23]
The colonial-era Europeans arrived in the Guinea region of resident Susu people in the late eighteenth century for trade, but got politically involved during the era ofTemne wars that attacked the Susu people along with other ethnic groups.[24] WhileTemne sought British support, the Susu sought the French. The region split, with Temne speaking Sierra Leone regions going with theBritish colonial empire, and Susu speaking Guinea regions becoming a part of theFrench colonial empire in the late nineteenth century during theScramble for Africa.[25]
A Susu yeliba playing a three-stringbolon in 1905.
The Susu live with theirextended family.Polygyny is an accepted practice sinceIslamic law allows men to have as many as four wives. This is not always practiced because having multiple wives requires more means than most men have. The men provide for their families by working the rice fields, fishing, or engaging in trade. The women cook the food and take care of the children. They often engage in small commerce, usually of vegetables they have raised in their garden. Often women will have their room or hut next to their husband's lodging where they will stay with their children.
Over 99% of Susu are Muslim, and Islam dominates their religious culture and practices. MostIslamic holidays are observed, the most important being the celebration that followsRamadan (a month of prayer and fasting). The Susu people, like other Manding-speaking peoples, have a caste system regionally referred to by terms such asNyamakala,Naxamala andGalabbolalauba. According to David Conrad and Barbara Frank, the terms and social categories in this caste-based social stratification system of Susu people shows cases of borrowing from Arabic only, but the likelihood is that these terms are linked to Latin, Greek or Aramaic.[26]
The artisans among the Susu people, such as smiths, carpenters, musicians, and bards (Yeliba), jewelers, and leatherworkers, are separate castes. The Susu people believe that these castes have descended from the medieval era slaves.[4][6] The Susu castes are not limited to Guinea, but are found in other regions where Susu people live, such as in Sierra Leone where too they are linked to the historic slavery system that existed in the region, states Daniel Harmon.[27] The Susu castes in the regionalMuslim communities were prevalent and recorded by sociologists in the late nineteenth and early twentieth centuries.[27]
The Susu people also utilize practices of theBondo secret society which aims at gradually but firmly establishing attitudes related to adulthood in girls, discussions on fertility, morality and proper sexual comportment. The society also maintains an interest in the well-being of its members throughout their lives.[28][29][30][31]
The Susu are primarilyfarmers, with rice and millet being their two principal crops.[32] Mangoes, pineapples, and coconuts are also grown. The Susu are also known as skilled traders and blacksmiths.[32] The women make various kinds ofpalm oil from palm nuts. Ancient Susu houses were typically made of either mud or cement blocks, depending on the resources available.
^Ajayi, J. F. Ade (173).History of West Africa, Vol. 2. New York: Columbia University Press.ISBN9780231037372.{{cite book}}:ISBN / Date incompatibility (help)
^Pemunta, N. V., & Tabenyang, C.-J. (2017).Cultural power, ritual symbolism and human rights violations in Sierra Leone. Cogent Social Sciences, 1–27.https://doi.org/10.1080/23311886.2017.1295549
^Bjälkande, Owolabi, et al.Female Genital Mutilation in Sierra Leone: Who Are the Decision Makers? African Journal of Reproductive Health / La Revue Africaine de La Santé Reproductive, vol. 16, no. 4, Women’s Health and Action Research Centre (WHARC), 2012, pp. 119–31,http://www.jstor.org/stable/23485781.
^"FMG in Sierra Leone"(PDF). 28TooMany, Registered Charity: No. 1150379. Archived fromthe original(PDF) on 22 December 2021. Retrieved28 December 2021.
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