Niger+History


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=**HISTORY**=

=** The People **= Today Niger is separated into a few major groups. The settled populations are divided into several groups: in the west the Songhai and Zarma, Hausa in the center and Kanuri in the east. Nomad populations live mainly in the northern part of the country **The Tuaregs:** The largest nomadic group in Niger. **The Fulani:** They form the second largest nomadic group in Niger. Like the Tuaregs, they also have long-standing custom- and traditions which they keep very much alive. **The Bororos:** The Songhal and the Zarma (22%) are usually considered to form one single people, but their history has not 2l was followed the same path. They live in the West of the country. The Songhal are the main fishermen and canoers, living along the banks of the river. The Zarma are said to have originated in Macina and Egypt and are now mainly concentrated in Zarmaganda. **The Hausa:** The Hausa (56%) live in central Niger. Hausas enjoy a considerable reputation as farmers (growing millet and groundnuts) and as leather and textile craftsmen. Many of them are traders. **The Kanouri:** The Kanouri (4.3%) live in the eastern part of Niger The Kanouri are expert salt processors, and some of them are highly successful fisherman and herders.




 * Independence**
 * 3 August 1960 (from France)

1896-Niger was incorporated into French West Africa.1922-The French made the area a colony. 1958- The voters approved the French constitution and voted to make the territory an autonomous republic within the French Community. The republic adopted a constitution in 1959 but the next year withdrew from the Community, proclaiming its independence.  Read more: [|Niger: History, Geography, Government, and Culture — Infoplease.com] []
 * Significant days in its history**.


 * Current situation:** "Niger is a source, transit, and destination country for children and women trafficked for forced labor and sexual exploitation; caste-based slavery practices, rooted in ancestral master-slave relationships, continue in isolated areas of the country - an estimated 8,800 to 43,000 Nigeriens live under conditions of traditional slavery; children are trafficked within Niger for forced begging, forced labor in gold mines, domestic servitude, sexual exploitation, and possibly for forced labor in agriculture and stone quarries; women and children from neighboring states are trafficked to and through Niger for domestic servitude, sexual exploitation, forced labor in mines and on farms, and as mechanics and welders". Paragraph found at: https://www.cia.gov/library/publications/the-world-factbook/geos/ng.html

80,000 people out of 15 million use the internet

The Bororos have a very deep attachment to their heard, and usually only accept conversion once they have passed the age of 40. They have a strange way of going about marriage. They young men must first seduce the woman and then kidnap her from her family. They will then go on a journey across the country until the wife becomes a mother, and then they will settle. They will do this when the wife is tired of traveling and feels like she has seen enough of the land.

The Bororos have a traditional festival every year called “Guerewol.” This a very colorful festival to celebrate engagements, kidnappings, and baptisms.

Information from []