The
Mandinka (also known as
Mandenka or
Mandinko or
Mandingo or
Malinke) is a West African
ethnic group with an estimated global population of eleven million (the other three major ethnic groups in the region being the non-related
Fula,
Hausa and
Songhai). They are the descendants of the
Mali Empire, which rose to power under the rule of the Mandingo king
Sundiata Keita. The Mandingo in turn belong to West Africa's largest ethnolinguistic group, the
Mandé, who account for more than twenty million people (including the
Dyula,
Bozo,
Bissa and
Bambara). Today, over 99% of Mandinka in Africa are Muslim.