Yalunka people

The Yalunka, or Dialonké, are a Mandé-speaking people. Some of them were sold to fouta djallo by almamy samore Toure Futa Jallon (Fouta Djallon), a mountainous region in Guinea, West Africa. The Yalunka people live primarily in Guinea, particularly in Faranah, while smaller communities are found in Kouroussa. Additional Yalunka are also located in northeastern Sierra Leone, southeastern Senegal, and southwestern Mali. The Yalunka are a branch of the Mandé peoples and are closely related to the Susu people. Some scholars classify the two as one group, The Yalunka are notable for having first converted to Islam, but then renouncing Islam en masse when Muslim Fula people began dominating their region. In the eighteenth century, many of the Yalunka's were displaced from the Futa Jallon. The Yalunka fought against the Fula jihads, left Futa Jallon, migrating south to the foothills of the mountains in Mamou or east to live amongst the Mandinka people of Upper Guinea, others migrated and established new towns such as Falaba near the region where Rokel River starts, while the remaining of the Yalunka went further into the mountains to settle among the Kuranko, Limba and Kissi people. Ultimately, The Yalunka were subdued and absorbed by the Fulani Empire. They speak the Yalunka language, which belongs to the Mande branch of the Niger–Congo language family. Yalunka is mutually intelligible with Susu language. The Yalunka people are referred to as Jalonga, Jalonka, Jalonke, Jalunka, Jalunke, Jellonke, Yalanka, Yalonga, Yalounka, Yalunga, Yalonka, Yalonke, Yalunke, Dialanké, Dialinké, Dialonka, Dialonque, Djallonké, Djallonka, Dyalonké, Dyalonka, or Dialonké. The meaning of the term Dialonké," literally means 'inhabitants of the mountains.' Jallon meaning 'mountain' in the Yalunka language and which name only Futa carries in contemporary extends from the northeast of Siguiri to the mountainous massif of Futa. Jallon is a name that portrays a situation of pride, unlike authors such as André Arcin have claimed, derived from the surname Diallo of the Fulani.