ALFRED: allele frequency database

The ALlele FREquency Database
ALFRED is a resource of gene frequency data on human populations
supported by the U. S. National Science Foundation.

ALFRED detailed record information

Population Information

Name	ALFRED UID	Primary Language	Language Family
Songhai	PO000288S	SONGHAI	Nilo-Saharan

Synonyms:
Geographic Location¹: 17N, 5.5W; 15N, 1E

Sites typed for this population: View List
Population Samples: See Sample Information
External Resources: EMuseum: Songhai Record Ethnologue: Language Map Record Ethnologue: Language Family Record
References: See references
Population Description: The Songhai (Songhay) are a Sunni Muslim population in the savanna of West Africa who originated in Dendi, a northwestern region in Nigeria (Emuseum: Songhai, 2002). . The influence of Muslim traders, in the first part of the 9th century, can be seen in the reflection of Islamic laws in the government and the influence of the Muslim religion on many of the government officials and townspeople. However, most rural workers retained their traditional religion. In the 15th century, the Songhai empires in Ghana and Mali existed along the grassland borders, which made them important Trans-Saharan trade routes to Asia, Europe and the Mediterranean. Generally, they traded gold for salt. This critical location made the Songhai Empire a wealthy and influential center celebrated for its legal system and culture. At the peak of its existence, in the 15th century, the empire stretched approximately 2,000 miles from the entrance to the Gambia River to Lake Chad. Today the Songhai are most concentrated in the southeastern parts of Mali juxtaposed to the Niger River plains. Their economy is primarily based on the cultivation of cereals, fishing, and cattle raising. They speak the Songhai language, a branch of the Nilo-Saharan linguistic family. The village community is patrilineal, every male in the community is part of this lineage. In order to retain an unmitigated lineage, the eldest son usually marries the daughter of their father's brother.
References:
- Cissoko SM. "Tombouctou et l'empire Songhay : epanouissement du Soudan nigerien aux XVe-XVIe siecle". Paris : L'Harmattan. (1996)

- Nicolai R. "Songhay- Languages of the world.". Munchen ; Newcastle : LINCOM Europ (1997)

- Rouch J. "Les hommes et les dieux du fleuve : essai ethnographique sur les populations Songhay du moyen Niger, 1941-1983". Paris : Artcom (1997)

- Sadi A. "Tarikh al-Sudan; Timbuktu and the Songhay Empire : Al-Sadi's Tarikh al-Sudan down to 1613, and other contemporary documents / [translatedand edited] by John O. Hunwick". Boston, Mass. : Brill. (1999)

- Stoller P. "Sensuous scholarship- Contemporary ethnography". Philadelphia : University of Pennsylvania Press (1997)

Sample Information:

Graph estimated heterozygosities for various sites

Sample Name: Songhai (Mali)

Sample UID: SA000404I

Sample Description:This sample consist of young adults living in the counry of Mali, which is located in sub-Saharan Africa. The subjects are mainly males for whom information on their parents' ethnic background has been obtained.

Number of Chromosomes: 34

Relation to Other Samples:

References:
- Zekraoui L, Lagarde JP, Raisonnier A, Gerard N, Aouizerate A, Lucotte G. "High Frequency of the Apolipoprotein E*4 Allele in African Pygmies and Most of the African Populations in Sub-Saharan Africa". Hum. Biol. 69:575-81. (1997) Online citation.

¹Geographic Coordinates represent two opposite corners of a rectangle encompassing the area where the population lives.This data is preliminary and changing.

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© 2012 Kenneth K Kidd, Yale University. All rights reserved. The full Copyright Notification is also available.
Originally prototyped by Michael Osier with the aid of Kei Cheung
Upgrades and maintenance since 2002 by Haseena Rajeevan