The Maouri people are an

ethnic group An ethnic group or an ethnicity is a grouping of people who identify with each other on the basis of shared attributes that distinguish them from other groups. Those attributes can include common sets of traditions, ancestry, language, history, ...

in western

Africa Africa is the world's second-largest and second-most populous continent, after Asia in both cases. At about 30.3 million km2 (11.7 million square miles) including adjacent islands, it covers 6% of Earth's total surface area ...

. They are one of the major ethnic groups of

Niger ) , official_languages = , languages_type = National languagesNiger River The Niger River ( ; ) is the main river of West Africa, extending about . Its drainage basin is in area. Its source is in the Guinea Highlands in south-eastern Guinea near the Sierra Leone border. It runs in a crescent shape through ...

, extending from

Matankari Matankari is a town in southwestern Niger. It is near the city of Niamey Niamey () is the capital and largest city of Niger. Niamey lies on the Niger River, primarily situated on the east bank. Niamey's population was counted as 1,026,848 as ...

, near

Niamey Niamey () is the capital and largest city of Niger. Niamey lies on the Niger River, primarily situated on the east bank. Niamey's population was counted as 1,026,848 as of the 2012 census. As of 2017, population projections show the capital di ...

, to Gaya. They are a subgroup of the

Hausa people The Hausa ( autonyms for singular: Bahaushe ( m), Bahaushiya ( f); plural: Hausawa and general: Hausa; exonyms: Ausa; Ajami: ) are the largest native ethnic group in Africa. They speak the Hausa language, which is the second most spoken language ...

, and speak both the

Hausa language Hausa (; /; Ajami: ) is a Chadic language spoken by the Hausa people in the northern half of Nigeria, Ghana, Cameroon, Benin and Togo, and the southern half of Niger, Chad and Sudan, with significant minorities in Ivory Coast. Hausa is a member ...

and the Djerma language (or Zarma). When using the Zarma language, they are known as the Arawa people. The establishment of the Maouri people is uncertain, though many sources indicate descent from the

Bornu Empire Bornu may refer to: * Bornu Empire Bornu may refer to: * Bornu Empire, a historical state of West Africa * Borno State Borno State is a state in the North-East geopolitical zone of Nigeria, bordered by Yobe to the west, Gombe to the southwest ...

. The Maouri established two capitals in

and

Lougou Lougou is a town and arrondissement in the Alibori Department of northeastern Benin. It is an administrative division under the jurisdiction of the commune of Ségbana. According to the population census conducted by the Institut National de la St ...

, with religious authority based in Bagaji. The Maouri are

animistic Animism (from Latin: ' meaning 'breath, spirit, life') is the belief that objects, places, and creatures all possess a distinct spiritual essence. Potentially, animism perceives all things—animals, plants, rocks, rivers, weather systems, hum ...

, with beliefs based on the Doguwa spirits.

Islam Islam (; ar, ۘالِإسلَام, , ) is an Abrahamic religions, Abrahamic Monotheism#Islam, monotheistic religion centred primarily around the Quran, a religious text considered by Muslims to be the direct word of God in Islam, God (or ...

(especially in

Dogondoutchi Dongondoutchi ("High Hill", also nicknamed Doutchi) is a commune in Niger. It is located about 300 km east of the capital Niamey and 40 km from the Nigerian border. It lies on national route 1 which links the capital to the towns of ...

) and

Christianity Christianity is an Abrahamic monotheistic religion based on the life and teachings of Jesus of Nazareth. It is the world's largest and most widespread religion with roughly 2.38 billion followers representing one-third of the global pop ...

have since gained some adherents among the Maouri, but they still largely hold to traditional beliefs, including

fetishes A fetish (derived from the French , which comes from the Portuguese , and this in turn from Latin , 'artificial' and , 'to make') is an object believed to have supernatural powers, or in particular, a human-made object that has power over ot ...

. They resisted an attempted forced

conversion Conversion or convert may refer to: Arts, entertainment, and media * "Conversion" (''Doctor Who'' audio), an episode of the audio drama ''Cyberman'' * "Conversion" (''Stargate Atlantis''), an episode of the television series * "The Conversion" ...

to Islam in the early 19th century during the

Fulani jihad The Fulani War of 1804–1808, also known as the Fulani Jihad or Jihad of Usman dan Fodio, was a military conflict in present-day Nigeria and Cameroon. The war began when Usman Dan Fodiyo, a prominent Islamic scholar and teacher, was exiled ...

s and subsequent establishment of the

Sokoto Caliphate The Sokoto Caliphate (), also known as the Fulani Empire or the Sultanate of Sokoto, was a Sunni Muslim caliphate in West Africa. It was founded by Usman dan Fodio in 1804 during the Fulani jihads after defeating the Hausa Kingdoms in the Ful ...

. The Maouri were also subject to colonization by European powers. The Maouri lands were traded between the English and French colonies in West Africa under various treaties between 1890 and 1906. The French were particularly brutal in their administration of their colonies: in 1898 the priestess of Lougou,

Sarraounia Sarraounia Mangou was a chief/priestess of the animist Azna subgroup of the Hausa people , Hausa, who fought French colonial troops of the Voulet–Chanoine Mission at the Battle of Lougou (in present-day Niger) in 1899. She is the subject of th ...

, resisted an attack by the French Voulet-Chanoine Mission at the

Battle of Lougou The French Voulet-Chanoine Mission, led by the captains Paul Voulet and Julien Chanoine, had been dispatched in 1898 to Africa by the French government with the mission to conquer the territories between the Niger River and Lake Chad and join in ...

. The town ultimately fell, though Sarraounia's forces managed a retreat and were able to inflict ten casualties on the much more numerous and better-armed French soldiers. The French later massacred the neighboring

Konni Konni may refer to: * Konni (dog), Russian President Vladimir Putin's dog (1999-2014) *Konni, Kerala, a town in Kerala state in India * Konni (Hausa state), a traditional Hausa state in south central Niger * Birni-N'Konni (shortened to Konni), a to ...

town of

Birni-N'Konni Birni-N'Konni (also Birnin-Konni or shortened to Konni/Bkonni) is a town in the Tahoua Region of Niger, lying immediately north of the border of Nigeria and west of seasonal Maggia River. It is an important market town and transport hub and as o ...

in revenge. Today the Maouri are traders and farmers, and have a reputation as industrious people.

References

{{Authority control Ethnic groups in Niger