Songhai people

Songhai

Songhai woman at a festival
Total population
c. 9.1 million
Regions with significant populations
West Africa
Niger	5,106,423 (21.2%) [1]
Mali	1,984,114 (5.9%) [2]
Nigeria	1,200,000 (0.5%)
Benin	406,000 (2.9%) [3]
Burkina Faso	241,000 (1.04%)[4]
Ghana	110,000 (2.0%)[5]
Sudan	50,000 (0.11%)
Algeria	3,800 (0.01%)[citation needed]
Languages
Songhay languages, French, English, Arabic
Religion
Predominantly Muslim
Related ethnic groups
Tuareg, other Nilo-Saharan groups, Mandé, Soninke, Fula (in Niger and Mali), Hausa, (in Nigeria and Niger).

The Songhai people (autonym: Ayneha) are an ethnolinguistic group in West Africa who speak the various Songhai languages. Their history and lingua franca is linked to the Songhai Empire which dominated the western Sahel in the 15th and 16th century. Predominantly adherents of Islam, the Songhai are primarily located in Niger and Mali within the Western Sudanic region (not the country). Historically, the term "Songhai" did not denote an ethnic or linguistic identity but referred to the ruling caste of the Songhay Empire known as the Songhaiborai.^[6] However, the correct term used to refer to this group of people collectively by the natives is "Ayneha".^[7][8] Although some Speakers in Mali have also adopted the name Songhay as an ethnic designation,^[9] other Songhay-speaking groups identify themselves by other ethnic terms such as Zarma (or Djerma, the largest subgroup) or Isawaghen. The dialect of Koyraboro Senni spoken in Gao is unintelligible to speakers of the Zarma dialect of Niger, according to at least one report.^[10] The Songhay languages are commonly taken to be Nilo-Saharan but this classification remains controversial: Dimmendaal (2008) believes that for now it is best considered an independent language family.^[11]