Two to three million Songhai dwell along the Niger River from Niamey, Niger to Timbuktu, Mali and then eastward from Gao, Mali to Agadez, Niger. This worldview focuses on one of the groups who comprise about one forth of the total population of Songhai (400,000) that live in Niger between the cities of Niamey and Tera.
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The vast majority of the information in this worldview was as result of interviews compiled by Brad and Sally, Wayne and Gayle with Songhai, March - June 2000. We have continued to update the material and correct it, as needed, as we observe and participate in their daily life. Paul Stoller's many works and impressions of the Songhai people give valuable, detailed insight into their religious practices. All comments or quotes written in italics type have been taken specifically from the book In Sorcery's Shadow, by Paul Stoller and Cheryl Olkes, The University of Chicago Press, 1987. We do not claim to be professional ethnographers, nor anthropologists. This paper is simply a compilation of our observations, what we have read, and what we understand about the Songhai at this time, by the grace of God. We continue to learn much daily.