The Mandinka and Malinke people, two western branches of the Mandé, are credited with the founding of the largest ancient West African empires…. Ibiene
6. Mande
They are a collection of people spread across West Africa who speak the Mande language. The heartland of Mande territory is located in what is now northeastern Guinea and southern Mali, but Mande people are found across a much larger portion of sub-Saharan West Africa. They speak various dialects of the Manding family of languages. It was a very dominant ethnic group in West Africa from 1100 to 1600.
