DYULA

also spelled Diula, Dioula, or Jula people of western Africa who speak a Mande language of the Niger-Congo language family. Most are Muslims, and they have long been noted as commercial traders. The Dyula were active gold traders as long ago as the time of the ancient African kingdom of Ghana. They flourished under the empire of Mali, when they provided a link between the gold-producing forestlands in the south and the trading network of the western Sudan and North Africa. Kola nuts were another important trade item. The Dyula were also skilled craftsmen. They began to disperse and settle in towns about the 16th century. In the mid-19th century some of these towns expanded into larger states, but they declined by 1900. Today the Dyula are settled in towns and villages in Cte d'Ivoire, Burkina Faso, and parts of Mali and Ghana. Some Dyula communities have become agricultural, but most remain active in commerce, at least during the dry season.