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Most Mandinkas live in family-related compounds in traditional rural villages.
Mandinka villages are fairly autonomous and self-ruled, being led by a council of upper class elders and a chief who functions as a first among equals.
The Mandinka people have traditionally been a socially stratified society, like many West African ethnic groups with castes.
The Mandinka society, states Arnold Hughes – a professor of West African Studies and African Politics, has been "divided into three endogamous castes – the freeborn ("foro"), slaves ("jongo"), and artisans and praise singers ("nyamolo").
The freeborn castes are primarily farmers, while the slave strata included labor providers to the farmers, as well as leather workers, pottery makers, metal smiths, griots, and others.
The Mandinka Muslim clerics and scribes have traditionally been considered as a separate occupational caste called "Jakhanke", with their Islamic roots traceable to about the 13th century.
The Mandinka castes are hereditary, and marriages outside the caste was forbidden.
Their caste system is similar to those of other ethnic groups of the African Sahel region, and found across the Mandinka communities such as those in Gambia, Mali, Guinea and other countries.
The Mandinka practice a rite of passage, kuyangwoo, which marks the beginning of adulthood for their children.
At an age between four and fourteen, the youngsters have their genitalia ritually cut (see articles on male and female genital cutting), in separate groups according to their sex.
In years past, the children spent up to a year in the bush, but that has been reduced now to coincide with their physical healing time, between three and four weeks.
During this time, they learn about their adult social responsibilities and rules of behaviour.
Preparation is made in the village or compound for the return of the children.
A celebration marks the return of these new adults to their families.
As a result of these traditional teachings, in marriage a woman's loyalty remains to her parents and her family; a man's to his.
The women among the Mandinka people, like other ethnic groups near them, have traditionally practiced female circumcision, often referred to by outsiders as female genital mutilation (FGM).
According to UNICEF, the female circumcision prevalence rates among the Mandinkas of the Gambia is the highest at over 96%, followed by FGM among the women of the Jola people's at 91% and Fula people at 88%.
Among the Mandinka women of some other countries of West Africa, the FGM prevalence rates are lower, but range between 40% to 90%.
This cultural practice, locally called "Niaka" or "Kuyungo" or "Musolula Karoola" or "Bondo", involves the partial or total removal of the clitoris, or alternatively, the partial or total removal of the labia minora with the clitoris.
Some surveys, such as those by the Gambia Committee on Traditional Practices (GAMCOTRAP), estimate FGM is prevalent among 100% of the Mandinkas in Gambia.
In 2010, after community efforts of UNICEF and the local government bodies, several Mandinka women's organization pledged to abandon the female genital mutilation practices.
Marriages are traditionally arranged by family members rather than either the bride or groom.
This practice is particularly prevalent in the rural areas.
Kola nuts, a bitter nut from a tree, are formally sent by the suitor's family to the male elders of the bride-to-be, and if accepted, the courtship begins.
Polygamy has been practiced among the Mandinka since pre-Islamic days.
A Mandinka man is legally allowed to have up to four wives, as long as he is able to care for each of them equally.
Mandinka believe the crowning glory of any woman is the ability to produce children, especially sons.
The first wife has authority over any subsequent wives.
The husband has complete control over his wives and is responsible for feeding and clothing them.
He also helps the wives' parents when necessary.
Wives are expected to live together in harmony, at least superficially.
They share work responsibilities of the compound, such as cooking, laundry, and other tasks.
Mandinka culture is rich in tradition, music, and spiritual ritual.
Mandinkas continue a long oral history tradition through stories, songs, and proverbs.
In rural areas, western education's impact is minimal; the literacy rate in Latin script among these Mandinka is quite low.
However, more than half the adult population can read the local Arabic script (including Mandinka Ajami); small Qur'anic schools for children where this is taught are quite common.
Mandinka children are given their name on the eighth day after their birth, and their children are almost always named after a very important person in their family.
The Mandinka have a rich oral history that is passed down through griots.
This passing down of oral history through music has made music one of the most distinctive traits of the Mandinka.
They have long been known for their drumming and also for their unique musical instrument, the kora.
The kora is a twenty-one-stringed guitar-like instrument made out of a halved, dried, hollowed-out gourd covered with cow or goat skin.
The strings are made of fishing line (these were traditionally made from a cow's tendons).
It is played to accompany a griot's singing or simply on its own.
A Mandinka religious and cultural site under consideration for World Heritage status is located in Guinea at Gberedou/Hamana.
The kora has become the hallmark of traditional Mandinka musicians".
The kora with its 21 strings is made from half a calabash, covered with cow's hide fastened on by decorative tacks.
The kora has sound holes in the side which are used to store coins offered to the praise singers, in appreciation of their performance.
The praise singers are called ""jalibaas"" or "jalis" in Mandinka.
One Mandinka outside Africa is Kunta Kinte, a main figure in Alex Haley's book "" and a subsequent TV mini-series.
Haley claimed he was descended from Kinte, though this familial link has been criticised by many professional historians and at least one genealogist as highly improbable (see D. Wright's "The World And A Very Small Place").
Martin R. Delany, a 19th-century abolitionist, military leader, politician and physician in the United States, was of partial Mandinka descent.
Sinéad O'Connor's 1988 hit "Mandinka" was inspired by Alex Haley's book.
Mr. T, of American television fame, once claimed that his distinctive hairstyle was modelled after a Mandinka warrior that he saw in "National Geographic" magazine.
In his motivational video "Be Somebody... or Be Somebody's Fool!
", he states: "My folks came from Africa.
They were from the Mandinka tribe.
They wore their hair like this.
These gold chains I wear symbolize the fact that my ancestors were brought over here as slaves."
In a 2006 interview, he reiterated that he modeled his hair style after photographs of Mandinka men he saw in "National Geographic".
Many early works by Malian author Massa Makan Diabaté are retellings of Mandinka legends, including "Janjon", which won the 1971 Grand prix littéraire d'Afrique noire.
His novels "The Lieutenant of Kouta", "The Barber of Kouta" and "The Butcher of Kouta" attempt to capture the proverbs and customs of the Mandinka people in novelistic form.
HMAS Pioneer
HMAS "Pioneer (formerly HMS "Pioneer) was a light cruiser built for the Royal Navy at the end of the 19th century.
She was transferred to the fledgling Royal Australian Navy (RAN) in 1912.
During World War I, the cruiser captured two German merchant ships, and was involved in the East African Campaign, including the blockade of the cruiser and a bombardment of Dar-es-Salaam.
She returned to Australia in late 1916 and was decommissioned.
"Pioneer" was used as an accommodation ship for the following six years, then was stripped down and sold off by 1926.
The cruiser was scuttled outside Sydney Heads in 1931.
"Pioneer" was a third-class protected cruiser of the nine-ship "Pelorus" or P class.
These ships had a displacement of 2,200 tons, were long overall and long between perpendiculars, had a beam of , and a draught of .
Propulsion was supplied by inverted three-cylinder triple expansion steam engines, providing to two propeller shafts.
Although designed to reach speeds of , "Pioneer" was only capable of .
The cruiser was armed with eight single QF guns, eight single QF 3-pounder guns, two field guns, three Maxim machine guns, and two torpedo tubes sited above the waterline.
The ship's company initially stood at 225, but this was later reduced to 188; 12 officers, and 176 sailors.
"Pioneer" was laid down for the Royal Navy at HM Dockyard, Chatham, Kent on 16 December 1897.
She was launched 28 June 1899 by Miss Andoe, daughter of the dockyard's admiral superintendent.
The cruiser was completed on 23 January 1900, and was placed in reserve until her commissioning on 10 July 1900.
"Pioneer" spent the majority of 1900 in British waters, before sailing for the Mediterranean Fleet under the command of Commander Hugh Evan-Thomas on 15 November.
Commander George Hope was appointed in command on 5 July 1902, taking up the command later that month after a visit by the ship to Brindisi.
The ship remained in the Mediterranean until returning to Chatham on 20 November 1904.
"Pioneer" was decommissioned until 5 September 1905, when she was reactivated for service as a drill ship with the Australian Squadron of the Royal Navy.
On 29 November 1912, "Pioneer" was decommissioned and gifted to the Australian government, who commissioned the ship as part of the Royal Australian Navy on 1 March 1913.
Initially used as a tender for the naval base at Garden Island, New South Wales, "Pioneer" was refitted during the second half of 1913, and on 1 January 1914, was reassigned for reservist training.
At the start of World War I, "Pioneer" sailed from Victoria to Western Australia, where she served as a patrol vessel.
On 16 August, she captured the German merchant ship "Neumunster", which was taken by the Australian government as a prize of war and renamed "Cooee".
Ten days later, the cruiser captured a second German ship, the Norddeutscher Lloyd liner "Thuringen", which was presented to the government of India for use as a troop transport.
On 1 November, "Pioneer" joined the escort of the convoy transporting the Australian and New Zealand Army Corps to Egypt as a replacement for the Japanese cruiser "Nisshin", and with orders to check on the Cocos Islands during the voyage.
However, as the Australian warship took up position, she suffered a major engine malfunction, and joined the convoy instead.
In late December, the cruiser was assigned to the blockade of German East Africa, and sailed for Zanzibar on 9 January 1915.
On arrival, "Pioneer" was ordered to help contain the German cruiser in the Rufiji River and prevent German supply ships from arriving.
"Königsberg" was scuttled on 12 July following shelling by two monitors, although "Pioneer" remained in the region until 31 August, when she sailed to Simon's Town in South Africa for a six-week refit.
"Pioneer" returned to uneventful patrols of German East Africa on 22 October, and continued until early February 1916, when the Admiralty instructed the ship to return to Australia.
However, before she could leave, demands by General Jan Smuts for more Admiralty involvement in the East African Campaign saw "Pioneer" return to patrols on 24 February.
On 30 July, the cruiser fired 100 4-inch shells during the bombardment of Dar-es-Salaam.
"Pioneer" was ordered to return to Australia on 8 August 1916, and was paid off on 7 November 1916.
Despite being "obsolete and decrepit" she saw more actual combat than any other Australian ship of World War I.
"Pioneer" returned to Garden Island and was used as an accommodation vessel until 1922.
She was handed to Cockatoo Island Dockyard for stripping in May 1923, was passed to the control of the Commonwealth Shipping Board in 1924, who then sold the hulk to H. P. Stacey of Sydney, in 1926.
The ship was scuttled off Sydney Heads on 18 February 1931.
The location of the wreck was lost until March 2014, when it was rediscovered by wreck-hunters analysing data taken from the research vessel "Southern Surveyor".