Susu

Susu, also spelled Soussou, or Soso, people living in the southern coastal regions of Guinea and the northwestern parts of Sierra Leone. They speak a dialect of Susu-Yalunka, a language belonging to the Mande branch of the Niger-Congo languages.

In Sierra Leone, villages are grouped under a paramount chief into small chiefdoms of about 3,000 to 6,000 persons each. Every Susu belongs to a patrilineal clan identified by name and totem animal. Marriage between cross-cousins is favoured, and polygynous unions are common. Shoemakers, jewelers, musicians, smiths, and carpenters formerly constituted separate castes and were said to be descended from slaves. The Susu are now largely Muslim.