Sanankuya (also sanankou(n)ya, sinankun, senenkun,[1] senankuya[2]) refers to a social characteristic present especially among the Manding peoples as well as many West African societies in general, often described in English with terms such as "cousinage" or "joking relationship".
Those in a sanankuya relationship may treat one another as if cousins or close family members with whom familiar jokes or humorous insults are exchanged.
Sanankuya was reputedly ordained as a civic duty in the Kurukan Fuga, the oral constitution of the Mali Empire, by Sundiata Keita in c. 1236.
In addition, the custom of non-blood relatives according each other the status of familial relationships ("play" aunts, cousins, etc.)
One of their biggest running jokes is that each clan will accuse the other of loving to eat beans the most.