 At the top were the royal rulers, below them were the regionally or locally powerful noble lineages who controlled territories and collected tribute, and below them were commoner freeborn called the "baadoolo" or "lacking power".The Zarma people are an ethnic group predominantly found in westernmost Niger also found in significant numbers in the adjacent areas of Nigeria and Benin, along with smaller numbers in Burkina Faso, Ivory Coast and Ghana.The Zarma people are predominantly Muslims of the Maliki-Sunni school, and they live in the arid Sahel lands, along the Niger River valley which is a source of irrigation, forage for cattle herds, and drinking water.