They also travel to markets in other regions to trade their goods. Today, however, they have one of the highest rates of labor migration in West Africa. The Soninke live in compact villages, in which homes are built in two distinct styles. One style is round huts with brick walls and thatched roofs. Other houses are rectangular with brick walls, interior courts, and flat terraced roofs.
Houses line both sides of the main street, and a mosque is typically located at the village square.
Soninke marriages require the payment of a bride-price. In contrast to most neighboring tribes, the bride-price is given to the bride rather than her parents and becomes part of her dowry. Pre-marital sexual relations are forbidden. In the past, inheritances were passed down from fathers to sons. They are primarily animists, which means that they believe that a spirit or force resides in every animate and inanimate object.