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Republic of
2014
Mali
République du Mali
The word Mali means "hippopotamus" in the Bambara language.
Mali gained independence from France in 1960.
The official language of Mali is French, but most people speak Bambara.
The city of Timbuktu was a center for trading and learning over one thousand years ago.
Less than half of Malians can read and write, but this number is increasing as more and more children go to
school.
Bamako, the capital city, has a soccer stadium that holds 70,000 people.
Mali mines and sells a large amount of gold to customers in other countries.
Children outside of Bamako often start working in their families’ fields at six or seven years old.
Greetings are very important in Mali. Malians first say hello and then ask about the well-being of each others'
family and relatives.
Flag
The three colors of the stripes on Mali's flag are the same ones used in many African
flags; green represents nature, yellow stands for purity and minerals, and red
represents the blood shed fighting for independence.
National Image
The Great Mosque of Djenné was built in 1907 on the foundation of older mosques
going back to the 1200s, when King Koy Konboro converted to Islam and built a
mosque. The Great Mosque is built out of dried mud bricks formed by hand. Every year
after the rainy season, the entire city, even the people who aren't Muslim, helps to
restore the mosque by adding mud to the walls. A huge market is held in front of the
mosque every week, and people come from all around to buy and sell items.
Land and Climate
Area (sq. mi.): 478,841
Area (sq. km.): 1,240,192
Mali is a landlocked country about the same size as South Africa, or twice the size of
the state of Texas. Northern Mali is part of the southern Sahara Desert, one of the
driest places on earth. A shifting region of semidesert, called the Sahel, is south of the
Sahara Desert. The most southern part of Mali is a greener area with many plants and
mango groves.
The Niger River flows across Mali from southwest to east and helps support life. Mali
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has three seasons. From March to May, it is hot and dry. From June to October, it is
warm and rainy, and from November to February, it is cooler and dry. Mali is hottest
from March to July, when temperatures are often over 100°F (38°C). However, the
average temperature for most of the year is between 80°F (27°C) and 85°F (29°C).
Population
Population: 15,968,882
The population of Mali is growing fast. Because so much of the country is desert, most
Malians (nearly 90 percent) live in the fertile southern part of the country. Most Malians
(67 percent) also live in the countryside, not in the cities.
There are 20 major ethnic groups in Mali. The Bambara are the largest group and live
in the central and southern regions. The Malinke are the second largest group and live
in the southwest and west. The Sarakole live in the northwest, near Mauritania. The
Fulani (or Peul) people are herders who used to live in the northern desert but are now
scattered across Mali. The Tuaregs also herd in the northern part of the country. The
Songhai and the Bozo peoples live along the Niger River. The Menianka and Senufo
live in the southwest, near the countries of Burkina Faso and the Ivory Coast. The
Dogon people live in an area called the Dogon Cliffs, or the Bandiagara Escarpment, in
central Mali.
Language
The official language of Mali is French. It is spoken in the cities by government workers
and in school classrooms. The most widely-used language in Mali is Bambara (also
called Bamanankan), which people use in business. But there are many other
languages and dialects (ways of speaking and pronouncing words) spoken in Mali,
including Fulfulde, Dogon, Senufo, and Dioula.
In Mali, books are only published in some of those languages. Not all of the Malian
languages are written down; some are passed down from generation to generation by
oral (spoken) tradition. A griot is a person who is responsible for remembering and
singing the history of his or her people. Griots learn music and storytelling from their
parents, who are also griots. In the time of the Mali Empire, every village had a griot,
who told of important village events like births, deaths, marriages, and battles. Now that
more history is written down, the role of griots as historians has become less important.
However, they still play important roles in traditional events like baptisms and marriages
and act as entertainers.
Many Malians who have attended school speak French or English in addition to the
dialect of their ethnic group. Malians belonging to a smaller ethnic group may also
speak Bambara so that they can communicate with others outside of their community.
Some even learn another ethnic language to communicate with neighbors or traders. It
is not uncommon for a Malian to speak three or four languages.
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Can You Say It in Bambara?
Hello
i ni ce
(ee nee CHAY)
Good-bye
k'an bεn
(kan ben)
Please
n b'i deli
(n bee delee)
Thank you
i ni ce
(ee nee CHAY)
Yes
owò
(a-WO)
No
ayi
(ai-EE)
Religion
About 90 percent of Malians are Muslim. The lives of all Muslims around the world are governed by five basic duties or
principles, called the Five Pillars of Islam. Muslims are to pray five times daily, recognize Allah as God and Muhammad
as his prophet, give money to help the poor, fast (go without food or drink) each day during the month of Ramadan, and
make at least one pilgrimage (journey) to Makkah, a holy city in Saudi Arabia, during their lifetime.
Most of the people in Mali who are not Muslim follow traditional African, or animist, religious beliefs. Animist beliefs
focus on a reverence for all living things and use rituals like prayers, offerings, and sacrifices to communicate with
ancestors, the spiritual forces of nature, and the gods. Even Malians who are Muslim or Christian usually still practice
some parts of these traditional rituals. They may use masks for some ceremonies, perform dances to ask for rain, or
wear gri gri charms (amulets used to protect a person from harm or illness).
Time Line
200 BC
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ca. 200 BC
Mali
The city of Denné-Jeno is settled and becomes an important trading
center on the Niger River
AD 1
ca. AD 300
Mali is part of the Empire of Ghana
ca. 700
The Songhai Empire is established
1000
1235
Sundiata Keita, king of the Mandinko Kingdom, revolts against the rule
of the Ghana Empire and creates the Empire of Mali
1255
King Keita dies and Mansa Jurulenko becomes ruler of the Empire
1270
Aboubakari I rules until 1285
1312
Mansa Musa becomes the new ruler, and the Mali Empire extends to
the Atlantic Ocean
1324
Mansa Musa makes a pilgrimage to Makkah
1332
Mansa Musa dies, and the Mali Empire begins to decline
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1352
Mali
Ibn Battuta, the great scholar and traveler, visits Mali
1400
1400s
Mali is taken over by the Songhai Empire, which rules from Timbuktu
1500s
The Songhai Empire collapses, and the Moroccans rule Mali until the
1700s
1700
1737
The Moroccans are defeated by the Tuareg, who take control of the
Niger River Bend
late 1800s
The French defeat Malian leaders, and Mali becomes a part of French
West Africa
1833
The Fulani kingdom of Macina defeats the Moroccans in western Mali
1853
Heinrich Barth, German explorer and scholar of African studies,
reaches Timbuktu
1900
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1904
Mali becomes an official French colony, with Bamako as its capital
1920
Mali becomes part of French Sudan, which is ruled from a capital in
Dakar, Senegal
1960
Mali becomes an independent country; the first president, Modibo
Keita, rules until 1968
1968
Modibo Keita's government is taken over by a military group led by
Lieutenant Moussa Traoré
1980
Mali students begin to organize resistance to military rule
1985
Mali and Burkina Faso fight over their borders
1991
Violence breaks out between people and soldiers at the presidential
palace; President Traoré is arrested and a new government, led by
Amadou Toumani Touré, takes over
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1992
Mali
Alpha Konaré wins the first free election and becomes president
2000
2001
The Manantali dam is built and uses running water to create electricity
(called hydroelectricity)
2004
A severe plague of locusts and a drought cause a food shortage in Mali
2005
Amadou Toumani Touré is elected president in the first transition from
one freely-elected president to another; Mali hosts the African Cup of
Nations
2007
President Touré is reelected for a second five-year term
2008
Violent clashes between the government and the Tuaregs increase
2009
The government makes peace with the Tuareg rebel group
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2010
The country celebrates 50 years of independence
2012
The Tuareg rebel against the government, demanding their own free
state; frustrated Malian soldiers take over the capital but eventually
hand power back to the government; the fighting forces nearly half a
million people from their homes
PRESENT
The Empire of Mali
The Mali Empire came from a small kingdom of the upper Niger River. The kingdom's
ruler, Sundiata Keita, unified the western Sudan, and this area became the Mali
Empire. Sundiata took the title Mansa, which means King of Kings or Emperor.
The power of the Mali Empire was at its greatest in the 1300s, when it stretched over
many kingdoms and provinces (similar to states). The most famous ruler at this time
was Mansa Musa, who ruled from 1312–37. He traveled on a pilgrimage to Mecca (a
holy city in Saudi Arabia), and introduced the rest of the Muslim world to the famous
gold of the Mali Empire.
The Mali Empire was also famous for two of its cities: Djenné and Timbuktu
(Tombouctou). The cities were centers of trade and of learning. Caravans traveling
across the vast Sahara Desert would stop to water their camels and to trade gold, salt,
and other valuable items. Timbuktu was home to thousands of books, and families
frequently had their own libraries. The books covered topics like Islamic law,
astronomy, mathematics, medicine, geography, and business records.
The Mali Empire eventually declined and was taken over by the Songhai Empire in the
1400s. The Songhai Empire fell apart in the late 1500s, and because of new sea routes
the Europeans had established for trading, the region stopped being a center for trade
across the Sahara. From the 1600s to the 1800s, parts of Mali were ruled by the kings
of the Ghana, Malinke, Songhai, Bambara, and Toucouleur Empires.
A French Colony
The French began establishing trading stations on the Atlantic coast of Africa and
competing with other European countries to obtain colonies in Africa in the 1600s. They
gained control of Mali in the late 1800s. Mali was a French colony (called French
Sudan, or Western Sudan) for over 150 years. It was part of French West Africa, which
was a group of territories governed from a capital in Dakar, Senegal.
The people of French Sudan did not like being forced to work in the fields or forced to
join the army, and they did not like being taxed. Some people rebelled against the
colonial government during this time, but none of the rebellions were very successful.
The French used French Sudan as a source of workers for their colonies on the coast
of West Africa, where Mauritania, Senegal, Guinea, the Ivory Coast, Benin, and Niger
are today. Many people in these countries still use French as a language of government
and business, and French continues to be the official language of Mali.
Malians are still living with the effects of French colonialism today, and many feel that
the French have not done a good job helping Mali in the postcolonial era. The French
left very little infrastructure (basic things like transportation, power and water systems,
schools, police forces, and postal services) for Mali to use. They also did not leave
government officials or scholars in the country to help Mali in the transition from a
colony to an independent state. Most Malians feel that the French have taken a lot and
given very little back.
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Independence
The period after World War II was a time when many colonies in Africa were
demanding that they become independent countries. Mali's first political parties were
formed in 1946, and Mali gradually became more independent from France in the years
from 1946 to 1960. First, Mali was its own state within the French Community, and then
it became part of the Mali Federation. Mali officially proclaimed its independence on 22
September 1960. Mali's new president, Modibo Keita, established a socialist
government (in which property and businesses are owned by the community) with ties
to the Soviet Union. Most Malians did not like the extreme political and economic
policies of President Keita and wanted someone else to rule the government.
In 1968, Modibo Keita's government was overthrown by a group of army officers, led by
Moussa Traoré. Moussa Traoré became the new leader of Mali. Though he had
promised to return Mali to civilian (non-military) rule, he kept the military in power. He
tried to fix Mali's economic problems, but a drought that lasted from 1968 to 1974 made
times very difficult. Other people tried to take over the government many times during
the 1970s and 1980s, but Moussa Traoré remained a dictator (ruler with absolute
power).
From Military Rule to Democracy
In 1990, the Tuareg people, who had moved to Algeria and Libya during a long drought,
began to return to Mali and sometimes clashed with the people living there. The
Tuaregs are nomads who follow their herds through the desert regions of Mali, Niger,
and Mauritania and who want their people to be independent of Mali's government.
In 1991, the people of Mali protested against Moussa Traoré's government and
President Traoré ordered the military to shoot at the protestors. Lieutenant Colonel
Amadou Toumani Touré rebelled against the president and arrested him. The country,
which had been under military rule for many years, wrote a new constitution and made
plans to hold elections in 1992. Voters in Mali then elected a legislative (lawmaking)
body called the National Assembly and Alpha Oumar Konaré as president. Konaré
started to negotiate with the Tuareg people who were trying to gain independence.
Mali Today
In 1997, President Konaré was reelected to a second and final term. He stepped down
in 2002, and Amadou Toumani Touré, who had overthrown Moussa Traoré in 1992,
won the presidential election. The 2002 election was the first time that Mali's
government had peacefully changed from one freely-elected leader to another. Today,
Mali is considered a good example of a working democracy (government by the people)
in Africa and is a very peaceful nation.
President Touré was very popular because he restored Mali to democratic rule in 1992.
He also promised to help solve Mali's economic problems. After his election, the
economy grew, and he was reelected in 2007. However, Mali continues to have
problems with Tuareg rebels. The government made peace with them in 2009, but the
Tuareg rebelled again in 2012, demanding their own free state. Many military soldiers
rebelled against the government as well, frustrated with its failure to deal with the
Tuareg. The fighting forced nearly half a million people to leave their homes. The rebels
signed another peace deal with the government in 2013, and Malians look forward to
free elections. Mali also faces high poverty and depends on financial help from other
nations.
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Games and Sports
Soccer (called football) is the most popular sport in Mali. Almost all boys start playing
soccer at a young age, and people love to stand and talk while watching a soccer
match. In Bamako, the capital, the soccer stadium holds 70,000 people. Children living
in the countryside like to play games with sticks, stones, and used tires. Foosball or
table soccer is popular in the cities.
Boys in Mali play a lot of hunting games. They make homemade slingshots and try to
shoot small animals such as lizards or birds. If successful, they will roast them over a
fire for a small snack. Girls often have fun singing and dancing together. They like to
play at doing the same things their mothers do.
A popular game in Mali (and the rest of Africa) is mancala. A mancala board is made of
wood with little cups carved into it. Players move pebbles or seeds from one cup to the
next, adding and subtracting the number of pebbles or seeds. Mancala is usually
played by adults.
Holidays
National holidays celebrated in Mali include New Year's Day, Army Day (20 Jan.),
Labor Day (1 May), and Independence Day (22 Sept.). In the cities, Christmas and
Easter Monday are also holidays. Holidays connected to the seasons are celebrated by
animists with festivals and dancing.
Because most Malians are Muslim, they celebrate the Muslim holy month of Ramadan.
Ramadan celebrates the month when the prophet Muhammad received the first
revelations of the Qur’an (Muslim scripture) from Allah (God). During Ramadan, people
don’t eat or drink during the day. They wait until the sun sets to eat and then eat a large
meal. At the end of Ramadan, Muslims spend three days celebrating Aid al Fitr, or “the
Little Feast.” The dates for Ramadan and other Muslim holidays change each year,
because Muslims follow a lunar calendar, or a calendar based on the cycles of the
moon.
Food
Most Malians eat a lot of millet (a type of grain) and corn. Flour from these grains is
made into a thick porridge called tô and is served in many different ways. Sometimes it
is served as a slightly sweet breakfast cereal eaten with powdered milk. Sometimes it is
served with a leaf or vegetable sauce, like tiga diga na (peanut butter sauce). In the
cities, people eat rice, but in the countryside, grains like millet, sorghum, and couscous
are more common. In the Niger River area, many people eat a type of fish called Nile
perch or capitaine. Malians also eat fresh mangoes, bananas, and oranges when they
are in season. They usually eat food with their hands, and only Malians living in the city
use utensils.
In Mali, it is traditional to sit down with visitors and drink three cups of sweet tea. This is
especially done in the Sahara region, because it is believed that drinking hot tea in hot
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weather balances the heat inside and outside the body.
Schools
Adult Literacy: 27.7%
In Mali, about three-quarters of children attend primary (elementary) school, but only
about one-third continue on to secondary (high) school and very few to college.
Education used to be thought more valuable for boys, but parents are realizing that girls
are often more successful in school, so enrollment rates are now close to equal.
Although the government says that school is required for all children and is free, there
are not enough schools for all of the children in Mali, especially in the countryside.
Many schools cannot afford to buy books, especially not books written in all of Mali's
different languages. Some boys attend Qur’anic schools, which teach them about Islam
and about how to read the Qur’an (Muslim scripture).
Malians place a very high value on education and schooling, because they know that it
is an important way for children to become successful. Parents save to pay school fees,
even when it means cutting back on food for themselves and the family. However,
sometimes it is just too hard to send children to school. Some children are needed to
work in the fields or at home instead of going to school. Also, many of the schools in
Mali are of poor quality, with large class sizes and few materials. Children must learn
French at a very young age in order to follow the school lessons, and those that cannot
pick it up quickly enough are soon left behind. These factors contribute to the low
numbers of children continuing on to secondary school.
Life as a Kid
Life as a kid in Mali is both hard work and a lot of fun. Children are expected to help out
their families by working. In the countryside, both boys and girls go out to the fields to
plant seeds, dig up weeds, and harvest the crops their families grow during the rainy
season. Girls also have to help their mothers get water from wells and rivers, which
they learn to carry in containers on their heads, and help with the smaller children and
the cooking. Most children in Mali go to school, but the classes in Mali are very large,
and children must learn all of their lessons in a new language, French, which makes
school very hard for some. Children in Mali eat with their families at mealtimes,
although many families do not have enough food for children to eat as much as they
should, and children are often hungry during certain times of year.
Kids in Mali spend a lot of time outside, playing with large groups of kids in their
neighborhoods. They play soccer in the streets, play with homemade toys, and sing
and dance. Television is growing more popular in Mali, and if there is a television, many
children gather around and watch together. Mali’s one television channel shows soccer
games, the news, and some programs from other countries.
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Government
Capital: Bamako
Head of State: Pres. Ibrahim Boubacar Keita
Head of Government: Interim PM Diango Cissoko
Mali became a democracy (government by the people) in 1992. The government has
three branches. Mali has a president and a prime minister. Together, with a cabinet of
about 26 cabinet ministers, they make up the executive branch. The president is
elected and then appoints the prime minister. Mali's legislative (lawmaking) branch has
one house called the National Assembly. The National Assembly has 147 elected
members. The judicial branch is made up of the Ministry of Justice and the Supreme
Court. Mali's laws come both from France during the colonial period and ancient tribal
traditions. Local decisions are made by the village elders and by district chiefs, who are
elected. The voting age in Mali is 18. When there is an election in Mali, voters who
cannot read or write choose their candidate by choosing the logo of the political party
that they want to support.
Money and Economy
Currency: CFA franc
Agriculture is the biggest part of Mali's economy. Because the northern part of the
country is covered by the Sahara Desert, most people live in the southern regions near
the Niger River and parts of the Senegal River, which provide water for crops and
raising animals. The Niger River sometimes floods and leaves behind rich soil for
Malians to plant their crops in. Most Malian farmers grow cotton to sell outside the
country and food crops to feed their own families.
Other important economic activities include cattle and camel herding, salt and gold
mining, and fishing. Much of the rest of Mali's economy is based on gold mining and
tourism. Mali's currency is the same as that used in many nations once colonized by
France. It is called the CFA franc. CFA stands for the French words Communauté
Financière Africaine (African Financial Community).
Malians usually make the things they need. Women make pottery and baskets and
weave cloth. Women and girls have to walk to a place where there is water and carry it
back to their homes for cooking and washing. While men and boys usually look after
the livestock and build homes, women and girls do most of the farming and cooking. In
cities like Bamako, people have jobs that earn cash, but they may also grow their own
vegetables and raise their own chickens at home.
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Getting Around
The Niger River plays an important role in Mali's transportation system. It allows people
and goods to travel across the country. Small ships can sail use the river year-round,
but the water is only deep enough for larger ships from August to December. A pinasse,
or covered mechanical canoe, is often used for travel.
Mali has roads that connect all of its major cities, but not all of the roads in Mali are
paved. Buses link these roads between major cities, but people use pickup trucks or
vans to get to areas further out in the country. People usually walk and ride bikes or
mopeds and motorcycles to get around on a daily basis. Mali also has a railroad that
connects Bamako, the capital city, with Dakar, Senegal.
The Lion King of Mali
The griots of Mali have long sung the tale of Sundiata Keita, the Lion King of Mali.
According to tradition, Sundiata's father, King Maghan of the Mandinka kingdom, heard
a prophecy that two hunters would come to the king with a very ugly woman. If the king
married this woman, their son would become the greatest king Mali had ever seen.
When the hunters came to his court with a woman named Sogolon, the king
remembered the prophecy and married her. Their son, Sundiata Kieta, was born soon
after. But Sundiata was weak and ugly and did not have any friends. He could not even
walk until he was seven years old. King Maghan wondered how his crippled child could
ever become a great king.
Some oral (spoken) traditions say that Sundiata was one of 12 brothers who were heirs
to the throne, but that his 11 brothers were killed by Sumanguru, ruler of the
neighboring kingdom. Sumanguru spared Prince Sundiata because he was so sickly
and almost near death. Sundiata had to leave Mali. But when he grew up, Sundiata
organized his own army and challenged the power of Sumanguru, defeating him and
conquering his kingdom. Sundiata's kingdom spread as far north as the Sahara, as far
east as the Niger River, as far south as the gold mines of Wangara, and as far west as
the Senegal River. This was the beginning of the Mali Empire, and Sundiata became
Mali's first Mansa, or King of Kings.
Learn More
Contact the Embassy of Mali, 2130 R Street NW, Washington, DC 20008; phone (202) 332-2249; web site
www.maliembassy.us.
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