When I was growing up, there were two
main cities that were often used in cartoons to depict “someplace far”: Abu
Dhabi and Timbuktu. The first one is in the United Arab Emirates, and the
second one is in Mali. It makes me wonder how many Americans knew that. (Besides
me, of course.) I won’t get to the UAE for a while, but we get to find out more
about what Timbuktu and the land it’s in is all about.
The name Mali actually means “hippopotamus”
in the Malinké and Bamana languages. It also used to be known as French Sudan,
but that’s not quite as cool. At least Mali sounds like my niece’s name Molly.
Mali is a landlocked country located in
northeastern Africa, surrounded by Algeria to the north; Niger to the east;
Burkina Faso, Côte Ivoire, and Guinea to the south; and Senegal and Mauritania
to the west. A large portion of the country lies within the Sahara Desert
region, making it a very hot country and without a lot of rainfall. It does
have a long, dry season, followed by a short, intense rainy season.
Mali was once part of several great empires.
One of the earliest ones in the Ghana Empire (ruled by the Soninke) followed by
the Mali Empire. The Mali Empire was centered in the city of Timbuktu, one of
the great cities of culture, trade, and Islam. They later were taken over by
the Songhai Empire, which subsequently fell to invading Moroccans. After coming
under French rule during the late 19th century, it was known as
French Sudan. When Senegal united with them in 1959, it became known as the
Mali Federation, and they gained their independence from France a year later.
It didn’t take long before Senegal broke off to be on its own, and Mali became
known as the Republic of Mali. Their first president, Modibo Keïta, quickly
established a one-party government. But that didn’t last too long before people
got upset about it. Moussa Traoré led a bloodless coup and took over. Although
there were some marginal attempts at fixing the economy and establishing
democracy, it was countered by banning dissenters and a number of other
repressive moves. The country suffered another coup in 1991, and a series of
pro-democracy protests across the country led to the March Revolution. Tensions
escalated into rioting, resulting in over 300 deaths in four days. Mali had its
first democratic elections the following year, and since then has been considered
one of the more politically and socially stable countries in Africa today.
However, the country made the news again for the Tuareg Rebellion of 2012, one
of the early clashes leading to the Northern Mali Conflict. Essentially, the
Tuareg rebels fought against the Malian government for independence of the
northern region known as Azawad. Historically, this was the home of the nomadic
Tuareg tribes. This conflict and instability led to an opening where the
Islamic group Ansar Dine entered, whose main goal is to spread sharia law
across Mali.
The capital is Bamako, Mali’s largest
city and one of the fastest growing cities in the world. Located on the Niger
River, its name means “crocodile tail” in Bambara. Bamako is like many other
African cities in that it has benefitted greatly from Chinese investment: many
of the infrastructure projects, hospitals, and other needed facilities have
been erected through this Chinese-African relationship. Although it’s not
uncommon to still find cattle crossing the streets of Bamako, you’ll also find major
international company headquarters, museums, music and arts festivals
(including a famous photography fest), universities, and a number of parks and
landmarks.
Mali is one of the poorest countries in
the world; workers earn an average of only USD$1500 per year. In agreements
with the World Bank and the IMF during the late 1980s and early 1990s, Mali
underwent changes in the privatization of certain businesses, which did yield
some economic growth. The country is part of what’s known as the French Zone,
meaning its banks are tied with the French Central Bank. Part of the reason
Mali’s economy struggles is that its main economic driver is agriculture (rice,
millet, cotton, tobacco), and in an area that is constantly plagued with
environmental changes (deforestation, desertification), its crops struggle,
too. They have a smaller yet significant energy industry and mining industry (especially
in gold, salt, limestone, kaolin, and phosphate).
Roughly 90% of Malians are Muslim, with
the remaining 10% split between Christianity and other indigenous belief
systems. Because of the importance of religion being placed in their society,
very few are atheist or agnostic (at least for those who admit it). In the
past, the Islam practiced in Mali has historically been pretty moderate and
tolerant, but the Islamic extremist-led 2012 Northern Mali Conflict has now
created a hostile environment for religious minorities.
While the official language is French, most
Malians can speak Bambara and use it as a lingua franca since there are over 40
languages spoken in Mali. Bambara is just one of 12 other languages that are
considered national languages.
In reading about Mali, I came across
Mansa Musa. I read about him years ago, but I had forgotten his name. (He’s
actually known by many names, but Mansa Musa is the most common name used by Westerners.)
He was a rich leader and devout Muslim, and as he made the traditional pilgrimage,
he left so much gold in the cities he stayed in along the way, that it ruined
their local economy. When he heard about this, he borrowed gold in each city as
he returned to Mali, single-handedly affecting the regional economy in the
Mediterranean and northern Africa. He also built a number of mosques, schools,
and universities in Mali, bringing in architects, mathematicians, and other
scholars from all over to help with the projects and to teach others. There is
so much history, so much culture that is tied to this country. It’s hard to
believe that at one time it was the center of African culture and run by great
empires. And now, less than 10% of the people make more than $2 per day. I can’t
wait to find out what this ancient cultural center is all about today.
Up next: art and literature
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