Mali American Culture

Mali is a country located in Africa, specifically in the inlands of West Africa. It is a landlocked country meaning completely surrounded by land and only a few sources of water available by its neighboring countries. Some of its important neighboring countries are Algeria which is to the north of Mali, Senegal which is to the west of Mali and Niger which is to the east of Mali. The reason why Algeria is one of its important countries is because Algeria contains the largest and hottest desert which is called the Sahara Desert. The Saharan desert blankets almost 65 percent of the northern part of Mali, which is said to be “The Living Part of Africa” where most of the exotic animals, large arid mountains, sandy plains and leafless trees are

The majority of the 14,5 million people live in the outskirts or the southern region of Mali which is close to the capital of Bamako. The most used language in this country is French and Bambara. There are many different ethnic groups that are contained in the Mali culture such as Bambara, Tuareg, Dogon, Songhay, Senufo and Fulani. Each specific group have their own cultural ways and customs. The most important ethnic group is the Bambara people who make up about 80% of the population in Mali. Even though French is the official language of Mali, the Bambara language is used widely in Mali, especially in trade or business interactions. The Bambara are mostly Farmers. They obtain crops such as the millet and tobacco, they also raise cattle such as sheep and chicken and hunt for one’s family occasionally. These roles are not taken on by just the women though. The men and women both take on these duties, but the women is usually the one who prepares the produce for cooking and raises the children. The children usually help with these daily duties around the age of 12, doing task such as raising the cattle and helping to pick crops to provide for trading. Agriculture is the main priority of Mali which camel herding, fishing, cotton production and many other agricultural duties are the Bambara main

Mali is the cultural heir to the succession of ancient African empires – Ghana, Malinké, and Songhai – that occupied the West African savannah. These empires controlled Saharan trade and were in touch with Mediterranean and Middle Eastern centers of civilization” this statement is made by The US department of state articles.This specific statement shows that Mali was once free, with a developed civilization during the early 1600’s to 1700’s. The Ghana was considered the most powerful trading system during this time, Timbuktu and the Niger river were both very important factors in this legacy the Ghana held. The Songhai and the Malinké were also very powerful in the trading and commerce position but fell very quickly within a few years in the 1600’s due to invasions and over production. Later in the 1800, the French took control of the Malian, promising advances and bringing in militant governors. But once the French came in, they began to bring in more French Officials and passed a law stating that the Territorial Assembly which was completely formed by the French obtained extensive powers over internal affairs and was forced to form a cabinet with executive authority over matters presented in the country without any of the people’s opinion