Tyi Wara

Tyi Wara

The largest country in West Africa is Mali. Mali is

bordered by seven other states. Mali is somewhat shaped like

a butterfly, except that the left wing is much smaller then

the right wing. The largest region of the country is the

northwestern region. This region extends into the Sahara,

and is almost entirely arid desert. The central region of

the country is known as Sahel. Life in this region goes by

the Niger River’s annual flood cycle. It has the highest

amount of water between August and November. The

Southwestern region of the country is more lush than the

rest of the country. This is because rainfall, and rivers

are more plentiful here. As you can tell, Mali’s single most

important geographic feature is defiantly the Niger River.

This river goes through Sahel and the southeastern region of

the country. Both the Niger River and the Nile River are a

major source of transportation for this country.

Mali’s population consists of a number of different

peoples. They are the Bambara, the Songhai, Mandinka,

Senoufo, Fula, and Dogon. The majority of Mali’s people are

Muslim. The official language of Mali is French.

I will center in on one group of people, these are the

Bambara. The Bambara people are a large ethnic group of 4

million. They are located throughout Mali, as well as in the

northern areas of Cote D’lvoire, Guinea, Senegal and The

Gambia. They are among the most powerful and influential

ethnic groups in Mali. Most of the Bambara are farmers.

Their main crop is millet. Both men and women share the

farming duties. Their best known and most highly developed

art form is the dance headdress. Which is in the form of an

antelope. The antelope is more of an abstract design, that

is sometimes in combination with human and other animal

figures. These are used especially at agricultural rites.

They are designed to urge the people on to produce plentiful

crops. It is also to invoke the help of the spirits, by

reenacting mythological scenes of the birth of agriculture.

The antelope was supposed to have played a significant role

in this. Two men, one wearing a male antelope headdress, the

other wearing a female antelope headdress danced on the

communal field. While they were doing this other young men

hoed all day to mark the opening of the planting season. The

appearance of the masked figures was a scared rite to honor

the mythical wild creature who brought the knowledge of

hoeing to mankind. The dancers were covered in long black

fibers, and bent over on sticks. They imitated the

cultivator, or pawed the ground like mating antelopes.