Skip to content
L’ACCENT
FrançaisEnglish

The ZOOM · Culture

Peoples and cultures of Mali

from Wagadou to today

Empires, kingdoms, languages and traditions: a history on a map, and an atlas of Mali’s peoples based on the 2022 census. Every fact is sourced.

Start the history Open the atlas

Mali in figures

people counted in 2022
22.4 M
peoples named by the census
20
have Bambara as their mother tongue
49.9%
sites and elements listed by UNESCO
13
Self-declared group, % of Malians (RGPH5, 2022)
  1. Bambara35.9%
  2. Fulani12.8%
  3. Malinke8.4%
  4. Soninke8.2%
  5. Dogon6.1%
  6. Minianka5.4%
  7. Songhai4.8%
  8. Senufo4%
  9. Tuareg3.9%
  10. others10.5%

Source: INSTAT, 5th census (RGPH5), 2022

Mali’s history in thirteen steps

Skip the history and go to the atlas

  1. 3rd–13th century

    Wagadou, the empire of gold

    Before Mali came Ghana, which Soninke traditions call Wagadou. Its wealth came from the gold of Bambouk, Galam and Bouré, over which the king kept a monopoly.

    In 1068 the geographer al-Bakri described its king, the tunka, and a capital made of two separate towns: the king’s, and the Muslim merchants’.

    What is debated

    The founding date (3rd or 6th century, depending on the author); whether Koumbi Saleh, in Mauritania, was the capital; and the Almoravid conquest of 1076, which some historians accept and others call “the conquest that never was”.

    • Approximate heart of the state
    • Location debated
    Sources (3)

  2. Around 1235

    Kirina: Sundiata against Sumaoro

    Around 1200, Sumaoro Kanté, king of Sosso, ruled the region from Wagadou to the chiefdoms of the Mandé. Tradition says Sundiata Keita defeated him at Kirina, then took the former Ghana.

    Sundiata’s life comes to us mainly from griots. The Sosso-Bala, a sacred balafon linked to Sumaoro, is still kept by the Kouyaté griots of Niagassola, in Guinea.

    A traditional date

    1235 is the date most often given. Some sources give 1222, the date of the “hunters’ oath”; no excavation has confirmed where the battle took place.

    Sources (4)

  3. 1236, by tradition

    Kurukan Fuga, the Manden Charter

    After the victory, an assembly at Kurukan Fuga is said to have proclaimed the Manden Charter: a preamble and seven chapters, passed down orally in Malinke clans, on social peace, the sanctity of human life and freedom.

    UNESCO added it to the intangible heritage list in 2009. Ceremonies in Kangaba commemorate it.

    A debated text

    The written 44-article version was drawn up by traditionalists in Kankan (Guinea) in 1998. Historians such as Jean-Loup Amselle see it as a recent reconstruction; other scholars read it as authentic oral memory.

    Sources (2)

  4. 1312–1337

    Mansa Musa and Mali’s gold

    According to al-Umari, the Mali empire federated thirteen kingdoms ruled by their own kings under the mansa. In 1324, Mansa Musa passed through Cairo on his way to Mecca.

    Al-Umari reports that after his visit the gold mithqal fell from 25 to about 22 dirhams for a dozen years: a drop of about 12%, far from the “crash” often told. On his return, Musa began Timbuktu’s Djinguereber mosque.

    Where was the capital?

    It was long placed at Niani, in Guinea, after excavations in the 1960s–70s. In 2012, F.-X. Fauvelle-Aymar showed that the site’s dates do not cover the 14th century: “the capital was not there”. Its location remains unknown.

    Sources (4)

  5. 14th–16th century

    Timbuktu and Djenné, cities of learning

    Ibn Battuta stayed at the court of Mansa Sulayman from June 1352 to February 1353. Timbuktu became a great centre of learning: UNESCO credits it at its height with 180 Koranic schools and 25,000 students, around Sankore.

    Djenné, inhabited since the 3rd century BCE (Djenné-Djeno), got a first mosque around 1280. Every year before the rains, the whole town still replasters its Great Mosque in mud.

    Sources (4)

  6. 1464–1591

    The Songhai empire of Gao

    In 1464 Sonni Ali took the throne of Gao. He seized Timbuktu in 1468 and Djenné in 1473, extending the empire along the Niger.

    Askia Mohammed succeeded him (1493–1528) and made the pilgrimage in 1496–1497. His pyramidal tomb in Gao, raised in 1495, is a World Heritage site.

    Sources (4)

  7. 1591

    Tondibi and the Pashalik

    In 1591 a Moroccan army under Judar, armed with muskets, defeated Askia Ishaq II’s far larger forces at Tondibi, north of Gao. The Songhai empire collapsed.

    Pashas ruled from Timbuktu; from 1660 their descendants, the Arma, reigned without reference to Morocco, until the Tuareg took the city in the 18th century.

    Sources (3)

  8. 18th–19th century

    The Bambara kingdoms of Ségou and Kaarta

    Mamari Coulibaly, known as Biton (1712–1755), the true founder of the kingdom of Ségou, built its army and pushed the Massassi back to Kaarta. Ngolo Diarra founded in 1770 the dynasty that ruled until 1861.

    North of the upper Senegal, the Massassi held the kingdom of Kaarta, founded in the late 17th century.

    Sources (2)

  9. 1818–1862

    The Diina of Macina

    In 1818 Sékou Amadou defeated the Bambara and the Fulani chiefs (ardo) at Noukouma and founded a theocratic state in the Inner Niger Delta. Its capital, Hamdallaye, founded in 1821, was run by a Council of Forty.

    The Macina brought together Fulani herders, Bozo fishers and Mande farmers. The Diina lasted until 1862.

    Sources (3)

  10. 1854–1893

    El Hadj Umar and the Toucouleur empire

    Initiated into the Tijaniyya brotherhood, El Hadj Umar Tall launched his jihad in 1854. He took Kaarta (1855–1856), fought the French at the siege of Médine (1857), entered Ségou on 9 March 1861 and Hamdallaye on 16 May 1862.

    He died in 1864 in the Bandiagara cliffs, in unclear circumstances. His empire fell to the French conquest from 1890.

    Two versions of a date

    Larousse dates the start of the jihad to 1854; other Malian sources to 1852.

    Sources (3)

  11. 1878–1898

    Samori and Sikasso against the conquest

    Samori Touré formed the Wassoulou empire in 1878. He signed the treaties of Kéniéba-Koura (1886) and Bissandougou (1887) with France, then, after 1891, withdrew east into what is now northern Côte d’Ivoire.

    In Sikasso, capital of Kénédougou since Tiéba, Babemba resisted. The French conquest “ended in 1898 with the capture of Sikasso”; Samori was arrested the same year and died in exile in Gabon in 1900.

    Sources (4)

  12. 1880–1958

    French Sudan

    The colony often changed names: Upper River (1880), French Sudan (1890), Upper Senegal and Niger (1904, capital Bamako), French Sudan again (1920), an overseas territory in 1946.

    Timbuktu was taken on 10 January 1893. The Kel Adagh of the Adrar des Ifoghas submitted without fighting in 1904; the colonial administration abolished slavery in 1905.

    Sources (3)

  13. 22 September 1960

    From Sudan to Mali

    In 1959 Sudan and Senegal formed the Mali Federation, whose government was led by Modibo Keita. It became independent on 20 June 1960 and broke up on the night of 19–20 August.

    On 22 September 1960 Sudan proclaimed its independence and kept the name Mali. Modibo Keita became president of the Republic.

    Sources (3)

Atlas

Who lives where?

Pick a people: each region takes the colour of its share of the population, from the 2022 census. Tap a region to see who lives there.

Language families

Loading the map…

Tap a name or a region.

Shares of each region’s resident population (RGPH5, 2022). Names mark a traditional heartland, not a border: everywhere, peoples mix.

All peoples

Tap a name or a region.

Mali’s peoples, from largest to smallest

  1. Bambara 35.9%

    Bamanan · Bamana · Bamanankan (Mande), a national language

    Ségou, Koulikoro, Dioïla, Bougouni and Bamako: the majority in Dioïla (71%), Bougouni (65%), Koulikoro (59%) and Ségou (56%).

    The country’s largest group: 35.9% of Malians at the 2022 census. INSTAT links them to the kingdoms of Ségou and Kaarta.

    The Kôrêdugaw initiation society, a “rite of wisdom”, is central to Bambara identity, as it is for the Malinke, Senufo and Samogo. The coming forth of the masks and puppets in Markala brings together Bambara, Bozo, Marka and Somono.

  2. Fulani 12.8%

    Fulɓe (sing. Pullo) · Peul · Fula · Fulfulde (Atlantic), a national language

    Present in every region: 28% of Mopti’s residents, 25% of Nioro’s, 23% of Douentza’s; Bamako, Bougouni and Kayes also have large communities.

    12.8% of Malians, and the most widely spread group. In the Inner Niger Delta, the Yaaral and Degal celebrate the herds crossing the river at the end of transhumance, a tradition dating back to Fulani settlement in the region around the 14th century.

    In the 19th century, Sékou Amadou founded the Diina of Macina there, a theocratic state. Since 2015, Fulani civilians have been among the main victims of violence in central Mali, including abuses by self-defence groups documented by Human Rights Watch.

  3. Malinke 8.4%

    Maninka · Mandinka · Maninkakan (Mande), a national language

    Kita (49% of residents), Kayes, Koulikoro and the Mandé, the upper Niger valley south-west of Bamako.

    8.4% of Malians. The Mandé is the cradle of the Mali empire: the Keita families who trace their descent to Sundiata mostly live there.

    Every seven years in Kangaba, the roof of the Kamablon, the Keitas’ sacred house built in 1653, is redone while Diabaté griots from Kéla recite the history of the Mandé. The Manden Charter, passed down orally in Malinke clans, has been on UNESCO’s intangible heritage list since 2009.

  4. Soninke 8.2%

    Sarakole · Marka · Soninke (Mande), a national language

    Nioro (44% of residents), Nara (41%) and Kayes (28%), in the Sahelian west; a quarter of Soninke live in Bamako.

    8.2% of Malians. INSTAT links the Soninke to the Ghana empire, or Wagadou, the region’s first great state.

    Near Nioro, the kingdom of Jaara was ruled from the mid-15th century until El Hadj Umar by the Diawara dynasty, of foreign origin but integrated into Soninke society.

  5. Dogon 6.1%

    Dogonon · Kado · Dogon languages (Dogon family), a national language

    The Bandiagara escarpment and plateau (93% of the region’s residents), the plain and Douentza (50%).

    6.1% of Malians. Villages sit at the foot of the Bandiagara escarpment, a World Heritage site since 1989 for both nature and culture.

    The Sigui ceremonies come round every sixty years; masked dances today mostly accompany funerals. The Dogon and the Bozo share a famous joking relationship.

  6. Minianka 5.4%

    Mamala · Mamara · Mamara (Senufo), a national language

    Koutiala region, where they are 57% of residents, and San (15%).

    5.4% of Malians. Their language, Mamara, is a Senufo language: the Minianka and the Senufo are close neighbours in language, counted separately by the census.

  7. Songhai 4.8%

    Songhay · Sonrhai · Zarma · Songhay languages (Songhay family), a national language

    The Niger bend: Gao (54% of residents) and Timbuktu (40%), and Mopti.

    4.8% of Malians. In 1464 Sonni Ali took the throne of Gao and built the Songhai empire; Askia Mohammed reigned from 1493 to 1528 (1492 in other sources).

    Songhay is spoken all along the river, from Timbuktu into neighbouring Niger, as several close languages.

  8. Senufo 4%

    Senoufo · Syenara · Syenara (Senufo), a national language

    Sikasso region, where they are 43% of residents; three in four of Mali’s Senufo live there.

    4% of Malians. The Kénédougou kingdom, whose king Tiéba made Sikasso its capital around 1870, grew from a Traoré family of Dioula origin bound to Senufo culture.

    The Kôrêdugaw initiation rite, listed by UNESCO, is shared with the Bambara, Malinke and Samogo. Balafon practices of Mali, Burkina Faso and Côte d’Ivoire are also on the intangible heritage list.

  9. Tuareg 3.9%

    Kel Tamasheq · Tamasheq (Berber), a national language

    Kidal (86% of residents), Ménaka (73%), Timbuktu (43%), Gao (33%).

    3.9% of Malians. Kidal region largely covers the Adagh (Adrar des Ifoghas). Tuareg society there distinguished status categories (imushagh, imghad, inadan artisans, iklan) whose boundaries were not fixed.

    The imzad, a one-string fiddle made and played by women, accompanies poetry and has a healing role; UNESCO lists it for Algeria, Mali and Niger.

  10. Bwa and Bobo 2.2%

    Bwa · Bobo · Bomu · Bomu (Gur), a national language; the Bobo Madaré speak Mande languages

    The San and Tominian districts: 29% of the residents of San region.

    2.2% of Malians, under one census heading that covers two peoples: the Bwa, settled farmers speaking a Gur language, whom the colonial administration called “Bobo Oulé”, and the Mande-speaking Bobo Madaré.

    In San, the Sanké mon, a collective fishing rite commemorating the town’s founding, has been on UNESCO’s Urgent Safeguarding List since 2009.

  11. Bozo 1.9%

    Sorko · Bozo languages (Mande), a national language

    The river and the Inner Niger Delta: 18% of Mopti’s residents; Ségou.

    1.9% of Malians, the river’s fishers. In the delta, traditional fishing rights belong to “masters of the waters”, usually from a Bozo lineage.

    Fishing is no longer reserved for Bozo and Somono: in a 2012 survey of 60 fishers, 80% were Bozo. They share a famous joking relationship with the Dogon.

  12. Khassonke 1.2%

    Xaasonka · Khassonke (Mande), a national language

    The Khasso, the Senegal valley between Kayes and Bafoulabé: 72% of Khassonke live in Kayes region.

    1.2% of Malians. The Khassonke describe themselves as of mixed Malinke and Fulani descent. In the 18th century, Khasso’s kings fought the Massassi of Kaarta; Khasso-Dembaya later had Médine as its capital.

  13. Moors 1.1%

    Souraka · Bidan · Hassaniya (Arabic), a national language

    Taoudénit (31% of residents), Nara (15%), Nioro; a Sahelian presence from the west to the north.

    1.1% of Malians. Hassaniya speakers, they live mostly in the Nioro, Nara and Taoudénit regions, along Mauritania.

  14. Samogo 0.7%

    Duun · Jowulu · Seeku · Samogo languages (Mande)

    Sikasso region, home to three in four Samogo.

    0.7% of Malians. The name covers several small peoples with distinct Mande languages. They share the Kôrêdugaw rite with the Bambara, Malinke and Senufo.

  15. Arabs 0.6%

    Berabiche · Kunta · Hassaniya (Arabic), a national language

    Taoudénit (51% of residents), Gao and Timbuktu; the Azawad, north of Timbuktu.

    0.6% of Malians. The Azawad is the “land of the Berabiche”, also home to the Kunta and the Ahel Arawan: above all a camel and sheep herding area.

  16. Dafing 0.5%

    Marka-Dafing · Marka (Mande)

    San region (4.6% of residents) and Bamako.

    0.5% of Malians. Their language, which Glottolog calls Marka, is East Manding, like Bambara. Not to be confused with the Marka of Soninke origin in the Ségou region.

  17. Mossi 0.4%

    Moose · Mooré (Gur)

    Ségou, Bamako, Mopti and Bandiagara, in small numbers.

    0.4% of Malians. Their language, Mooré, is a Gur language; in Mali they live mostly in the centre.

  18. Kakolo 0.4%

    Kagoro? · Kagoro (Mande), probably

    Kita, Koulikoro, Nioro and Bamako.

    0.4% of Malians. The census does not define this group; it is very probably the Kagoro, whose Mande language is close to the Malinke of Kita. We flag this as a hypothesis.

  19. Somono 0.3%

    Somono · A dialect of Bambara (Mande)

    The river from Ségou to Mopti, and Bamako.

    0.3% of Malians. River fishers alongside the Bozo, they speak a dialect of Bambara. They take part in the coming forth of the masks and puppets in Markala.

Ties

What binds societies together

Mali’s peoples don’t just live side by side: they marry, trade, and share languages and old institutions.

“Two senanku must not shed each other’s blood.”
The sanankuya pact, after J.-L. Amselle, Journal des Africanistes, 1970 (our translation)

Hear the languages

Counting to ten is enough to hear how different these languages are. The voices are native speakers recorded for open corpora; for Bambara, which has no recording of the numbers, a proverb.

Anonymous voices. Except for Bambara, the corpora don’t say which country the speakers come from: these languages are also spoken beyond Mali’s borders.

3D workshop

Turn the objects

Two real objects, scanned in 3D by a museum, and six objects modelled by L’ACCENT: turn them to see how they are made.

Loading the 3D model…

Chiwara

ci wara

A real Bamana headdress, scanned in 3D at the African Museum in Olkusz, Poland. Oral tradition sees in it the half-human, half-animal being who taught the Bamana to farm.

3D scan: Virtual Museums of Małopolska / African Museum in Olkusz, inv. MOK–M.O./A/1011 · CC0 (opens in a new tab)

The chiwara and the kanaga mask are 3D scans of objects at the African Museum in Olkusz (Poland), in the public domain (CC0). The other six are models made by L’ACCENT after the form and making of the objects, not scans.

Objects

Iconic objects

Instruments, masks, cloth: eight objects that tell of Mali’s societies, their crafts and their rites.

Carved wooden ci wara headdress: an antelope with long upright horns and an openwork neck, on a stand.
Ci wara headdress, Bamana, south-central Mali, 19th centuryThe Metropolitan Museum of Art, 2016.574 · public domain (opens in a new tab)

  1. Chiwara

    ci wara

    Bamana · south and centre

    The name means “wild animal that works”. Oral tradition says a half-human, half-animal being taught the Bamana to farm; these headdresses, carved by blacksmiths, celebrate it.

    Worn by men, they dance in male and female pairs (the female carries a young one on her back) early in the rainy season, at farming contests and weddings, to women’s songs.

    See a piece at the Met · 2016.574 (opens in a new tab)
    Sources (3)

  2. Kora

    kora

    Mandinka · griots of the Mande world

    A 21-string harp-lute played with four fingers: a large half gourd covered with cowhide, a thick wooden neck and leather rings for tuning.

    It is traditionally reserved for jeli, the griots. Born among the Mandinka of Senegambia (in Kaabu, in the 18th century according to historian Eric Charry; a gift from a spirit, tradition says), it became an emblem of the Mande world.

    See a piece at the Met · 89.4.498 (opens in a new tab)
    Sources (1)

  3. Balafon

    bala

    Malinke, Bamana, Senufo

    A xylophone of wooden keys over resonating gourds. According to Eric Charry, the bala goes back to 13th-century Mali, the time of Sundiata.

    The Sosso-Bala, a sacred balafon credited to Sumaoro Kanté, is kept in Guinea by the Kouyaté griots. Balafon practices of Mali, Burkina Faso and Côte d’Ivoire are on UNESCO’s intangible heritage list.

    See a piece at the Met · 89.4.492 (opens in a new tab)
    Sources (3)

  4. Ngoni

    ngɔni · donso ngɔni

    Bamana, Malinke · Wassoulou

    The griots’ ngoni is a lute with a canoe-shaped body of hollowed wood, covered with hide, and four or five strings. Bassekou Kouyaté made it a lead instrument.

    The donso ngoni, the hunters’ harp of Wassoulou, accompanies their long epics. Its smaller cousin, the kamalé ngoni, carries the Wassoulou music of Oumou Sangaré.

    See a piece at the Met · 89.4.2032 (opens in a new tab)
    Sources (3)

  5. Djembe

    jembe

    Malinke · from Kankan to Bamako

    A drum at the heart of Maninka and Susu traditions, whose homeland lies between Kankan (Guinea) and Bamako. It is linked to blacksmiths (numu), who carve the bodies and also play them.

    Anyone may play it; griots rarely do. With the dunun bass drums, it makes weddings, farm work and village festivals dance.

    Sources (1)

  6. Bogolan

    bògòlanfini

    Bamana

    “Bògòlanfini” means mud cloth. Men weave cotton strips on narrow looms; women paint the background around the motifs with fermented mud.

    Some designs protect the wearer or show their status. Mali has nominated bogolan for UNESCO’s intangible heritage list: the file is due to be examined in 2026.

    Sources (2)

  7. Kanaga mask

    imina kanaga

    Dogon · Bandiagara

    A mask topped by a double cross, worn at the dama, the funeral rite that sends the souls of the dead to the spirit world. Dancers dip and spin until the top of the mask touches the ground.

    Its meaning is debated: a bird, a crocodile, the creator god Amma, or sky and earth, depending on the interpretation.

    Sources (3)

  8. Imzad

    imzad · anzad

    Tuareg · north

    A one-string fiddle played only by women, seated with the instrument on their knees. They make it from half a gourd covered with skin, pierced with rosette sound holes.

    It accompanies poetic songs in praise of heroes, and drives away evil spirits. Listed by UNESCO as intangible heritage in 2013, for Algeria, Mali and Niger.

    Sources (1)

Drawings: L’ACCENT, after the general form of each object. “See a piece at the Met” links lead to open-access objects at the Metropolitan Museum of Art.

Heritage

A heritage recognised, and threatened

Four World Heritage sites and nine elements of UNESCO’s intangible cultural heritage.

World Heritage

Intangible cultural heritage

Timbuktu, 2012: destroyed, judged, rebuilt

Between 30 June and 2 July 2012, armed groups occupying the city destroyed 14 of its 16 listed mausoleums; 4,203 manuscripts were burned or lost, while some 300,000 others were moved to safety, mostly to Bamako.

Timbuktu’s masons rebuilt the mausoleums in 2014–2015. In 2016 the International Criminal Court sentenced Ahmad Al Faqi Al Mahdi to nine years in prison: the first international trial centred on the destruction of monuments. Reparations to victims were completed in March 2026.

A living culture

Every year before the rains, the Barey-Ton masons’ guild and the whole town replaster Djenné’s Great Mosque. In Ségou, the Festival sur le Niger has run since 2005; in Bamako, the Rencontres, Africa’s photography biennale, since 1994.

Ali Farka Touré won three Grammy Awards, two of them with Toumani Diabaté. Bogolan and joking alliances (with Niger and Burkina Faso) are candidates for the intangible heritage list in 2026.

Method

Sources and limits

Population figures come from INSTAT’s 5th general census (RGPH5, 2022), which asked every Malian living in an ordinary household for their ethnic group. Regional shares are those of its table 6.15.

The history draws on encyclopaedias (Larousse, World History Encyclopedia), open-access work by historians and UNESCO’s files. Languages follow Glottolog’s classification. Where sources disagree, we show the versions instead of picking one.

What to keep in mind

  • Ethnic belonging is self-declared. It has no sharp boundary: marriages, migration and shared languages mean one family can claim several groups.
  • Localities not enumerated for security reasons were estimated by satellite, with no ethnicity data: the table covers 21.2 million people out of 22.4.
  • The census groups distinct peoples under one heading (Bwa and Bobo) and doesn’t count Toucouleur, Diawara or Marka separately. “Kakolo” very probably means the Kagoro, unconfirmed.
  • The heartlands of past states on the map are approximate: no reliable borders exist for these empires, and the location of several capitals is debated.
  • This page is about cultures, not the current conflict: no violence is explained by belonging to a people. For the security crisis, see our dedicated report. Open the report

Data and images

An error, a better source, a people badly described? Write to us: we correct and say so.

Report an error

All sources

  1. HistoryEmpire du Ghana (opens in a new tab)Encyclopédie Larousse
  2. HistoryGhana Empire (opens in a new tab)World History Encyclopedia
  3. HistoryD. C. Conrad, H. J. Fisher, “The Conquest That Never Was: Ghana and the Almoravids, 1076” (opens in a new tab)History in Africa (Cambridge) · Jan 1, 1983
  4. HistorySoundiata Keita (opens in a new tab)Encyclopédie Larousse
  5. HistorySoumangourou Kanté (opens in a new tab)Encyclopédie Larousse
  6. HistorySundiata Keita (opens in a new tab)World History Encyclopedia
  7. HistoryCultural space of Sosso-Bala (opens in a new tab)UNESCO
  8. HistoryManden Charter, proclaimed in Kurukan Fuga (opens in a new tab)UNESCO
  9. History« La charte du Mandé : reconfigurations textuelles et mémorielles » (opens in a new tab)Afroglobe (UQAM)
  10. HistoryAl-Umari’s Account of Mansa Musa’s Visit to Cairo (opens in a new tab)World History Commons
  11. HistoryF.-X. Fauvelle-Aymar, “Niani Redux”, 2012 (opens in a new tab)Palethnologie (OpenEdition) · Jan 1, 2012
  12. HistoryEmpire du Mali (opens in a new tab)Encyclopédie Larousse
  13. HistoryWorld Heritage List: Mali records (opens in a new tab)UNESCO (données ouvertes)
  14. HistoryL’UNESCO aux côtés des autorités et des communautés de Djenné (crépissage, 2025) (opens in a new tab)UNESCO · Jun 30, 2025
  15. HistoryIbn Battuta (opens in a new tab)World History Encyclopedia
  16. HistoryL. Eloundou Assomo, “Cultural Heritage at Risk in Mali” (opens in a new tab)Getty Publications
  17. HistoryEmpire songhaï (opens in a new tab)Encyclopédie Larousse
  18. HistoryAskia (opens in a new tab)Encyclopédie Larousse
  19. HistorySonghai Empire (opens in a new tab)World History Encyclopedia
  20. HistoryMali : histoire (opens in a new tab)Encyclopédie Larousse
  21. HistoryTombouctou (opens in a new tab)Encyclopédie Larousse
  22. HistoryRoyaume de Ségou (opens in a new tab)Encyclopédie Larousse
  23. HistoryKaarta (opens in a new tab)Encyclopédie Larousse
  24. HistoryMacina (opens in a new tab)Encyclopédie Larousse
  25. HistoryB. Salvaing, compte rendu de B. Sanankoua, « Un empire peul au XIXe siècle », 1991 (opens in a new tab)Outre-Mers (Persée)
  26. HistoryEl-Hadj Omar (opens in a new tab)Encyclopédie Larousse
  27. HistoryToucouleurs (opens in a new tab)Encyclopédie Larousse
  28. HistorySoudan français : textes et chronologie (1880-1958) (opens in a new tab)Digithèque MJP, université de Perpignan
  29. HistorySamori Touré (opens in a new tab)Encyclopédie Larousse
  30. HistoryM. Tymowski, « Les domaines des princes du Kenedugu », 1981 (opens in a new tab)Outre-Mers (Persée)
  31. HistorySoudan français (opens in a new tab)Encyclopédie Larousse
  32. HistoryP. Boilley, « Les Touaregs Kel Adagh » (1999) (opens in a new tab)Karthala
  33. HistoryIndépendance de la Fédération du Mali (1960) (opens in a new tab)Digithèque MJP, université de Perpignan
  34. HistoryProclamation de l’indépendance du Mali, 22 septembre 1960 (opens in a new tab)Digithèque MJP, université de Perpignan
  35. HistoryModibo Keita (opens in a new tab)Encyclopédie Larousse
  36. Atlas of peoplesRGPH5 – État et structure de la population (tableau 6.15) (opens in a new tab)INSTAT Mali · Dec 1, 2024
  37. Atlas of peoplesBambara (opens in a new tab)Glottolog 5 (CC BY 4.0)
  38. Atlas of peoplesSecret society of the Kôrêdugaw, the rite of wisdom in Mali (opens in a new tab)UNESCO
  39. Atlas of peoplesComing forth of the masks and puppets in Markala (opens in a new tab)UNESCO
  40. Atlas of peoplesMaasina Fulfulde (opens in a new tab)Glottolog 5 (CC BY 4.0)
  41. Atlas of peoplesCultural space of the Yaaral and Degal (opens in a new tab)UNESCO
  42. Atlas of peoples“We Used to Be Brothers”: Self-Defense Group Abuses in Central Mali (opens in a new tab)Human Rights Watch · Dec 7, 2018
  43. Atlas of peoplesWestern Maninkakan (opens in a new tab)Glottolog 5 (CC BY 4.0)
  44. Atlas of peoplesSeptennial re-roofing ceremony of the Kamablon, sacred house of Kangaba (opens in a new tab)UNESCO
  45. Atlas of peoplesC. Meillassoux, « Les cérémonies septennales du Kamablon de Kaaba », 1968 (opens in a new tab)Journal des Africanistes (Persée)
  46. Atlas of peoplesSoninke (opens in a new tab)Glottolog 5 (CC BY 4.0)
  47. Atlas of peoplesM. Chastanet, compte rendu de M. Diawara, « La graine de la parole », 1990 (opens in a new tab)Cahiers d’études africaines (Persée)
  48. Atlas of peoples« Le Mali contemporain » (2014), chapitre sur Nioro du Sahel (opens in a new tab)IRD Éditions (OpenEdition Books)
  49. Atlas of peoplesDogon (family) (opens in a new tab)Glottolog 5 (CC BY 4.0)
  50. Atlas of peoplesA. Schaeffner, « Les Dogon de Sanga » (missions de 1931 et 1935), 2006 (opens in a new tab)L’Homme (OpenEdition)
  51. Atlas of peoples« Les monuments sont habités » : la falaise de Bandiagara (opens in a new tab)Éditions de la MSH (OpenEdition Books)
  52. Atlas of peoplesMamara Senoufo (opens in a new tab)Glottolog 5 (CC BY 4.0)
  53. Atlas of peoplesSonghay (family) (opens in a new tab)Glottolog 5 (CC BY 4.0)
  54. Atlas of peoples« L’empire songhay » : Sonni Ali et les Askia, 2014 (opens in a new tab)Études rurales (OpenEdition)
  55. Atlas of peoplesSyenara Senoufo (opens in a new tab)Glottolog 5 (CC BY 4.0)
  56. Atlas of peoplesTamasheq (opens in a new tab)Glottolog 5 (CC BY 4.0)
  57. Atlas of peoplesA. Bencherif, la région de Kidal (Adagh) et ses hiérarchies, 2019 (opens in a new tab)Cahiers d’études africaines (OpenEdition)
  58. Atlas of peoplesPractices and knowledge linked to the Imzad of the Tuareg communities of Algeria, Mali and Niger (opens in a new tab)UNESCO
  59. Atlas of peoplesBomu (Bwamu) (opens in a new tab)Glottolog 5 (CC BY 4.0)
  60. Atlas of peoplesNorthern Bobo Madaré (opens in a new tab)Glottolog 5 (CC BY 4.0)
  61. Atlas of peoplesC. Leguy, les Bwa des cercles de San et de Tominian, 2005 (opens in a new tab)Journal des Africanistes (OpenEdition)
  62. Atlas of peoplesSanké mon, collective fishing rite of the Sanké (opens in a new tab)UNESCO
  63. Atlas of peoplesBozo (family) (opens in a new tab)Glottolog 5 (CC BY 4.0)
  64. Atlas of peoplesLa pêche dans le delta intérieur du Niger, 2012 (opens in a new tab)Territoire en mouvement (OpenEdition)
  65. Atlas of peoplesG. Dieterlen, « Le culte du Faro chez les Bambara et les Bozo », 1942 (opens in a new tab)Journal des Africanistes (Persée)
  66. Atlas of peoplesXaasongaxango (opens in a new tab)Glottolog 5 (CC BY 4.0)
  67. Atlas of peoplesP. Brasseur, compte rendu de S. M. Cissoko, « Le Khasso », 1988 (opens in a new tab)Outre-Mers (Persée)
  68. Atlas of peoplesHassaniyya (opens in a new tab)Glottolog 5 (CC BY 4.0)
  69. Atlas of peoplesE. Bernus, « Azawad », vol. 8, 1990 (opens in a new tab)Encyclopédie berbère (OpenEdition)
  70. Atlas of peoplesDuungooma (opens in a new tab)Glottolog 5 (CC BY 4.0)
  71. Atlas of peoplesMarka (Dafing) (opens in a new tab)Glottolog 5 (CC BY 4.0)
  72. Atlas of peoplesMossi (Mooré) (opens in a new tab)Glottolog 5 (CC BY 4.0)
  73. Atlas of peoplesKagoro (opens in a new tab)Glottolog 5 (CC BY 4.0)
  74. Atlas of peoplesÉ. K. Hahonou, pêcheurs somono et bozo du fleuve Niger, 2017 (opens in a new tab)Journal des Africanistes (OpenEdition)
  75. What bindsC. Canut, É. Smith, « Pactes, alliances et plaisanteries », n° 184, 2006 (opens in a new tab)Cahiers d’études africaines (OpenEdition)
  76. What bindsJ.-L. Amselle, sur les Peuls et les forgerons (senankuya), 1970 (opens in a new tab)Journal des Africanistes (Persée)
  77. What bindsConstitution du 22 juillet 2023 (n° spécial 13) (opens in a new tab)Journal officiel du Mali · Jul 22, 2023
  78. What bindsConditions et modalités d’emploi des langues nationales officielles : le CNT donne son quitus (opens in a new tab)Bamada.net · Apr 29, 2025
  79. What bindsMali: UN experts condemn attacks on people born into slavery (opens in a new tab)ONU Info / UN News · Jul 19, 2021
  80. What bindsMali: UN experts call for end to descent-based slavery (opens in a new tab)ONU Info / UN News · May 8, 2023
  81. What bindsDescent-based slavery in Mali: characteristics and recent responses (opens in a new tab)Anti-Slavery International · Aug 1, 2025
  82. ObjectsPair of Headdresses (Chiwara Kunw) (opens in a new tab)Art Institute of Chicago
  83. ObjectsHeaddress (chi wara), 1965.325 (opens in a new tab)Cleveland Museum of Art
  84. ObjectsThe African Gallery: Ci Wara (opens in a new tab)Spurlock Museum, University of Illinois
  85. ObjectsE. Charry, “Kora: in search of the origins of West Africa’s famed stringed musical instrument” (opens in a new tab)The Conversation
  86. ObjectsCultural practices and expressions linked to Balafon and Kolintang in Mali, Burkina Faso, Côte d’Ivoire and Indonesia (opens in a new tab)UNESCO
  87. ObjectsBassekou Kouyaté: a beginner’s guide (opens in a new tab)Songlines
  88. ObjectsBamana donso ngoni (opens in a new tab)Hartenberger World Musical Instrument Collection
  89. ObjectsThe Women of Wassoulou Music: A Primer (opens in a new tab)Afropop Worldwide
  90. ObjectsE. Charry, “A Guide to the Jembe”, 1996 (opens in a new tab)Percussive Notes (Wesleyan University)
  91. ObjectsMarried Woman’s Bògòlanfini Wrapper (Djowari Suko, 1988) (opens in a new tab)Art Institute of Chicago
  92. ObjectsMali: elements and nominations (opens in a new tab)UNESCO
  93. ObjectsMask (Kanaga), 1971.289 (opens in a new tab)Cleveland Museum of Art
  94. ObjectsFace Mask (Kanaga) (opens in a new tab)Art Institute of Chicago
  95. ObjectsDogon Mask (opens in a new tab)Lam Museum of Anthropology, Wake Forest University
  96. HeritageThe Prosecutor v. Ahmad Al Faqi Al Mahdi (opens in a new tab)Cour pénale internationale / ICC
  97. HeritageICC Trust Fund for Victims completes reparations programme in Mali (Al Mahdi case) (opens in a new tab)Cour pénale internationale / ICC · Mar 31, 2026
  98. HeritageMamou Daffé, biographie (opens in a new tab)Fondation Festival sur le Niger
  99. HeritageL’UNESCO soutient la 14e édition des Rencontres de Bamako, Biennale africaine de la photographie (opens in a new tab)UNESCO
  100. HeritageAli Farka Touré (opens in a new tab)GRAMMY.com

Share this feature