© A. Paolini
In order to try to understand the fascinating Malian culture and its multicoloured mosaic of traditions and peoples, it is necessary to go back to its deepest roots, which spring from the green hills of the Pays Manding, a land steeped in history and ancestral spirituality. But also by immersing oneself in the chaotic contemporaneity of Bamako, with its cultural ferment, its contradictions and its “imaginative” urban decadence. Two sides of the same coin.
The glorious Mali Empire by Soundjata Keita, in the 13th century; it is among the green nature and jagged cliffs, beautiful landscapes and clear waterfalls, that the first charter of human rights was pronounced, in Kouroukan Fouga in 1222. It is from this vast kingdom of savannahs that the main migrations originated, such as those of the Segou Bambara, the Manding Peulh, the Gao and Timbuktu Songhay. It is from the Pays Manding that the entire Malian musical heritage originated, one of the richest and oldest in the world, when the griots began to sing and pass on orally the exploits of Soundjata and the history of the Empire. These are the lands that the Dogon people, originally from the village of Djoulafondo, were forced to abandon to escape Islamisation and take refuge on the Bandiagara cliffs.
The surroundings of the town of Siby are a place full of history, legends and breathtaking landscapes, where under the imposing Kamandjan rocky arch, Soundjata and his army, led by the valiant warrior Kamandjan Camara, made important decisions and prepared for war, fortifying themselves and purifying themselves with magical rituals inside the sacred caves. With beautiful eco-tourist treks, it is possible to retrace these places rich in symbolism and ancestral magic, discovering the savannah with its medicinal plants, a branch still very much felt and practised by the Mandé people, who have never abandoned their animist beliefs, in syncretism with the Muslim religion. Amongst a multitude of birds and primates, natural essences with rich therapeutic properties, sacred places where propitiatory sacrifices have been perpetuated since the dawn of time, and valleys of shea trees, from whose fruits the precious shea butter, the basis of cosmetics and food, is extracted using traditional procedures.
A land of small, remote villages, such as Djoulafoundo, with its mud houses with thatched roofs; scenic oases of peace, such as the Djéndjéni waterfall, with its natural basin set between the rocky walls; and the placid river beach of Djolibà and the artisanal gold mines of Bancoumana; the infinite number of houses of feticheur/marabuts who still practice protective “white magic”, reciting verses from the Koran. But it is also home to ancient hunters, who pass down the ability to hypnotise ferocious animals, inside the “Sacred House” of Kangaba, for which the ancient ceremonial of kamabolan is renewed every seven years. And finally, the village of Kela, the heart of the origins of the griots and their important role in traditional animist societies, but also the cradle of Malian oral history.
It is from these lands that the vast and extremely rich heritage of contemporary Malian music originates and draws its inspiration, renowned throughout the world and of which the capital Bamako has become the ‘factory‘.
According to the tradition Bamako was founded in the 16th century by Bambara hunters from Segou, who came to these shores to protect a small community from caiman attacks. In gratitude for their deliverance, the villagers offered the hunters to stay with them and found a city, which was given the name Bamako, which means “shore of the caimans” in the Bambara language. Today the city has about 2,000,000 inhabitants and the first impression on arrival is that of a chaotic, hectic city, polluted by car exhausts and countless Jakaarta scooters. In fact, the disordered traffic, converging in the only three bridges connecting the two sides of the city on the Niger River, is one of the main problems. But behind the traffic chaos lies a pace of life that is anything but frenetic and a potential that is not immediately apparent.
A stay in Bamako can offer incredible cultural attractions, but you have to know how to look for them! From the usual visits to the Botanical Garden and the Musée National, which houses priceless artefacts from the Djene-Jeno site and votive statues from the Tellem era, to the bustling Grande Marché, where you can get lost for hours; from the picturesque fetish market, with its bones, animal skins and all kinds of lucky charms (gris-gris), to the recycling market, amidst an acoustic horror vacui, where recycled metals are brought back to life; or enjoy the breathtaking view of the Point G hill at sunset.
But Bamako is also made up of cinemas, theatres, concerts, exhibitions and cultural events of all kinds. From the concerts of the Institut Français du Mali to the jam sessions of the Maison des Jeunes, from the Blonba shows to the dozens of themed cultural festivals held every year in the city’s main squares, not to mention the very common wedding celebrations which, as a famous song goes, “le dimanche à Bamako c‘est le jour de mariage“, fill the city streets with the traditional improvised and celebratory songs of the griots. Don’t miss a visit to Yaya Coulibaly, the greatest puppeteer/artist, griots/feticheur and traditional healer, who holds the largest collection of ancient puppets in Mali and passes on this ancient theatrical, sculptural and therapeutic art around the world.
One stop not to be forgotten is the temple of African photography, the workshop of Malick Sidibé, the undisputed father of portraits of the post-colonial dolce vita, who captured in pictures the euphoria of Bamakoise social life in the 1960s and 1980s, exhibiting his shots in the most important international galleries and museums. And to end on a high note, a “ballade” in a pirogue on the Niger River, among fishermen, islets, clay collectors and women doing laundry, as if time had stopped on the banks of the river, if it were not the modern skyline reminding us that we are in the 21st century.
