MALI

NON-BIOGRAPHICAL IDENTIFICATIONS

AGE GRADE SYSTEM: A system in which an individual moves through a series of social statuses and roles as they age. A typical age grade system would have a grade for young initiates into adulthood, warriors (who often lived apart from society), elders who become heads of families and political leaders and then, finally, elders who are ritual specialists and advisors. Age grades can be an important part of social hierarchy and education. See: AGE SETS, BAMBARA, MAMARI KULUBALI, OROMO (ETHIOPIA IDENTIFICATIONS)..

AGE SETS: Age-based social groupings that unite people across kinship and descent lines. Typically an age-set would be a groups of males, or less commonly females, who were initiated into adulthood together. This group would have special rights and obligations and would process together through all subsequent age-rankings. See: AGE GRADE, BAMBARA, MAMARI KULUBALI.

ALMORAVIDS: A religious movement lead by Allah Ibn Yasin that advocated an ascetic form of Islam. Originating in the Sahara in the I I th century, the Almoravid movement would go on to conquer Morocco and Muslim Spain. Led by ABU BAKR, the southern half of the movement captured Koumbi Saleh, the capital of GHANA, around 1076. See: GHANA

ASKIA: A title used by the later kings of Songhay.

BAMAKO: The capital city of contemporary Mali situated along the upper Niger. Bamako began as a small trading center and fishing village. The French conquered Bamako in February 1883. Bamako's importance increased with the 1904 construction of a railway linking it to Kayes. In 1908, the French made Bamako the capital of the Haut Senegal-Niger. According to Mali's 1987 census, Bamako had a population of approximately 685,275.

BAMBARA (BAMANA): The largest ethnic group in Mali. A sub-group of the Mande, the Bambara comprise approximately 35% of the current population. They are primarily farmers whose social structure was gerontocratic and structured in AGE GRADES. The Bambara were the dominant group of the kingdoms of Kaarta and Bambara Segu. With the domination of the aristocratic Hunters' Association following SUNDIATA's victory, the Bambara began to move out of the original Mande area towards the middle Niger to escape the domination of the MALI EMPIRE. They occupied their current area (Bamako to Jenne) between the 13th and the 17th centuries. Resistant to Islam, a regime emerged in the 18th century. Using age grade initiation and incorporating slaves, it became a formidable, aggressive warrior state that armed itself with guns in exchange for slaves.

BONDU (BUNDU). An early Peul-dominated Muslim theocratic state in West Africa. Located in eastern Senegal along the border with Mali, the state of Bondu was founded by Malik Sy in the late seventh-century and endured until it was annexed by France in 1905. The Bondu state was multi-ethnic, having Peul, Soninke, and Malinke subjects. Although the Peul clerics who ruled Bondu were committed to the spread of Islam, they tolerated other religious faiths in the interests of domestic stability. The foreign policy of Bondu was primarily aimed at increasing the state's commercial and agricultural wealth, rather than promoting Islam through military means.

DIA: A title used by the early kings of songhay

DINAR: The basic monetary unit of the Muslim world, equal to one-eigth of an ounce of gold, or one mitqal.

FARI: The tide used by the governors of Songhay's provinces.

FARMA: The title used by high government officials in Songhay.

GHANA: The name by which the soninke kingdom of Wagadu became known after the 8th Century. "Ghana" means "War Chief' in the Mande language of the Soninke.

KOI: The title used by high government officials in Songhay.

KORAN: The holy book of Islam.

MOSQUE: A Muslim house of worship.

MUSLIM: One who follows the religion of Islam.

ORAL TRADITION: A form of historical record in which events are passed on through generations of storytellers instead of being written down.

PILGRIMAGE: A journey made for religious purposes.

SUDAN: The region of sub-Saharan Africa stretching from the Atlantic coast to the valley of the Nile River.

SUNNI: Title used by rulers of Songhay during the 15th century.