Tyi Wara :: Essays Papers

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.