MALI

Area

1.240.192 Kmq

Mortalità infantile

123 per 1.000

(Fonts - population, annual growth, life expectancy, infant mortality, imports and exports: The World Factbook 2000, www.odci.gov/cia/publications/factbook - GNP per capita: UNDP, Human Development Report 2000, Oxford 2000 - other infos: Instituto del Tercer Mundo, Guya del mondo 1999/2000, Montevideo 1999) www.odci.gov/cia/publications/factbook

HISTORY

The seat of a fabulous empire which flourished some six centuries ago, Mali was occupied by the French in the second half of the nineteenth century and, together with present-day Burkina Faso, Benin and Senegal, made up the so-called French Sudan. The domination had devastating effects on the economy, traditionally oriented towards the Mediterranean and the Sahara routes, but then converted by force to Atlantic trade. In 1960, Mali became independent; the new state, under its president M. Keita, initiated a Socialist type of economy, nationalizing the main activities. In 1968, a coup headed by Colonel M. Traoré put an end to this experiment and led the country into a spiral of international isolation and poverty, meeting with increasingly strong internal dissent. In 1991 a new coup d'état overthrew Traoré's regime and the next year the first free elections were held: this coincided with a profound reorganization of civil society and the economy, in a slow process towards democratization which is still under way. At the same period, the country was perturbed by a rebellion of the Tuareg minority in the north of the country, which triggered off a bloody civil war. Mali is made up of many ethnic groups, the most important of which is the Bambara, heirs of the Mali empire, of Mandingo stock and with a solid rural society aware of its centuries-old traditions. In addition to the Tuareg mentioned above, the presence of the Dogon ethnic group is also significant: over the centuries this population of farmers has maintained its ancestral customs and a complex ritual symbology of enormous anthropological interest.

ETNIE

• BAMBARA
• DOGON

BIBLIOGRAPHY

ANDRIAMIRADO S., Le Mali aujourd'hui, Paris : J.A. 1987

LOSI N. (a cura di), Lo specchio del Mali, [Roma] : Istituto italo-africano 1991

ARECCHI, Sahel: Mauritania, Mali, Niger, Bergamo: Cesvi 1996

AIME M., Le radici nella sabbia : viaggio in Mali e Burkina Faso, Torino : EDT 1999

ELSE D. e altri, Niger e Mali, Mauritania, Burkina Faso, Torino : EDT 2000

AIME M., Diario dogon, Torino : Bollati Boringhieri 2000

MaliNet ISP Internet au Mali

Mali Virtual Journey

MUSIC

ARECCHI- DIALLO, Il liuto e il tamburo. Il Mali e la sua MUSIC tradizionale, Mimesis 2000

National Museum of Mali - Mali

ITALIAN NGO IN MALI

CESVI, ISCOS, MANI TESE, GAO, LVIA, TEN, APS, CISV, FDU, MSP, RETE, CVCS