Wassoulou, sometimes spelled Wassulu, Wassalou, or Ouassalou, is a cultural area and historical region surrounding the point where the borders of Mali, Ivory Coast, and Guinea meet. Home to about 160,000 people,[ citation needed ] it is bordered by the Niger River to the northwest, and by the Sankarani River to the east. Inhabitants are known as Wassulu, Wassulunka or Wassulunke.
The history of Wassoulou before the 19th century is poorly attested in surviving sources, but it appears to have been a relatively decentralized and egalitarian society composed of jamana, alliances of small villages defended by walls. [1] The region was in some respects tributary to the Segou Empire in the 18th and early 19th centuries, but still suffered regular slave raids. [2]
Wassoulou is also the name of an Islamic state, the Wassoulou Empire (1870–1898), ruled by Samori Ture and centered on his capital, Bissandugu. In 1870, Samori overthrew an older Wassoulou state whose faama (ruler) was Dyanabufarina Modi. [3] [4] He established a hierarchichal government system for the first time, appointing the local Muslim convert Farbalay Jakite as his representative in the region in 1882. [5]
The Wassoulunke rebelled against Toure multiple times. The first was in 1885 in response to the institutionalization of Islam in the empire and the suppression of animist practices. It was brutally put down by Toure's brother Keme Brema. [6] The war between Samory and Kenedougou devastated the region, leaving thousands of refugees who were often sold into slavery or even sold themselves to avoid starving to death. Another rebellion after Samory's failure in the siege of Sikasso was also brutally suppressed. [7] Toure moved through again in 1891, forcibly moving much of the population east with him as he migrated, and massacring the town of N'Tentou when the inhabitants refused to leave. [8] [9] Overall, the Samory Toure years saw the region almost completely depopulated. [5]
Wassoulou continued to suffer instability and social conflict, including predation by colonial troops, well into the period of French domination. [10] As slavery gradually died out in the French Sudan, tens of thousands of freed slaves made their way back to their native Wassoulou in the decades before the First World War. [5]
The Wassoulou area is a center for the mingling of several ethnic groups. The Fulani people, who are believed to have migrated from the Fouta Djallon highlands, integrated with the indigenous Mandé populations, adopting a dialect of the Bambara language and local customs before the 18th century, coinciding with the spread of Islam. The culture of the Wassulunke of Fulbe ancestry is a unique blend of few traditional Fulbe practices and those of the indigenous Mandé peoples. [11] [12]
Wassoulou is the birthplace of Wassoulou music, a style which blends traditional and modern influences with strong female vocalists and a pentatonic hunter's harp. Wassoulou music is one of the two forms of West African music ethnomusicologists believe to be the origin of the American blues, which developed out of music forms dating back to the American slave trade from West Africa. Some of the most famous residents of Wassoulou include the singers Oumou Sangare, Ramata Diakite and Coumba Sidibe. [13]
The music of Mali is, like that of most West African nations, ethnically diverse, but one influence predominates: that of the ancient Mali Empire of the Mandinka. Mande people make up around 50% of Mali's population; other ethnic groups include the Fula (17%), Gur-speakers 12%, Songhai people (6%), Tuareg and Moors (10%).
Sikasso Region is the southernmost region of Mali. The region's capital city, Sikasso, is the country's second-largest city. Major ethnic groups include the Senoufo, known for masks and reverence for animals, the Samago, known for being Mali's best farmers, and the main ethnic group in Mali, the Bambara people.
Oumou Sangaré is a Malian Wassoulou singer of Fulani (Fula) descent. She is often referred to as "The Songbird of Wassoulou". Wassoulou is a historical region south of the Niger River, where the music descends from age-old traditional song, often accompanied by a calabash.
Samory Toure, also known as Samori Toure, Samory Touré, or Almamy Samore Lafiya Toure, was a Mandinka Muslim cleric, military strategist, and founder of the Wassoulou Empire, an Islamic empire that was stretched across present-day north and eastern Guinea, north-eastern Sierra Leone, southern Mali, northern Côte d'Ivoire and part of southern Burkina Faso.
Sikasso is a city in the south of Mali and the capital of the Sikasso Cercle and the Sikasso Region. It is Mali's second largest city with 225,753 residents in the 2009 census.
The Wassoulou Empire, also referred to as the Ouassalou Empire, Mandinka Empire, Samory's Empire or the Samorian State, was a short-lived West African state that existed from roughly 1878 until 1898, although dates vary from source to source. It spanned from what is now southwestern Mali and upper Guinea, with its capital in Bissandugu; it expanded further south into Northern Sierra Leone and east into northern Ivory Coast before its downfall.
The Kénédougou Kingdom,, was a pre-colonial West African state established in the southeastern portion of present-day Mali, as well as parts of northern Côte d'Ivoire and western Burkina Faso.
The Mandingo Wars were a series of conflicts from 1882 to 1898 between France and the Wassoulou Empire of the Mandingo people led by Samori Ture. Comparatively, the French faced serious resistance by the Mandinka, as they were able to make use of firearms and tactics that impeded French expansion in the area. The French were ultimately triumphant and established dominance over Mali, Guinea and the Ivory Coast.
Kong, also known as Kpon, is a town in northern Ivory Coast. It is a sub-prefecture of and the seat of Kong Department in Tchologo Region, Savanes District. Kong is also a commune. It was the capital of the Kong Empire (1710–1895).
Yanfolila Cercle is an administrative subdivision of the Sikasso Region of southern Mali. The administrative center (chef-lieu) is the town of Yanfolila.
Wassoulou-Ballé is a rural commune in the Cercle of Yanfolila in the Sikasso Region of southern Mali. The administrative center (chef-lieu) of the commune is the town of Yanfolila. The town is also the administrative center of the cercle. It lies 272 km west of Sikasso, 164 km south of Bamako and 23 km from the border with Guinea. The commune covers an area of 1,594 square kilometers and includes the town of Yanfolila and 29 villages. In the 2009 census it had a population of 51,727.
Koussan is a rural commune in the Cercle of Yanfolila in the Sikasso Region of southern Mali. The commune covers an area of 1,457 square kilometers and includes 16 villages. In the 2009 census it had a population of 10,178. The village of Filamana, the administrative center (chef-lieu) of the commune, is 79 km south-southeast of Yanfolila.
Yallankoro-Soloba is a rural commune in the Cercle of Yanfolila in the Sikasso Region of southern Mali. The commune covers an area of 285 square kilometers and includes 8 villages. In the 2009 census it had a population of 11,722. The village of Soloba, the administrative center (chef-lieu) of the commune, is 32 km west of Yanfolila and only around 4 km from the Sankarani River that marks the border with Guinea.
Gouandiaka is a rural commune in the Cercle of Yanfolila in the Sikasso Region of southern Mali. The commune covers an area of 1,169 square kilometers and includes 29 villages. In the 2009 census it had a population of 26,287. The village of Kalana, the administrative center (chef-lieu) of the commune, is 44 km south of Yanfolila.
Séré Moussa Ani Samou is a rural commune in the Cercle of Yanfolila in the Sikasso Region of southern Mali. The commune covers an area of 552 square kilometers and includes 15 villages. In the 2009 census it had a population of 18,088. The village of Siékorolé, the administrative center (chef-lieu) of the commune, is 20 km northwest of Yanfolila.
Sankarani is a rural commune in the Cercle of Yanfolila in the Sikasso Region of southern Mali. The commune covers an area of 229 square kilometers and includes 8 villages. In the 2009 census it had a population of 7,876. The village of Bambala, the administrative center (chef-lieu) of the commune, is 30 km northwest of Yanfolila on the western shore of Lake Sélingué.
Bolo-Fouta is a rural commune in the Cercle of Yanfolila in the Sikasso Region of southern Mali. The commune covers an area of 171 square kilometers and includes 4 villages. In the 2009 census it had a population of 4,413. The village of Doussoudiana, the administrative center (chef-lieu) of the commune, is 38 km east of Yanfolila.
Tagandougou is a rural commune in the Cercle of Yanfolila in the Sikasso Region of southern Mali. The commune covers an area of 614 square kilometers and includes 7 villages. In the 2009 census it had a population of 5,775. The village of Binko, the administrative center (chef-lieu) of the commune, is 52 km north of Yanfolila on the western side of the Sélingué Dam.
Gouanan is a rural commune in the Cercle of Yanfolila in the Sikasso Region of southern Mali. The commune covers an area of 1747 square kilometers and includes 35 villages. In the 2009 census it had a population of 24,704. The village of Yorobougoula, the administrative center (chef-lieu) of the commune, is 34 km southeast of Yanfolila.
N'Tentou or Ténétou is a town and seat of the commune of Kouroulamini in the Cercle of Bougouni in the Sikasso Region of southern Mali. Historically one of the main towns of the Wassoulou region, N'Tentou was, until the late 19th century, surrounded by a large tata made of mud, stones and karité. The outer wall was over 10 feet (3.0 m) high and several kilometres long, with three even larger interior enclosures.