This week we travel to two countries in West Africa: Mali and Senegal. Sue will tell us about the history of both countries and their colonial past. You’ll also learn about the terrain and climate of West Africa and the plants and animals that live there. This helps us appreciate the challenges the people have faced since civilization began. We will even take a quick journey to Timbuktu!

Read on to prepare for Sue’s lesson on these developing nations. First we’ll have a general overview of each country and its people, then a history of West Africa to help explain some influences on Mali and Senegal today. We’ve also included recent updates, since both Mali and Senegal held elections this past spring. We’ll conclude with highlights that illustrate the vibrant culture and traditions of West Africa.

Thanks to Mary Burns for help with this write-up!

Even though it’s one of the largest countries in Africa, it has a relatively small population (24,000,000).

The biggest city in Mali is Bamako (which is also the capital).

Because of its size, regions vary within Mali. It’s rainy in the south and the land is covered in grassland, with baobab trees, kapok, and mahogany. Near the Sahara it’s so dry that very little grows there.

Mali is home to a range of wildlife! On land you might see lions, hyenas, leopards, antelopes, elephants, and giraffes. There are also monkeys, snakes, and birds. The river provides a habitat for crocodiles, hippopotamuses, and manatees.

There are several large ethnic groups in Senegal.  These include the Wolof, the Fulani, the Serer, the Tukulor, the Diola, the Malinke, and the Soninke. The Wolof are the largest group. More than half of the population lives in the countryside. Most Sengalese today are Muslim.

Traditional Senegalese culture remains much alive in art, music, and dance. The cultural heritage is preserved chiefly by an oral tradition, which means that stories are told rather than written down. The griot, a poet-musician and historian, recites poems that tell of warrior deeds.

Senegal has one of the fastest-growing economies in Africa. The largest contributor to the economy is the services sector, which includes tourism, transport, and financial services.

Although the services sector is growing, most of Senegal’s people still work in agriculture. Peanuts are a major crop. Other important crops include rice, millet, green beans, sweet potatoes, and watermelons. Senegal sells a lot of fish to other countries.

Senegal’s industries produce peanut oil, cement, fertilizers, and petroleum products. Senegal also mines gold and phosphates.

Most recently, Senegal is poised to begin producing oil and gas.

So what’s the story behind these countries and their cultures?

Although the history of West Africa can be traced back to ancient times, we’ll look at some historical highlights of the past 2,000 years. Consider a few themes that emerge:

• Identify which products that would help the Empires to thrive (iron, cloth, clay, gold, livestock and the slave trade).

• Look at the impact of a few rulers (the idiosyncrasies of the Kings, Muslim leaders, actions of kings which affected the empires).

• Trace the history of trade throughout the region (beginning with metal, progressing to gold, salt and slaves, and the impact of this trading in other areas).

• Think about religion, from the native beliefs and traditions, to the impact of Islam on the area.

• Imagine impact of Europeans and Americans in the well-being of the West African nation.

As early as 300 CE, people traded gold and slaves across the western Sahara. The Ghana, Mali, and Songhai empires ruled the region in turn. The town of Timbuktu became a center of trade and learning.

One notable figure from Mali’s history was Mansa Musa, who was one of the richest men in the world during his time, 1312-1337 C.E. [Mansa Musa, 2014].

In those days, the kingdom of Mali extended into what today we know as Senegal, Gambia, Guinea, Niger, Nigeria, Chad, Mauritania, and Burkina Faso.

Mansa Musa played an important role in developing cultural centers in the cities of Timbuktu and Gao. He invited architects from the Middle East to design innovative buildings, and he transformed the kingdom of Mali into a thriving hub for exchange of ideas. In fact, under Mansa Musa’s rule, Timbuktu was known for its libraries and schools.

When he died in 1337, his sons failed to maintain his power and vision and the empire dissolved.

Birth of the Songhai Empire (1400 AD):

SENEGAL AND MALI

• With the death of Mansa Musa, the succeeding rulers were either disinterested, assassinated or conquered in coups; the Mali Empire began to weaken.

•  As it weakened, the Songhai of Gao broke away for good, the Tuareg of Timbuktu began to doubt the strength of Mali, and the Arabs from the East enslaved and sold the Muslim citizens of Kanem.

• The leader of Kanem was forced to flee, and the new kingdom of Bornu was established; at this point, the two kingdoms (Bornu and Kanem) became intertwined, and were referred to as Kanem-Bornu.

Flourishing of the Songhai Empire (1520 AD):

• Askiya Muhammad took the throne in 1493 and was the “pilgrim king”, and in his pilgrimage early in the reign returned with the title of al-hajj and caliph; he thrived on the support of Islamic scholars and politically-minded Muslims.

• The Mossi and Borgu people resisted the rule of the Songhai, and were the only obstacles to the expansion to the south.

Moroccan Invasion (1600 AD):

• The empire of Morocco set its sights on the southern trade routes and the Songhai Empire; their first conquest was the location of the salt mines of Taghaza, which the Askiya of Songhai did not defend because the mine was running dry and there was salt elsewhere.

•  The Moroccans, though outnumbered, were able to defeat the Songhai because of fire-power provided by muskets purchased through European traders; they went on to conquer Djenne, Timbuktu and Gao.

The Rise of the Slave Trade (1600-1700s):

• Transatlantic slave trade was in full swing.

• Slaves were found at every level of West African society; they were farmers, miners, builders, cooks, pageboys, delegate merchants and even working in government offices.

• Eventually, Portuguese merchants went to coastal kingdoms looking for slaves; they were not resisted because the areas had already benefitted from trade with the Europeans; however, with 12 million slaves sent overseas, the demand for slaves created political instability in the area.

Birth of the Sokoto Caliphate and abolishment of slavery (1800 - 1830 AD):

• Islam was spreading. It was a “mixed” form, with a blend of Islamic and animist customs and practices; the Sokoto Caliphate was a product of this blending, bringing with it the Islamic teachings as well as local practices such as scribes, horoscopes, rain-makers, and others.

•  Slavery was abolished in Britain in 1807; the navy patrolled the coasts of Africa to apprehend illegal slave shipments.

• In 1895 Senegal became a part of the large French colony of French West Africa. In 1958 Senegal became a separate state within the French Community, a group of countries with ties to France. Senegal soon left the community, however, and formed a union with Mali.

European Colonization (1900s):

The Industrial Revolution brought demand for raw materials, which the Europeans found in Africa; this led to the Scramble for Africa, a period of staking claims to territories for trade, imposing tariffs against other European traders, and claiming control over waterways and commercial routes in Africa.

• German chancellor Otto van Bismarck convened the Berlin Conference in 1884 to restore order to the colonization process.

• Europeans sent out treaties which Africans viewed as simple diplomatic and commercial friendship documents; the Europeans viewed them as permission to impose their authority on lands and resist the middle-man in trades; African rulers organize to resist.NEGAL AND MALI

• The Africans put up much resistance, but were no match for European firearms; the African continent under European control went from 10% in 1870 to 90% in 1914).

• West Africa was colonized primarily by the French and the British; the British used a system of indirect rule, allowing the local population to rule themselves, while the French had a highly-centralized direct rule, with a policy of assimilation.

Over the past decades, both Senegal and Mali have struggled to achieve political and economic stability.

Both countries have had a succession of rule by military juntas. Unstable African countries Africa are also vulnerable to jihadist insurgency.

In Senegal, there have been four presidents so far in the country’s short independent history.  There have been eight military coups since 2020.

A peaceful transition of power in Senegal would mark a turn for democracy in West Africa.

Like Senegal, Mali has had a rough going, with a succession of military coups, terrorism, internal conflict, and organized crime.  Mali has been ruled by a junta since 2020.

This March, power will be transferred back to elected authorities in Mali. This includes adopting a new Constitution. The BBC reported that this new Constitution enhances the powers of the president and the armed forces. It also creates a senate and demotes French from an official to a working language (Mali continues to resent French influence in their country).

The new Constitution and the new government are trying to stop Islamists who have controlled parts of the country.

The history and politics of a country influence its culture!  Here are a few more highlights about cultural traditions in Mali and Senegal.

Marriage: Marriage has traditionally been seen as an alliance between two kinship groups. A girl could be married at the time of puberty. Polygamy is practiced by most West African ethnic groups, and the more wives and children of a man, the greater their wealth. Procreation is

considered an obligation with society placing importance on having children. A marriage that

fails to produce children is considered a failure.

Cuisine: The Arab influence is responsible for introducing cinnamon, mint, cloves and cilantro

into the diet. A typical West African meal is traditionally cooked in a single pot and contains a

lot of starch and fat but little meat. Seafood is common, and dishes contain generous amounts

of chili peppers. They also enjoy rice, cassava, plantain, yams and sweet potatoes.

West African dishes: These include mafe (a stew from peanuts, vegetables and meat),

plantains (which resemble a large green banana and are eaten boiled, grilled or fried in oil),

joloff rice (a rice dish with tomatoes, vegetables, meats and spices and garnished with fried

plantains), fuju (a starch dish with mashed cooked yams, cassava roots, plantains and taro

roots) and ugali (a cornmeal mush made by pounding fresh corn and cooking in boiling water,

served as an accompaniment to meat and vegetable dishes).

West African music: Traditional West African music is unique with instruments like pestles against mortars, axes against wood, the rattling of loom shuttles and the gasps of billows all

under a unique, traditional tempo. One of the recognizable instruments are the Kora (a double

bridged harp), the akonting (a banjo-like lute), the goye (a bowed, two stringed fiddle) and

Finally, a word about Timbuktu.

It’s a funny word, evoking connotations of remoteness. Have you ever wondered how the word came to mean something far away, at the end of the world?

 The Oxford English Dictionary defines it “the most distant place imaginable”.

Its first use of this type of reference dates to 1863 when the English writer Lady Duff-Gordon

drew a contrast with the familiarity of Cairo when she said “It is growing dreadfully Cockney

here. I must go to Timbuctoo”. It was also referred to by writers such as DH Lawrence, Agatha

Christie and more. DH Lawrence, in one of his final works (Nettles, in 1930), writes “And the

world it didn’t give a hoot, if his blood was British or Timbuctoot.”

It became distant when tales of it were told in Europe, along with stories of its inaccessibility

(taking 60 days from Tripoli and only six days without water). In 1829, Alfred Tennyson

described it as “mysterious” and “unfathomable” in his poem entitled Timbuctoo.

Even today, it remains relatively remote.

The majority of this lesson is on the history of Western Africa with emphasis on Mali and Senegal.

 As you review the history, look for those themes in the different time periods (products created and traded, the impact of various rulers, the history of trade in the region, the impact of religion and finally how the

Europeans and Americans affected the area. We also looked at some interesting cultural things from food to music. We finished our lesson with a history of why Timbuktu has a reputation for being so far away (because it is). Enjoy the session with Sue!

A Short History of West Africa. (2016). Retrieved from https://folukeafrica.com/a-short-history-of-west-africa/

Booty, N., and Pivac, M. (2023). Retrieved from https://www.bbc.com/news/world-africa-66282417

Mali. (2024). Retrieved from https://kids.britannica.com/kids/article/Mali/345737

[Mali, 2024]

Mansa Musa. (2024). Retrieved from https://education.nationalgeographic.org/resource/mansa-musa-musa-i-mali/

Senegal. (2024). Retrieved from https://kids.britannica.com/kids/article/Senegal/345780

AND MALI

Who, What, Why: Why do we know Timbuktu? (2012, April 3). Retrieved from bbc.com: https://www.bbc.com/news/magazine-17583772