Bafoulabé is a town and rural commune in south-western

Mali Mali (; ), officially the Republic of Mali,, , ff, 𞤈𞤫𞤲𞥆𞤣𞤢𞥄𞤲𞤣𞤭 𞤃𞤢𞥄𞤤𞤭, Renndaandi Maali, italics=no, ar, جمهورية مالي, Jumhūriyyāt Mālī is a landlocked country in West Africa. Ma ...

. It is located in the Region of Kayes at the confluence of the Bafing and Bakoy rivers which join to become the Sénégal River. Bafoulabé is the capital of the Cercle of Bafoulabé, which in 1887 was the first Cercle to be created in Mali.

Local administration

Until the 1996 law creating communes, Bafoulabé Commune was an

arrondissement An arrondissement (, , ) is any of various administrative divisions of France, Belgium, Haiti, certain other Francophone countries, as well as the Netherlands. Europe France The 101 French departments are divided into 342 ''arrondissements ...

. While now deprecated, the commune retains the same boundaries, extending far beyond the town of Bafoulabé, its seat (''chef-lieu''). Bafoulabé is also the seat of the larger Bafoulabé Cercle. Apart from the town, there are 28 villages, official rural subdivisions within the Commune. It is a ''Rural Commune'', meaning it is subdivided in villages, in contrast to the smaller ''Urban Commune'', divided into urban Quarters. Commune affairs are directed by an elected Commune Council (''conseil communal'') of 23 members and a Commune executive (''bureau communal'') of the elected Mayor and three adjutants. The executive is tasked with carrying out the directives voted by the Council. National policies are carried out by a Sub-Prefect (''sous préfet''), who also carries out certain of the Council's directives over the local arms or national bodies.Presidency of the Republic of Mali, Project on Food Security.
Plan De Securite Alimentaire Commune Rurale De Bafoulabe 2007– 2011
. Projet de Mobilisation des Initiatives en matière de Sécurité Alimentaire au Mali (PROMISAM), l'USAID/Mali (December 2006)

Geography and climate

At Bafoulabé the Bafing and Bakoy rivers meet to form the Sénégal River. In Bambara, Bafoulabé means "meeting of two rivers". The Manantali hydroelectric dam and its reservoir,

Lake Manantali Lake Manantali is a large artificial lake, formed by the 1989 construction of the Manantali Dam, on the Bafing River in Mali. Its northern point is located 90 km to the south-east of the city of Bafoulabé. Size Lake Manantali covers 477&nb ...

, the largest in Mali, is located 90 km to the south-east of Bafoulabé on the Bafing. Extending across two banks of the

Senegal River ,french: Fleuve Sénégal) , name_etymology = , image = Senegal River Saint Louis.jpg , image_size = , image_caption = Fishermen on the bank of the Senegal River estuary at the outskirts of Saint-Louis, Senega ...

, the Commune is bounded to the east by Kontéla Commune and Oualia Commune, to the north Tomora Commune and Sidibéla Commune, to the south by Mahina Commune and to the west by Diamou Commune of Kayes Cercle. The climate is Sahelian. The June to October rainy season accounts for all the less than 900 mm of precipitation a year. While hot year round by temperate standards, a hot season lasts from roughly February to June, and a cooler season runs from roughly November to February. Maximum yearly temperature may reach 41 °C in the shade.

Vegetation

The Sahel landscape of the Commune is made up of grasslands punctuated by trees, often large. These include the

baobab ''Adansonia'' is a genus made up of eight species of medium-to-large deciduous trees known as baobabs ( or ). They are placed in the Malvaceae family, subfamily Bombacoideae. They are native to Madagascar, mainland Africa, and Australia.T ...

, the rônier, raffia palm (from which textiles, rope, and palm oil is made), shea (from which Shea Butter is made), duguto, and

néré Néré () is a commune in the Charente-Maritime department in southwestern France. Population See also *Communes of the Charente-Maritime department The following is a list of the 463 communes of the Charente-Maritime department of Fra ...

trees.

Population and culture

Bafoulabé had a population of 16,670 in 1998 and 19,955 in 2009. Prior to colonialism, Bafoulabé had been a thriving commercial center. The construction of the Dakar Bamako railway in the early 20th century bypassed the river trade, making Kayes the center of commercial activity in the area. Jim Jones. Conversation with Sekou Diawara, Chef de Campement de Bafoulabé
(Bafoulabé, Friday, March 20, 1992). The town's population consists primarily of Khassonkés, Malinkés, Soninkés and Fulas.

Fily Dabo Sissoko Fily Dabo Sissoko was a Malian writer and political leader, born 15 May 1900 at Horokoto ( French Soudan, now in Mali's Bafoulabé Cercle). He died 30 June 1964, imprisoned at Kidal. Fily Dabo Sissoko is chiefly remembered as one of the most inf ...

, writer and one of the founding fathers of independent Mali, was a native of Bafoulabé. The Festival dansa/diawoura, a festival of traditional dance, took place in Bafoulabé from April 8 to April 10, 2005. The legend of Mali Sadio, which concerns a hippopotamus who develops a friendship with a young lady called Sadio, takes place in Bafoulabé.

Sister cities

Lesquin Lesquin () is a commune in the Nord department in northern France. Population Heraldry Economy When Flandre Air existed, it had its head office at Lille Airport and in Lesquin. On 30 March 2001 Flandre, Proteus Airlines, and Regional Airlin ...

, France

References

* Translation of :fr:Bafoulabé. *
Le président Touré à Bafoulabé : la voie largement ouverte vers le développement
M. COULIBALY, l'Essor n°15483 2005-06-28.

External links

image of the Senegal river, with Bafoulabé in the background

*
Image gallery from 2007 visit to Bafoulabé
*

Commissariat à la Sécurité Alimentaire and USAID: Commune of Bafoulabé
{{DEFAULTSORT:Bafoulabe Communes of Kayes Region French West Africa Senegal River