Boundiali is a town in northern
Ivory Coast. It is a
sub-prefecture of and the seat of
Boundiali Department. It is also the seat of
Bagoué Region
Bagoué Region is one of the 31 regions of Ivory Coast. Since its establishment in 2011, it has been one of three regions in Savanes District. The seat of the region is Boundiali and the region's population in the 2021 census was 515,890.
Bagoué ...
in
Savanes District
Savanes District (french: District des Savanes) is one of fourteen administrative districts of Ivory Coast. The district is located in the northernmost part of the country. The capital of the district is Korhogo.
Creation
Savanes District was ...
and a
commune
A commune is an alternative term for an intentional community. Commune or comună or comune or other derivations may also refer to:
Administrative-territorial entities
* Commune (administrative division), a municipality or township
** Communes of ...
.
Its population, the ''Boundialikas'', is composed mainly of ethnic groups shared across the borders of
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. Mal ...
,
Guinea, and
Burkina Faso
Burkina Faso (, ; , ff, 𞤄𞤵𞤪𞤳𞤭𞤲𞤢 𞤊𞤢𞤧𞤮, italic=no) is a landlocked country in West Africa with an area of , bordered by Mali to the northwest, Niger to the northeast, Benin to the southeast, Togo and Ghana to ...
, as well as some
Fulas. Boundiali is a centre for
Senoufo
The Senufo people, also known as Siena, Senefo, Sene, Senoufo, and Syénambélé, are a West African ethnolinguistic group. They consist of diverse subgroups living in a region spanning the northern Ivory Coast, the southeastern Mali and the wes ...
people and is known for
crafts
A craft or trade is a pastime or an occupation that requires particular skills and knowledge of skilled work. In a historical sense, particularly the Middle Ages and earlier, the term is usually applied to people occupied in small scale prod ...
. The inhabitants are chiefly
farmer
A farmer is a person engaged in agriculture, raising living organisms for food or raw materials. The term usually applies to people who do some combination of raising field crops, orchards, vineyards, poultry, or other livestock. A farmer m ...
s and
stockbreeders as well as
tradesmen
A tradesman, tradeswoman, or tradesperson is a skilled worker that specializes in a particular trade (occupation or field of work). Tradesmen usually have work experience, on-the-job training, and often formal vocational education in contrast ...
or
civil servants.
Economy
The economy of the town of Boundiali is largely based on the
cotton
Cotton is a soft, fluffy staple fiber that grows in a boll, or protective case, around the seeds of the cotton plants of the genus '' Gossypium'' in the mallow family Malvaceae. The fiber is almost pure cellulose, and can contain minor pe ...
industry, introduced by the
French during the colonial period, and primarily intended for export.
Corn,
groundnut,
millet,
manioc
''Manihot esculenta'', commonly called cassava (), manioc, or yuca (among numerous regional names), is a woody shrub of the spurge family, Euphorbiaceae, native to South America. Although a perennial plant, cassava is extensively cultivated ...
,
banana,
mangoes
A mango is an edible stone fruit produced by the tropical tree ''Mangifera indica''. It is believed to have originated in the region between northwestern Myanmar, Bangladesh, and northeastern India. ''M. indica'' has been cultivated in South ...
,
yam, and
rice
Rice is the seed of the grass species '' Oryza sativa'' (Asian rice) or less commonly ''Oryza glaberrima'' (African rice). The name wild rice is usually used for species of the genera '' Zizania'' and '' Porteresia'', both wild and domesticat ...
are also cultivated, mainly for local consumption.
The town has a hospital, a modern college and two factories for cotton processing, its principal industry, to the point of being called "white gold".
Politics
Boundiali's mayor is
Zémogo Fofana, former member of the
RDR, and a former government minister. He has created his own party with
Jean-Jacques Bechio, another former minister and Director of the RDR.
Geography
The town is surrounded by two "mountains" that are part of the Guinean mountain range that culminates at
Mount Nimba
Mount Richard-Molard, also known as Mount Nimba, is a mountain along the border of Ivory Coast and Guinea in West Africa. The highest peak for both countries and the Nimba Range is at . The mountain is a part of the Guinea Highlands, which stra ...
.
The area is
savanna
A savanna or savannah is a mixed woodland- grassland (i.e. grassy woodland) ecosystem characterised by the trees being sufficiently widely spaced so that the canopy does not close. The open canopy allows sufficient light to reach the ground to ...
region, with
tropical
The tropics are the regions of Earth surrounding the Equator. They are defined in latitude by the Tropic of Cancer in the Northern Hemisphere at N and the Tropic of Capricorn in
the Southern Hemisphere at S. The tropics are also referred to ...
to
subtropical vegetation. The climate is very hot and dry (
Sudanese climate). In December and January,
Harmattan, a powerful wind, blows in from the Sahara, lowering the temperature considerably.
Culture
The neighbouring villages, are home to artisans who manufacture statues of human or animal figures as well as wood-carved doors and sénoufo chairs.
The ceremonies of the area are celebrated with the popular use of
Djembe,
Kora and
Balaphon.
Onchocerciasis devastated the riverside villages of the area, but was effectively eradicated in 1980, thanks chiefly to Canadian co-operation.
Places of interest
*
Hippopotamus
The hippopotamus ( ; : hippopotamuses or hippopotami; ''Hippopotamus amphibius''), also called the hippo, common hippopotamus, or river hippopotamus, is a large semiaquatic mammal native to sub-Saharan Africa. It is one of only two extan ...
es in the River
Bagoué
Bagoué Region is one of the 31 regions of Ivory Coast. Since its establishment in 2011, it has been one of three regions in Savanes District. The seat of the region is Boundiali and the region's population in the 2021 census was 515,890.
Bagoué ...
.
*The neighbouring forests are home to
panthers
Panther may refer to:
Large cats
*Pantherinae, the cat subfamily that contains the genera ''Panthera'' and ''Neofelis''
**''Panthera'', the cat genus that contains tigers, lions, jaguars and leopards.
***Jaguar (''Panthera onca''), found in Sout ...
which are sometimes killed by villagers, although hunting is prohibited in the territory.
*Niofoin, the typical Sénoufo village, is located towards Korhogo. It is here that
Jean-Jacques Annaud made his first film, ''
La Victoire'', 1975 (with
Jean Carmet
Jean Carmet (25 April 1920 – 20 April 1994) was a French actor.
Life and career
Jean Carmet began working on stage and then in film in the early 1940s becoming a very popular comedic actor in his native country. He is best known internatio ...
).
*North of the city, towards
Tingréla, the villages of
Kouto,
Gbon and
Kolia are located, which are populated by weavers and blacksmiths.
*The village of
Tiémé, in direction of
Odienné, sheltered
René Caillié
Auguste René Caillié (; 19 November 1799 – 17 May 1838) was a French explorer and the first European to return alive from the town of Timbuktu. Caillié had been preceded at Timbuktu by a British officer, Major Gordon Laing, who was murdere ...
at the time of his voyage from
Conakry to
Timbuktoo, where he was cured of
scurvy
Scurvy is a disease resulting from a lack of vitamin C (ascorbic acid). Early symptoms of deficiency include weakness, feeling tired and sore arms and legs. Without treatment, decreased red blood cells, gum disease, changes to hair, and bleeding ...
by the attentive care of the villagers.
*Fula camps in the savanna outside the city.
People linked to the town
*
Muriel Diallo, author of children's stories was born here in 1967.
[Murial Diallo]
, Art.uwa.edu, Retrieved 23 February 2016
*Writer
Ahmadou Kourouma
Ahmadou Kourouma (24 November 1927 – 11 December 2003) was an Ivorian novelist.
Life
The eldest son of a distinguished Malinké family, Ahmadou Kourouma was born in 1927 in Boundiali, Côte d'Ivoire. Raised by his uncle, he initially pursue ...
was born in Boundiali.
Neighbouring cities
*
Korhogo
Korhogo is a city in northern Ivory Coast. It is the seat of both Savanes District and Poro Region. It is also a commune and the seat of and a sub-prefecture of Korhogo Department. In the 2014 census, the city had a population of 243,048, maki ...
to the east.
*
Odienné to the west.
*
Tingréla to the north.
*
Séguéla to the south.
In 2021, the population of the sub-prefecture of Boundiali was 92,792.
Villages
The 18 villages of the sub-prefecture of Boundiali and their population in 2014 are:
Citypopulation.de
Population of localities in the sub-prefecture of Boundiali
Notes
References
*''Les charrues de la Bagoue - Gestion paysanne d'une opération cotonnière en Côte d'ivoire'', by Jacqueline Peltre-Wurtz, published in 1999 (Editor: IRD)
*''Histoire des Fohobele de Cote d'ivoire - Une Population Sénoufo inconnue'', by Tiona Ferdinand Ouattara, published in 1999 in Editions Karthala.
*''Le volcanisme du sillon de Boundiali, phénomène principal du proterozoique inférieur de cette région N.NW de la Cote d'Ivoire'', thesis by the Université Blaise Pascal de Clermont-Ferrand.
*''Étude Pédologique De La Région De Boundiali-Korhogo - Méthodologie et typologie détaillée, morphologie et caractères analytiques'', by Alain-Gérard Beaudou, published by Editions de l'ORSTOM.
*''Les Sénoufos (Y compris les Miniankas)'', by B. Holas, published in 1957 by Presses Universitaires de France.
External links
A school in Boundiali
{{Authority control
Sub-prefectures of Bagoué
Communes of Bagoué
Regional capitals of Ivory Coast