Bandiagara () is a small town and
urban commune in the
Mopti Region of
Mali. The name translates roughly to "large eating bowl"—referring to the
communal bowl meals are served in. Mainly on its
Bandiagara Escarpment it has about 2,000 speakers of the vibrant
Bangime language, an
isolate used mainly as an
anti-language; it has the highest point of the country.
Bandiagara is 65 km east-southeast of
Mopti
Mopti ( Bambara: ߡߏߕߌ tr. Moti) is a town and an urban commune in the Inner Niger Delta region of Mali. The town is the capital of the Mopti Cercle and the Mopti Region. Situated 630 km northeast of Bamako, the town lies at the conflue ...
. A seasonal river, the Yamé, flows in a northeasterly direction through the town. The population includes a number of different ethnic groups including
Dogons,
Fulani and
Bambaras.
[*.]
History
Bandiagara is said to have been founded in 1770 by Nangabanu Tembély, a Dogon hunter.
In 1864,
Tidiani Tall,
El Hadj Umar Tall's nephew and successor, chose Bandiagara as capital of the
Toucouleur empire.
It is the birthplace of Malian authors
Amadou Hampâté Bâ,
Madina Ly-Tall
Madina Ly-Tall (born 25 April 1940 in Bandiagara) is a Malian educator, historian and diplomat.
Ly-Tall was born into a political family, being a descendant of El Hadj Umar Tall, founder of the Toucouleur Empire and her father was a member of the ...
and
Yambo Ouologuem.
In the music video for the song ''Reset'' by
Three Trapped Tigers it is shown as the location of an alien rune.
As of 2018 the town remained insecure with attacks on hotels used by UN staff being reported. Nine soldiers were killed and nine wounded in an attack on a police station on February 25, 2021.
See also
*
Bandiagara Escarpment
*
Ounjougou
*
Union of the Populations of Bandiagara
The Union of the Populations of Bandiagara (french: Union des Populations de Bandiagara, UPB) was a political party in French Sudan.
History
The party was active only in the region of Bandiagara. In the 1957 elections it received 64% of the vot ...
References
*This article was originally based on the
corresponding article in the French Wikipedia, accessed April 9, 2005. Additional reference was made to this article on Dec. 14, 2006.
*B.O. Oloruntimeehin. The Segu Tukulor Empire. Humanities Press, New York (1972). SBN 391002066
UNESCO site about the Cliff of BandiagaraDogon Country
Toucouleur Empire
Communes of Mopti Region
{{Mopti-geo-stub