Sikasso Region ( Bambara: ߛߌߞߊߛߏ ߘߌߣߋߖߊ tr. Sikaso Dineja) is the southernmost region of

Mali Mali, officially the Republic of Mali, is a landlocked country in West Africa. It is the List of African countries by area, eighth-largest country in Africa, with an area of over . The country is bordered to the north by Algeria, to the east b ...

. The region's capital city,

Sikasso Sikasso ( Bambara: ߛߌߞߊߛߏ tr. Sikaso) 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. History Sikasso was a small ...

, 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 The Bambara ( or ''Banmana'') are a Mandé peoples, Mandé ethnic group native to much of West Africa, primarily southern Mali, Ivory Coast, Guinea, Burkina Faso and Senegal. They have been associated with the historic Bambara Empire. Today, th ...

Administrative divisions

Sikasso Region is divided into seven ''cercles'':. The city of Sikasso is known for a vibrant outdoor market which features fabrics, numerous vegetables and fruits (especially

mangoes A mango is an edible stone fruit produced by the tropical tree ''Mangifera indica''. It originated from the region between northwestern Myanmar, Bangladesh, and northeastern India. ''M. indica'' has been cultivated in South and Southeast Asi ...

, for which Sikasso is particularly renowned.) Sikasso is an ethnic and linguistic

melting pot A melting pot is a Monoculturalism, monocultural metaphor for a wiktionary:heterogeneous, heterogeneous society becoming more wiktionary:homogeneous, homogeneous, the different elements "melting together" with a common culture; an alternative bei ...

featuring people from outlying villages, immigrants from Côte d'Ivoire and

Burkina Faso Burkina Faso is a landlocked country in West Africa, bordered by Mali to the northwest, Niger to the northeast, Benin to the southeast, Togo and Ghana to the south, and Ivory Coast to the southwest. It covers an area of 274,223 km2 (105,87 ...

and refugees. The southwest corner of the Sikasso region is traditionally known as

Wassoulou 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, it is bordered by the Niger Riv ...

. This area is known for its unique music and strong tradition of hunting. The main city of Wassoulou is Yanfolila. Besides the regional capital, the other urban communes and major cities in Sikasso Region are Bougouni, a junction town en route to

Bamako Bamako is the Capital city, capital and largest city of Mali, with a 2022 population of 4,227,569. It is located on the Niger River, near the rapids that divide the upper and middle Niger valleys in the southwestern part of the country. Bamak ...

(the capital of Mali), and

Koutiala Koutiala ( Bambara: ߞߎߕߌߊߟߊ tr. Kutiala) is a city in Mali in the administrative region of Sikasso, and is located 140 km north of the city of Sikasso. Koutiala serves as the capital of its administrative Cercle, home to 575,253 peop ...

in the northern part of Sikasso Region, which is the hub of Mali's highly productive cotton industry, which produces one of the country's few exports.

Administrative divisions

Communities

See also

References

External links