Bandiagara

Commune and town in Mopti Region, Mali

14°21′0″N 3°36′40″W / 14.35000°N 3.61111°W / 14.35000; -3.61111Country

MaliRegionMopti RegionCercleBandiagara CercleElevation

392 m (1,286 ft)Population

(2009 census)^[1]

• Total25,564Time zoneUTC+0 (GMT)

Bandiagara (French pronunciation: [bɑ̃djaɡaʁa]) 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,^[2] an isolate used mainly as an anti-language; it has the highest point of the country.

Bandiagara is 65 km east-southeast of Mopti. 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.^[3]

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 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.^[4] Nine soldiers were killed and nine wounded in an attack on a police station on February 25, 2021.^[5]

The 19th century Maison toucouleurs in Bandiagara. Part of the Bandiagara Escarpment World Heritage Site in Mali
Market stalls in town
Dogon men
Bandiagara in the early 1900s

References

^ Resultats Provisoires RGPH 2009 (Région de Mopti) (PDF) (in French), République de Mali: Institut National de la Statistique, archived from the original (PDF) on 2012-07-27.
^ Moran, Steven; Forkel, Robert; Heath, Jeffrey, eds. (2016). "Bandiagara". dogonlanguages.org. Retrieved 2021-02-22.
^ *Plan de Sécurité Alimentaire Commune Urbaine de Bandiagara 2006-2010 (PDF) (in French), Commissariat à la Sécurité Alimentaire, République du Mali, USAID-Mali, 2006, archived from the original (PDF) on 2012-08-26, retrieved 2012-04-24.
^ "Gunmen kill one, wound others in central Mali hotel attack". Reuters. 2018-03-28. Retrieved 2023-09-25.
^ "Nine soldiers killed in central Mali attack". aljazeera.com. Al Jazeera English. February 26, 2021. Retrieved February 28, 2021.

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 Bandiagara
Dogon Country

Communes and towns of Mopti Region

Capital: Mopti

Bandiagara Cercle