Wassoulou (var.
Wassulu,
Wassalou,
Ouassalou) is an historic region in southwest
MaliMali, officially the Republic of Mali , is a landlocked nation in Western Africa. Mali is the seventh largest country in Africa, bordering Algeria on the north, Niger on the east, Burkina Faso and the Côte d'Ivoire on the south, Guinea on the south-west, and Senegal and Mauritania on the west...
, northeast
GuineaGuinea, officially Republic of Guinea , is a country in West Africa formerly known as French Guinea . The country's current population is estimated at 10,211,437 ....
(
Prefectures||Guinea is divided into 8 regions which are further subdivided into 33 prefectures. Additionally, the national capital Conakry ranks as a special zone. These subdivisions are listed below:-See also:*Regions of Guinea*ISO 3166-2:GN...
of
KankanKankan is a prefecture located in the Kankan Region of Guinea. The capital is Kankan. The prefecture covers an area of 11,564 km.² and has an estimated population of 235,000.-Sub-prefectures:The prefecture is divided admininstratively into sub-prefectures:...
,
KerouanéKérouané is a prefecture located in the Kankan Region of Guinea. The capital is Kérouané. The prefecture covers an area of 9,750 km.² and has an estimated population of 125,000.-Sub-prefectures:...
,
BeylaBeyla is a prefecture located in the Nzérékoré Region of Guinea. The capital is Beyla. The prefecture covers an area of 17,452 km.² and has an estimated population of 188,000.-Sub-prefectures:The prefecture is divided admininstratively into sub-prefectures:...
, and
SiguiriSiguiri is a prefecture located in the Kankan Region of Guinea. The capital is Siguiri. The prefecture covers an area of 15,500 km.² and has an estimated population of 244,000....
) and the area west of the
Sankarani riverThe Sankarani River is a tributary of the Niger River Flowing northward from the Fouta Djallon highlands of Guinea, it crosses into southern Mali, where it joins the Niger approximately 40 km upstream of Bamako....
and south of the
Niger RiverThe Niger River is the principal river of western Africa, extending about . Its drainage basin is in area. Its source is in the Guinea Highlands in southeastern Guinea...
in Mali and
Côte d'Ivoire' , formerly named, and often referred to as the Ivory Coast, officially the ', is a country in West Africa. The government officially discourages the use of the name Ivory Coast in English, preferring the French name to be used in all languages.With an area of 322,462 km
2 Côte...
. Centered around the town of
YanfolilaYanfolila is a town in the Sikasso Region of Mali.Yanfolila has been connected to the Internet since January 2005, thanks to a satellite connection....
, (in the Cercle of Yanfolila, and the
Sikasso RegionSikasso is the southern-most region of Mali. The capital city of the same name is the 3rd-largest city and is growing rapidly due to people fleeing the violence in Côte d'Ivoire to the south. Major ethnic groups include the Senoufo, known for masks and reverence for animals, the Samago, known for...
, 150 km south of
BamakoBamako, population 1,690,471 , is the capital and largest city of Mali, and currently estimated to be the fastest growing city in Africa . 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...
), historic Wassoulou has an estimated population of 160,000. Other towns in Wassoulou include Madina Diassa and
BougouniBougouni is a commune and city in Mali, the administrative center of Bougouni Cercle, which is in turn found in the administrative region of Sikasso. Bougouni is located 170 km south of Bamako and 210 km west of the city of Sikasso...
.
Wassoulou (var.
Wassulu,
Wassalou,
Ouassalou) is an historic region in southwest
MaliMali, officially the Republic of Mali , is a landlocked nation in Western Africa. Mali is the seventh largest country in Africa, bordering Algeria on the north, Niger on the east, Burkina Faso and the Côte d'Ivoire on the south, Guinea on the south-west, and Senegal and Mauritania on the west...
, northeast
GuineaGuinea, officially Republic of Guinea , is a country in West Africa formerly known as French Guinea . The country's current population is estimated at 10,211,437 ....
(
Prefectures||Guinea is divided into 8 regions which are further subdivided into 33 prefectures. Additionally, the national capital Conakry ranks as a special zone. These subdivisions are listed below:-See also:*Regions of Guinea*ISO 3166-2:GN...
of
KankanKankan is a prefecture located in the Kankan Region of Guinea. The capital is Kankan. The prefecture covers an area of 11,564 km.² and has an estimated population of 235,000.-Sub-prefectures:The prefecture is divided admininstratively into sub-prefectures:...
,
KerouanéKérouané is a prefecture located in the Kankan Region of Guinea. The capital is Kérouané. The prefecture covers an area of 9,750 km.² and has an estimated population of 125,000.-Sub-prefectures:...
,
BeylaBeyla is a prefecture located in the Nzérékoré Region of Guinea. The capital is Beyla. The prefecture covers an area of 17,452 km.² and has an estimated population of 188,000.-Sub-prefectures:The prefecture is divided admininstratively into sub-prefectures:...
, and
SiguiriSiguiri is a prefecture located in the Kankan Region of Guinea. The capital is Siguiri. The prefecture covers an area of 15,500 km.² and has an estimated population of 244,000....
) and the area west of the
Sankarani riverThe Sankarani River is a tributary of the Niger River Flowing northward from the Fouta Djallon highlands of Guinea, it crosses into southern Mali, where it joins the Niger approximately 40 km upstream of Bamako....
and south of the
Niger RiverThe Niger River is the principal river of western Africa, extending about . Its drainage basin is in area. Its source is in the Guinea Highlands in southeastern Guinea...
in Mali and
Côte d'Ivoire' , formerly named, and often referred to as the Ivory Coast, officially the ', is a country in West Africa. The government officially discourages the use of the name Ivory Coast in English, preferring the French name to be used in all languages.With an area of 322,462 km
2 Côte...
. Centered around the town of
YanfolilaYanfolila is a town in the Sikasso Region of Mali.Yanfolila has been connected to the Internet since January 2005, thanks to a satellite connection....
, (in the Cercle of Yanfolila, and the
Sikasso RegionSikasso is the southern-most region of Mali. The capital city of the same name is the 3rd-largest city and is growing rapidly due to people fleeing the violence in Côte d'Ivoire to the south. Major ethnic groups include the Senoufo, known for masks and reverence for animals, the Samago, known for...
, 150 km south of
BamakoBamako, population 1,690,471 , is the capital and largest city of Mali, and currently estimated to be the fastest growing city in Africa . 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...
), historic Wassoulou has an estimated population of 160,000. Other towns in Wassoulou include Madina Diassa and
BougouniBougouni is a commune and city in Mali, the administrative center of Bougouni Cercle, which is in turn found in the administrative region of Sikasso. Bougouni is located 170 km south of Bamako and 210 km west of the city of Sikasso...
. The region is named for the Wassoulou river valley.
Wassoulou is not the name of any formal governmental entity in any of the three modern nations into which it falls, but rather an historic, cultural region. It should not be confused with the formal
Regions of Mali||Mali is divided into eight regions and one capital district. The principal city of each regions bears the name of the region, respectively. The regions are divided into 49 cercles...
, the
Regions of Côte d'IvoireCôte d'Ivoire is divided into nineteen regions :The regions are further divided into 81 departments.-External links:...
, or the
Regions of Guinea||Guinea is divided into 8 administrative regions which are further subdivided into 34 prefectures.*Boké Region*Conakry Region*Faranah Region*Kankan Region*Kindia Region*Labé Region*Mamou Region*Nzérékoré Region-See also:*ISO 3166-2:GN...
.
Culture
Wassoulou is best known internationally as the birthplace of
Wassoulou musicWassoulou is a genre of West African popular music, named after the region of Wassoulou. It is performed mostly by women, using lyrics that address women's issues regarding childbearing, fertility and polygamy...
, a style which blends traditional and modern influences with strong female vocalists and a pentatonic hunter's harp. Wassoulou music is one of the two forms of West African music ethnomusicologists believe to be the origin of the American blues, which developed out of music forms dating back to the American slave trade from West Africa. Some of the most famous residents of Wassoulou include the singers
Oumou SangareOumou Sangare is a Malian Wassoulou musician, sometimes referred to as "The Songbird of Wassoulou." Wassoulou is a historic region south of the Niger River, and the music there is descended from traditional hunting songs, and is accompanied by a calabash...
,
Ramata DiakiteRamata Diakite is a Malian Wassoulou musician.-Early life:Ramata was born in 1976.Although Ramata does not come from a family of traditional musicians, when she was about twelve, Ramata started humming to herself in secret, accompanying herself on a gourd...
and Coumba Sidibe.
Wassoulou's cultural importance is reflected in the development of internet resources, and the creation of
Radio Wassoulou broadcasting from Yanfolila.
Language
Wassoulou is also a dialect of the Eastern Maninkakan language, and is closely related to Kankan Mandinka. Speakers of Wassoulou number some 73,500 in
GuineaGuinea, officially Republic of Guinea , is a country in West Africa formerly known as French Guinea . The country's current population is estimated at 10,211,437 ....
, with 41,200 speakers estimated in Mali, where the closely related Bamanankan is also spoken. In the far northwest of Côte d'Ivoire there are some 21,000 Wassoulou speakers, where it is related to Wojenaka Maninka.
Inhabitants are known as Wassulu, Wassulunka or Wassulunke.
History
The Wassoulou area is a center for the mingling of several ethnic groups. The nomadic Fula people, who were believed to have emigrated from the
Fouta DjallonFouta Djallon is a highland region in the center of Guinea, West Africa. The indigenous name is Fuuta-Jaloo...
highlands to the west, integrated into the indigenous
MandéOften misused to refer to the Mandinka people, who constitute a branch of the Mandé: Mandinka peopleMandé or Manden refers to a large group of related ethnic groups in West Africa who speak any one of the many Mande languages spread throughout the region...
people and adopting their language and customs sometime prior to the 18th century, at roughly the same time
IslamIslam Islam Islam ( al-’islām,
[There are ten pronunciations of Islam in English, differing in whether the first or second syllable has the stress, whether the s is or , and whether the a is pronounced as in father, as in cat, or (when the stress is on the i) as in the a of sofa...]
spread into the area. There are also large populations of Bambara peoples native to Wassoulou.
Wassoulou is also the name of an
Islamic stateThe term Islamic state refers to states that have adopted Islam, specifically the Sharia, as the ideological foundation for their political institution...
, the
Wassoulou EmpireThe Wassoulou Empire, sometimes referred to as the Mandinka Empire, was a short-lived empire of West Africa built from the conquests of Dyula ruler Samori Ture and destroyed by the French colonial army....
(1870-1898), ruled by
Samori TureSamori Ture was the founder of the Wassoulou Empire, an Islamic state that resisted French rule in West Africa from 1882 to his capture in 1898. -Early life and career:Born c...
and centered around his capital,
BissanduguBissandugu, a city in what is now southwestern Guinea, was the native city of Dyula conqueror Samori Ture. Named the capital of Samori's new Wassoulou Empire in 1878, the city was burned by the forces of French Colonel Archinard on April 9, 1891....
. Samori overthrew the older Wassoulou state of
FamaFama is a Tejano band originally from Houston, Texas.-Biography:Formed in 1989 by brothers Javier, Oscar, and Edgar Galvan, the band gained prominence in the mid-1990s with a string of hit albums. They were given the nickname "The Golden Boys" by Tejano music DJs...
Dyanabufarina Modi in 1870, and expanded his empire from there, taking the Wassoulou name. While the history of the Mandinka Wassoulou states remain unclear, the small kingdoms of Kenedugu and Wassulu existed from at least the 1650s CE, benefiting from gold mining and trade in the area.
See also
- Wassoulou music
Wassoulou is a genre of West African popular music, named after the region of Wassoulou. It is performed mostly by women, using lyrics that address women's issues regarding childbearing, fertility and polygamy...
- Wassoulou Empire
The Wassoulou Empire, sometimes referred to as the Mandinka Empire, was a short-lived empire of West Africa built from the conquests of Dyula ruler Samori Ture and destroyed by the French colonial army....
- Sikasso Region
Sikasso is the southern-most region of Mali. The capital city of the same name is the 3rd-largest city and is growing rapidly due to people fleeing the violence in Côte d'Ivoire to the south. Major ethnic groups include the Senoufo, known for masks and reverence for animals, the Samago, known for...
- Manding languages
The Manding languages are a fairly mutually intelligible group of dialects or languages in West Africa, belonging to the Mande languages. Their best-known members are Bambara , Mandinka , Maninka , and Dioula The Manding languages are a fairly mutually intelligible group of dialects or languages...
- Mandinka people
The Mandinka are one of the largest ethnic groups in West Africa with an estimated population of eleven million. They are the descendants of the Empire of Mali, which rose to power under the rule of the great Mandinka king Sundiata Keita...
- Fula