I tend to rail on people who generalize about Africa, but I also realize that cultures south of the Sahara have a lot in common. This post from Akila and Patrick, about a cooking class in Zambia, reminded me of that fact. Women append their babies to their backs with vibrant pagnes, vegetables are cut while they’re held in the hands, and a heavy starch is a central part of the diet.
True in Zambia. True in Mali, nearly 10,000 km away.
The similarities between sub-Saharan cultures can be seen from a car window. The differences often require deeper digging, but it is a fruitful search. In Mali, it’s not uncommon for me to call someone a bean eater when I am introduced to them. I may also call them a peanut farmer and tell them that I am their father. It all depends on their last name. In Mali, home to the Bambara, Sonrai, Peul, Dogon, Bozo, and Kel Tamashek ethnic groups, among others, hurling insults is the national ice breaker. And let me tell you something, exchanging insults is a lot more fun than asking someone what they do for a living.
In this post, I want to talk about something that may or may not be evident from my earlier reports: Malians have an enormous amount of national pride, moreso than any other country I’ve visited, in Africa and elsewhere. This is perhaps because of Mali’s rich history. Mali was home to several different empires and kingdoms, and even before large state organization, there were centers like Djenné-Jéno, widely considered to have been highly urbanized and advanced for the time period. Maybe Malians are well stocked with pride because they realize they are responsible for some of the most dynamic music on the planet. Or maybe it’s because Mali has a strong civil society and a past that is free of war.
In any case, I want to give you some audio-visual evidence of Malian pride.
This song features Djeneba Seck’s effortless delivery and a hair-raising Njarka solo. Maliba literally translates to “big Mali.” Side note: in Bambara, ba as a suffix means something is big. If you want to say something is really big, you say bele bele ba (pronounced billy billy ba. Go ahead, say it.) Maliba means a bit more than “big Mali,” though. In French you would say “le grand Mali,” a slightly better approximation of what Djeneba is saying: Mali is the place. The audio may not be perfectly aligned with video, but there is a lot to appreciate in this homage.
Iba One, widely known for his song Alhamdoulillaye, is one of the most popular artists in Mali. He made this song in honor of Mali’s 50th birthday last year. It is more or less a club banger that praises Mali as much as it gets people moving on the dance floor. The video features Iba One dancing in a computer lab and shaking hands with construction workers, among other things. Also present: Sidiki Diabate, son of famed kora player Toumani Diabate. This video makes me smile.
It almost seems as if Ms. Seck and Iba One were commissioned by Mali’s tourism board to craft these tributes. Nope. This is just how most Malians feel about their country. It’s not unfounded, either. If you’ve been to Mali, you know it is a special place.
So, who has the most pride? Have a challenger to Mali? Let’s generalize, make some impossible to prove statements and have some silly arguments in the comments.
This post makes me want to go to Mali. Right now!
Sigh. In the meantime, I’ll go listen to some of the other music in your posts. 🙂
Just head due south 🙂
Great post! I’ve wanted to go to Mali for a really long time… I planned to go during my RTW trip, but couldn’t get a visa. There’s no embassy in Australia. The embassy in Moscow insisted on absurd level of documentation (equivalent to what’s needed for a Russian visa). I went to Brussels, only to be told that Australians were only allowed to apply for visas in Pretoria or Washington. So, we had to skip it. I really, really want to go as a separate trip…
Hi Reena, too bad you couldn’t make it to Mali in your trip. You can, however, get a visa on arrival, at least as of a few months ago. Much easier than having to send away your passport and provide crazy documentation 🙂
Bele-bele good !
Kay! you speak bambara 🙂
Hi Phil!
Thanks for reminding us all that Africa is a continent, not a country. I’m currently in Kenya, which is the first country I’ve been to here, subsaharan or otherwise, and upon new and foreign experiences people keep saying, “TIA: This is Africa.” And I keep struggling to remind myself against generalizations…. No– TIK, This is KENYA. Or even TIN, this is Nairobi.
As noted above, I’m not in much of a position to make comparisons, and I’ve never been to Mali, but the Kenyan pride is impressive as well!
Best,
Kara
Hi Kara,
Thanks for your comment. Sorry to hear about the sinai pipeline explosion. Very sad. I took a quick browse on your blog -looks great. I look forward to reading 🙂 I love that you went to camel derby !!! Do you know about what took you so long foundation? They are based in Nairobi. You should definitely connect with them. In fact, connecting people is what they are all about. See here: http://www.pforti.com/proud-notes-from-our-first-sandbox-africa-din they also have a website at http://whattookyousolong.org/ . The reason I thought about them is because they are doing a documentary on camel milk!
Take care,
Phil
Do you know what? I can’t think of a contestant. I think the most blatantly patriotic cultures I’ve visited are Anglo ones: the flag thing that’s socially encouraged in parts of the US is extraordinary, while a lot of Aussies are more patriotic. What’s interesting is that the patriotism over-rides tribal divisions.
Funny story. When I was in Mali, my country (England) had been knocked out of the Soccer World Cup in the qualifying rounds. Everyone looked at me consolingly and said, “Well, Mali didn’t qualify either…”
“I tend to rail on people who generalize about Africa, but I also realize that cultures south of the Sahara have a lot in common” In some cases it’s quite OK to generalize about Africa: African cultures do have a lot in common. Have you read Cheikh Anta Diop’s “L’Unité Culturelle de l’Afrique Noire”? Of course we’re here talking about “Black” Africa…
Also anyone who seriously studies African Linguistics will quickly realize that African languages, starting from Ancient Egyptian (which incidentally has no relationship to Arabic and other Semitic languages) do have a lot in common…
Amadou, I haven’t read it. Looking at it right now. Thanks for the recommendation!