Wassoulou: Difference between revisions
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[[Image:Wassoulou map.png|thumb|right|200px|The Wassoulou |
[[Image:Wassoulou map.png|thumb|right|200px|The Wassoulou region of [[West Africa]]]] |
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'''Wassoulou''' (var. ''Wassulu'', ''Wassalou'', ''Ouassalou'') is a historic region in southwest [[Mali]], northeast [[Guinea]] ([[Prefectures of Guinea|Prefectures]] of [[Kankan Prefecture|Kankan]], [[Kérouané Prefecture|Kerouané]], [[Beyla Prefecture|Beyla]], and [[Siguiri Prefecture|Siguiri]]) and the area west of the [[Sankarani river]] and south of the [[Niger River]] in Mali and [[Côte d'Ivoire]]. Centered on the town of [[Yanfolila]] (in the [[Cercle (Mali)|Cercle]] of Yanfolila, and the [[Sikasso Region]], 150 km south of [[Bamako]]), historic Wassoulou has an estimated population of 160,000. Other towns in Wassoulou include [[Madina Diassa]] and [[Bougouni]]. The region is named for the [[Wassoulou river]] valley. |
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'''Wassoulou''' is |
'''Wassoulou''' is a [[cultural area]] and [[historical region]] in [[West Africa]]. The Wassoulou area is named after the Wassoulou River Valley, which is home to about 160,000 people. The area surrounds the [[Tripoint|point]] where the borders of three present-day countries meet: [[Mali]], [[Côte d'Ivoire]], and [[Guinea]]. |
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Wassoulou includes portions of southwest Mali, northwestern Côte d'Ivoire, and eastern Guinea. In Mali, the Wassoulou area lies west of the [[Sankarani River]] and south of the [[Niger River]]. |
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Wassoulou is the native land of the [[Wassoulou music|Wassoulou genre of music]]. |
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The name ''Wassoulou'' is alternately spelled '''Wassulu''', '''Wassalou''', and '''Ouassalou'''. |
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==Culture== |
==Culture== |
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Revision as of 15:27, 17 August 2016
Wassoulou is a cultural area and historical region in West Africa. The Wassoulou area is named after the Wassoulou River Valley, which is home to about 160,000 people. The area surrounds the point where the borders of three present-day countries meet: Mali, Côte d'Ivoire, and Guinea.
Wassoulou includes portions of southwest Mali, northwestern Côte d'Ivoire, and eastern Guinea. In Mali, the Wassoulou area lies west of the Sankarani River and south of the Niger River.
Wassoulou is the native land of the Wassoulou genre of music.
The name Wassoulou is alternately spelled Wassulu, Wassalou, and Ouassalou.
Culture
Wassoulou is best known internationally as the birthplace of Wassoulou music, 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 Sangare, Ramata Diakite 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 Guinea, 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 Djallon highlands to the west, integrated into the indigenous Mandé people and adopting their language and customs sometime prior to the 18th century, at roughly the same time Islam spread into the area. There are also large populations of Malinke peoples native to Wassoulou.
Wassoulou is also the name of an Islamic state, the Wassoulou Empire (1870–1898), ruled by Samori Ture and centered on his capital, Bissandugu. In 1870, Samori overthrew an older Wassoulou state within the Kingdom of Kénédougou, whose faama (ruler) was Dyanabufarina Modi,[1][2][3] 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
References
- ^ "Rulers of Mali". AfricanSeer. Retrieved 14 May 2016.
- ^ "Mali Traditional states: Wassulu (from 1880, Samori Empire)". worldstatesmen.org. Retrieved 14 May 2016.
- ^ "Traditional polities: Wassulu". rulers.org. Retrieved 14 May 2016.
- Mandinka and Bamanankan in Gordon, Raymond G., Jr. (ed.), 2005. Ethnologue: Languages of the World, Fifteenth edition. Dallas, Tex.: SIL International. Online version: http://www.ethnologue.com/.
- Échange école Joliot Curie, école Wassoulou, Février 2007, Joint French - Malian Education Project (EDDUFAO), in the villages of Guéna, Djélibany and Kaka.
- Portrait of the most famous Female Griot from Wassoulou: Oumou Sangaré, Abidjan.net.
- calabashmusic.com's guide to Wassoulou Music.
- Radio Wassoulou.
- Geekcorps Mali » First digitally created broadcast from Radio Wassoulou - Yanfolila. October, 2004.
- Launch of the internet connection in Yanfolila USAID, 29 January 2005.
- Le Président de la République du Mali: Visit to Wassoulou, 2006
- PLAN DE SECURITE ALIMENTAIRE COMMUNE RURALE DE WASSOULOU BALLE, 2006–2010. Projet de Mobilisation des Initiatives en matière de Sécurité Alimentaire au Mali (PROMISAM), 2006.
- Etude diagnostique pour le Marketing Social de l’Hygiène et de l’Assainissement dans les villes de Bougouni et de Yanfolila, Helvetas Mali - ASP-EAU, December 2004. (Includes detailed descriptions and basic statistics for two towns in the region).