Line #26 UsefulNotes/Mali


1	[[quoteright:330:https://static.tvtropes.org/pmwiki/pub/images/mali_sm_2015.gif]]
2
3	Mali, also known officially as the Republic of Mali ('''French:''' ''République du Mali''), is a West UsefulNotes/{{Africa}}n country in the western Sahara. It is bordered by UsefulNotes/{{Algeria}}, UsefulNotes/BurkinaFaso, UsefulNotes/CoteDIvoire, UsefulNotes/{{Guinea}}, UsefulNotes/{{Mauritania}}, UsefulNotes/{{Niger}}, and UsefulNotes/{{Senegal}}. Like other Saharan states, it's huge (8th biggest in Africa), but has a comparatively small population of about 20 million, who are concentrated in the fertile south since the triangular-shaped northern part consists of nothing but [[CrossingTheDesert gigantic patches of desert and dry valleys]].
4
5	Most of the population is Muslim. However, despite being wedged between two definitely Arab and Maghreb nations (Algeria and Mauritania), it's not considered either; it isn't part of the Arab League or the Arab Maghreb Union, for example. The northern part ''may'' be considered an Arab-Maghreb zone, since Arabs do inhabit it, alongside the Tuaregs, part of the larger Berber/Imazighen confederation, the original inhabitants of North Africa. Actually, this kind of situation is what causes the country, even if abiding by the same religion, to be divided in two, since power was and still is wrestled in the hands of the Bambaras and their fellow Niger-Congo peoples in the south. Their influence drags the country closer to its West African neighbors, including joining the regional Economic Community of West Africa (ECOWAS) and adopting CFA franc as a currency.
6
7	The country's name is taken from the historical Mali Empire (c.1235-1600), a vast polity that stretched from the Atlantic coast deep into the Sahara. Beforehand, the Ghana Empire dominated in western Mali. Later, the Songhai Empire, which originated in northern UsefulNotes/{{Nigeria}}, incorporated the declining Mali Empire's territories into its own. All three empires are considered the Golden Age of West African civilization, with flourishing trans-Saharan trade that saw exchanges of gold, crafts, and other commodities. Following the region's Islamization through the Almoravids, the northern city of Timbuktu in the Saharan region became the center of Islamic learning and astronomy, and writings containing this knowledge are preserved there; today, the entire city is designed a UNESCO World Heritage Site.
8
9	All of this flew out of the window when [[OutsideContextProblem the Europeans discovered seafaring as a swift way to trade, which rendered desert-crossing obsolete, followed by them arriving on the coast to begin their incursion as part of the Scramble of Africa]]. Though most of the territories were still under nominal rule by the native sultans and kings, UsefulNotes/{{France}} conquered the area in the late 19th century and incorporated them as part of the [[UsefulNotes/TheFrenchColonialEmpire French Sudan colony]]. In the mid-1950's, it was renamed the Sudanese Republic and united with the Senegal Colony to the west. The union gained independence from France together in 1960 as the Mali Federation, but Senegal opted out a few months afterward, leaving Mali on its own. One of the effects of French colonization of Mali was French becoming the country's official language, and Malians make up a large part of African immigration to France since the second half of the 20th century.
10
11	[[DirtyCommies Socialist influence]] dominated the country in the first several decades after independence, with first president Modibo Keïta committing all kinds of suppressive acts typical of a dictatorship. A coup led by Moussa Traoré deposed him in 1968 (celebrated as [[YourTerroristsAreOurFreedomFighters the Liberation Day]]), but he proved to be [[MeetTheNewBoss no better]], as the country endured quite possibly its hardest period, with droughts and famine supplementing the dictatorship. It ended with the 1991 Revolution. Democracy was implemented beginning with the presidential election of 1992, and it went on for the better part of the decade and the TurnOfTheMillennium.
12
13	However, the country is currently experiencing a prolonged crisis, beginning with the Tuareg rebellion of 2012. The Tuaregs cooperated with jihadists, including the Al-Qaeda in the Islamic Maghreb, to create an independent state, Azawad, which happened as the country saw its first coup in exactly 20 years. [[FromBadToWorse Then]] the jihadists decided to turn their backs on the Tuaregs in favor of creating a caliphate. Things went so bad that those who instigated the coup relented for a transitional government, which demanded help from the country's colonial master, France, to combat the radicals. Most of the north was retaken in early 2013, democracy was restored later in the year, and a peace deal was signed with the Tuaregs in 2015. The jihadists have not given up, however. To this day, most of northern and central Mali is essentially a lawless land, with dozens of attacks by jihadists occurring every year. The conflict has also spilled over to Burkina Faso and Niger.
14
15	In August 2020, following a period of protests and unrest, a group of soldiers mutinied and arrested the President, Prime Minister and several other cabinet members. As a result, the President dissolved government and called new elections. The military junta, led by Colonel Assimi Goïta, have reigned since, and they have ruled out elections until 2025.
16
17	A famous cultural icon of the country is the ''jelis'', also known as the "Keeper of Memories", who are basically storytellers reciting oral traditions and stories. In the past, the ''jelis'' also served as advisers to the kings.
18
19	In the West, the best-known aspect of Mali is the city of Timbuktu. This fame originated in the sixteenth century with a Christianized Moor named Leo Africanus. His description of Timbuktu's wealth caught the attention of European explorers, who spent centuries trying unsuccessfully to reach the city. During this time, Europeans came to regard Timbuktu as a fabled CityOfGold, an African El Dorado. In the early nineteenth century, Westerners finally reached the city only to find that it had gone into decline since the time of Leo Africanus and that its fabled riches did not exist. Nevertheless, Timbuktu is still often evoked in Western culture as a quasi-mythical place and thus may be subject to the EskimosArentReal trope. It's especially common for Timbuktu to be used as a shorthand for a faraway place, e.g. the phrase "from here to Timbuktu".
20
21	----
22	'''Useful Notes''':
23	[[index]]
24	* Myth/FulaniMythology
25	* Myth/MandeMythology
26	* Myth/SonghaiMythology
27	* Myth/TuaregMythology
28
29	----
30	!!Works set in Mali
31
32	[[AC: Comics]]
33	* ''Sundiata: A Legend of Africa'' by Creator/WillEisner is based loosely on Literature/TheEpicOfSundiata (described below under Literature).
34
35	[[AC: Film]]
36	* ''Film/{{Timbuktu}}'' is about the 2012-2013 occupation of the city by radical jihadists.
37	* ''WesternAnimation/TheAristocats'' has Edgar attempting to mail Duchess and the kittens to Timbuktu, presumably playing on the idea that it represents a faraway place. The movie [[ArtisticLicenseGeography incorrectly places Timbuktu in French Equatorial Africa]]. In 1910, when the story is set, Timbuktu would have been located in French ''Sudan''.
38
39	[[AC: Literature]]
40	* Literature/TheEpicOfSundiata, Mali's most famous king, is the national epic, passed along as an oral tradition by the griots (or "jelis"). Probably the most famous version is that told by the griot Mamadou Kouyaté and transcribed and published by Djibril Tamsir Niane as ''Sundiata, An Epic of Old Mali.''
41
42	[[AC: Live-Action TV]]
43	* ''Series/SEALTeam'': In Season 2, Episode 19, Bravo Team deploys to Mali to recover the body of an American soldier who was killed in an ambush before a local jihadist group can use it for propaganda videos. In Season 5, Episode 8, they're back in Mali working an operation with a French GIGN squad to take out another terror cell. And then in the Season 5 finale carrying onto the Season 6 premier, Bravo is nearly killed in Mali by an ambush from the Sahaba of Greater Sahel terrorist group.
44
45	[[AC: Video Games]]
46	* One of the missions in ''[[VideoGame/WhereInTimeIsCarmenSandiego1997 Where in Time Is Carmen Sandiego?]]'' involves helping Mansa Musa get some salt for his pilgrimage to Mecca, after the original was stolen by Carmen's thief.
47
48	[[AC: Web Comics]]
49	* The character Sorbet in ''Webcomic/TheInexplicableAdventuresOfBob'' is an immigrant from Mali, and there is a lengthy [[http://bobadventures.thecomicseries.com/comics/1003 flashback scene with one of her ancestors in medieval Timbuktu.]]
50	----
51	[[AC:The Malian flag]]
52	https://static.tvtropes.org/pmwiki/pub/images/flag_of_malisvg.png
53	-> The tricolor, which contains pan-African colors, consists of green, yellow, and red, symbolizing fertility, mineral wealth, and the blood of the martyrs for independence, respectively. The flag had the same origin as the flag of Senegal (which also contains the tricolor in the same order), both originating from the flag of the Mali Federation, except that Mali did away with the human figure in the center, while Senegal replaced it with a green star.
54	----
55	[[AC:The Malian national anthem]]
56
57	->A ton appel Mali
58	->Pour ta prospérité
59	->Fidèle à ton destin
60	->Nous serons tous unis
61	->Un peuple un but une foi
62	->Pour une Afrique Unie
63	->Si l'ennemi découvre son front
64	->Au dedans ou au dehors
65	->Debout sur les remparts
66	->Nous sommes résolus de mourir
67
68	->Pour l'Afrique et pour toi, Mali,
69	->Notre drapeau sera liberté.
70	->Pour l'Afrique et pour toi, Mali,
71	->Notre combat sera unité.
72	->O Mali d'aujourd'hui
73	->O Mali de demain
74	->Les champs fleurissent d'espérance
75	->Les cœurs vibrent de confiance
76
77	->Debout villes et campagnes
78	->Debout femmes, jeunes et vieux
79	->Pour la patrie en marche
80	->Vers l'avenir radieux
81	->Pour notre dignité
82	->Renforçons bien nos rangs
83	->Pour le salut public
84	->Forgeons le bien commun
85	->Ensemble au coude à coude
86	->Faisons le sentier du bonheur
87
88	->Pour l'Afrique et pour toi, Mali,
89	->Notre drapeau sera liberté.
90	->Pour l'Afrique et pour toi, Mali,
91	->Notre combat sera unité.
92	->O Mali d'aujourd'hui
93	->O Mali de demain
94	->Les champs fleurissent d'espérance
95	->Les cœurs vibrent de confiance
96
97	->La voie est dure très dure
98	->Qui mène au bonheur commun
99	->Courage et dévouement
100	->Vigilance à tout moment
101	->Vérité des temps anciens
102	->Vérité de tous les jours
103	->Le bonheur par le labeur
104	->Fera le Mali de demain
105
106	->Pour l'Afrique et pour toi, Mali,
107	->Notre drapeau sera liberté.
108	->Pour l'Afrique et pour toi, Mali,
109	->Notre combat sera unité.
110	->O Mali d'aujourd'hui
111	->O Mali de demain
112	->Les champs fleurissent d'espérance
113	->Les cœurs vibrent de confiance
114
115	->L'Afrique se lève enfin
116	->Saluons ce jour nouveau
117	->Saluons la liberté
118	->Marchons vers l'unité
119	->Dignité retrouvée
120	->Soutient notre combat
121	->Fidèle à notre serment
122	->De faire l'Afrique unie
123	->Ensemble debout mes frères
124	->Tous au rendez-vous de l'honneur
125
126	->Pour l'Afrique et pour toi, Mali,
127	->Notre drapeau sera liberté.
128	->Pour l'Afrique et pour toi, Mali,
129	->Notre combat sera unité.
130	->O Mali d'aujourd'hui
131	->O Mali de demain
132	->Les champs fleurissent d'espérance
133	->Les cœurs vibrent de confiance
134
135	--
136
137	->At your call, Mali
138	->For your prosperity
139	->Loyal towards your destiny
140	->We will be all united,
141	->One people, one goal, one faith,
142	->For a united Africa
143	->If the enemy should show himself
144	->Inside or outside,
145	->Standing on the ramparts,
146	->We are ready to die.
147
148	->For Africa and for you, Mali,
149	->Our banner shall be liberty.
150	->For Africa and for you, Mali,
151	->Our fight shall be for unity.
152	->Oh, Mali of today,
153	->Oh, Mali of tomorrow,
154	->The fields are flowering with hope
155	->Hearts are thrilling with confidence.
156
157	->The path is hard very hard
158	->Which leads to common happiness
159	->Courage and dedication
160	->Vigilance at all times
161	->Truth of ancient times
162	->Truth everyday
163	->Happiness through labour
164	->Will make the Mali of tomorrow
165
166	->For Africa and for you, Mali,
167	->Our banner shall be liberty.
168	->For Africa and for you, Mali,
169	->Our fight shall be for unity.
170	->Oh, Mali of today,
171	->Oh, Mali of tomorrow,
172	->The fields are flowering with hope
173	->Hearts are thrilling with confidence.
174
175	->The path is hard very hard
176	->Which leads to common happiness
177	->Courage and dedication
178	->Vigilance at all times
179	->Truth of ancient times
180	->Truth everyday
181	->Happiness through labour
182	->Will make the Mali of tomorrow
183
184	->Standing town and country
185	->Standing women, young and old
186	->For the country moving
187	->Towards a bright future
188	->For our dignity
189	->Let us strengthen our ranks well
190	->For the public salvation
191	->Let us forge the common good
192	->Together shoulder to shoulder
193	->Let us make the path of happiness
194
195	->The path is hard very hard
196	->Which leads to common happiness
197	->Courage and dedication
198	->Vigilance at all times
199	->Truth of ancient times
200	->Truth everyday
201	->Happiness through labour
202	->Will make the Mali of tomorrow
203
204	->Africa finally rises
205	->Let us welcome this new day
206	->Let us welcome liberty
207	->Let us march towards unity
208	->New found dignity
209	->Support our fight
210	->True to our oath
211	->Of making Africa united
212	->My brothers standing together
213	->All at the appointment of honour
214	----
215	[[AC:Government]]
216	* Unitary semi-presidential republic currently under a military junta
217	** Interim President: Assimi Goïta
218	** Vice President: vacant
219	** Interim Prime Minister: Choguel Kokalla Maïga
220	** President of the National Assembly: vacant
221	----
222	[[AC:Miscellaneous]]
223	* '''Capital and largest city:''' Bamako
224	* '''Population:''' 20,250,833
225	* '''Area:''' 1,240,192 km² (478,841 sq mi) (23rd)
226	* '''Currency''': West African CFA franc (CFA) (XOF)
227	* '''ISO-3166-1 Code:''' ML
228	* '''Country calling code:''' 223
229	* '''Highest point:''' Hombori Tondo (1155 m/3,789 ft) (152nd)

Context UsefulNotes / Mali