|
Tribe Snapshots Bamana |
| Location: |
Central Mali |
| Population: |
2 million |
| Language: |
Bamana (Mande) |
| Neighboring
Peoples: |
Malinke, Bwa, Bobo, Fulani |
| Types
of Art: |
The artistic tradition of the Bamana is rich,
filled with pottery, sculptures, beautiful bokolanfini
cloth, and wrought iron figures fashioned by blacksmiths.
They also have extensive masking traditions, which
are used as a form of social control and community
education. |
| History: |
The Bamana are members of the Mande culture,
a large and powerful group of peoples in western
Africa. Kaarta and Segou are Bamana city-states,
which were established in the 17th century and
continued to have political influence throughout
the western Sudan states into the 19th century.
At this time religious wars broke out throughout
the region, setting Islamized societies against
those who preferred to embrace traditional Bamana
views. A dichotomy between traditional and Islamic
views still exists today in Mali, and one may
expect to encounter representations of both cultures
existing side by side and quite often in syncretic
combinations. |
| Economy: |
Those members of Bamana society who still live
in rural villages continue to rely on subsistence
farming as the most common means of livelihood.
As is true in most of Africa, hunting is an important
way to supplement the diet. There are also numerous
crafts people who trade their wares in the local
market. Potters, weavers, sculptors, and leather
workers are extensively trained in their respective
art for up to eight years. They supply the community
with objects required for daily living and also
carry their work to urban centers, where they
can be sold for a small profit. |
| Political
Systems: |
The Bamana are a patrilineal and patrilocal
society, with extended families that range from
100 to 1000 members acting as the basic governing
unit. These are then organized into villages with
a chief at the head, whose position is determined
by kinship ties within the community. Six major
initiation societies contribute to the social
control of the people of the community through
education. The political hierarchy of family heads
and village chiefs is directly connected to the
positions of individuals within the initiation
groups. As such, those who control the politics
of the community simultaneously control the religious
structure. |
| Religion: |
The religion of the Bamana is directly related
to the initiation societies (dyow). As an initiate
moves through the six societies, he or she is
taught vital issues concerning societal concepts
of the moral conduct of life, which contribute
to the overall well-being of the individual and
the community. Through the six levels of education
the initiate learns the importance of knowledge
and secrecy, is taught to challenge sorcery, and
learns about the dual nature of mankind, the necessity
for hard labor in the production of crops, and
the realities of surviving from day to day. The
final dyow, the kore, is devised to allow a man
to regain that portion of his spirit that has
been lost to the god through the process of reincarnation.
If a man is unable to regain his spirit for several
lifetimes, he will be entirely absorbed by the
god and will cease to exist on Earth. The goal
of the initiate then is to usurp the power of
the god and remain on Earth, undergoing endless
reincarnation. |
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