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Ségou ({{#invoke:IPA|main}}; Template:Langx, {{#invoke:Lang|lang}}) is a town and an urban commune in south-central Mali that lies Template:Convert northeast of Bamako on the right bank of the River Niger. The town is the capital of the Ségou Cercle and the Ségou Region. With 130,690 inhabitants in 2009, it is the fifth-largest town in Mali.
In the middle of the 19th century there were four villages with the name of Ségou spread out over a distance of around Template:Cvt along the right bank of the river. They were, starting from the most upstream, Ségou-Koro (Old Ségou), Ségou-Bougou, Ségou-Koura (New Ségou) and Ségou-Sikoro. The present town is on the site of Ségou-Sikoro.Template:SfnTemplate:Sfn
HistoryEdit
OriginEdit
Ségou has contested origins. Some claim that the word Ségou come from "Sikoro", meaning to the foot of a shea butter tree. Others argue that it was named after Cheikou, a marabout who founded the city, while still other theories support the claim that Ségou was founded by the Bozo fishermen coming from the north in the 4th century, who established their villages along the Niger River. The 11th century CE saw an influx of the Soninke people, who were trying to escape from the collapse of the Ghana Empire, with Mandinka populations following.Template:Cn
Bambara EmpireEdit
Around 1650 Kaladian Coulibaly overthrew the ruling Koita dynasty and established a powerful if short-lived kingdom with Ségou-Koro as capital.<ref name= "EAHC">Template:Cite book</ref><ref name=Tauxier>Template:Cite journal</ref>
One of Koulibaly's great-grandsons, Mamary Coulibaly, also known as Bitòn, became the chief of his tòn, an association of men, sometime after 1700. By 1712, Bitòn had used his military strength to displace local elders and expand the Bambara Empire. In the subsequent decades, he expanded its territory to encompass regional commerce centers such as Macina and Djenné. The city of Timbuktu would become a tributary state to Bitòn's Bambara Empire.<ref name="Bortolot" /> At this time Segou was capital of the Bambara Empire,<ref name=":0">{{#invoke:citation/CS1|citation |CitationClass=web }}</ref>Template:Sfn and a distinct urban architecture began to emerge at Ségou Koro, including mosques.<ref name="Bortolot">{{#invoke:citation/CS1|citation |CitationClass=web }}</ref>
After Bitòn's death in 1755 a period of instability followed, during which the capital of the Empire moved repeatedly.<ref name=Tauxier/>Template:Sfn In 1766 Ngolo Diarra, a former slave and warrior, took control the Bambara Empire and inaugurated a period of prosperity. The Diarra dynasty ruled Ségou until the mid-19th century.<ref name= "EAHC"/><ref name="Bortolot" /> He moved the kingdom's capital from Segou-Koro to Ségou-Sikoro, close to the site of the current city.<ref name=Tauxier/>
Mungo Park, passing through Segou in 1797 recorded a testament to the Empire's prosperity: Template:Quote
Toucouleur EmpireEdit
On March 10, 1861, the Muslim Toucouleur leader, El Hadj Oumar Tall, conquered the town.<ref name=":0" />Template:SfnTemplate:Sfn Under his rule, the prominent military architect Samba Ndiaye rebuilt some of the town's defenses.Template:Sfn On his death in 1864, he was succeeded by his son Ahmadu Tall, who dealt repeatedly with rebellions and challenges from his brothers.<ref name = HistDict>Template:Cite book</ref> After years of tensions and conflict, Segou was conquered by the French when forces led by Colonel Louis Archinard entered the town on April 6, 1890.Template:SfnTemplate:Sfn
French colonial ruleEdit
France attempted indirectly ruling Ségou until March 13, 1893, when they incorporated the town as the capital of a local cercle.Template:Sfn Ségou continued to serve as a regional commercial center throughout French rule.Template:Sfn
GeographyEdit
LocationEdit
Ségou is situated Template:Convert from Bamako, on the right bank of the Niger River.Template:Sfn The urban commune is bordered to the east by the commune of Pelengana, to the west by the commune of Sébougou and to the south by the commune of Sakoïba.Template:Sfn
The commune is subdivided into 15 quartiers: Alamissani, Angoulême, Bagadadji, Bougoufié, Comatex, Dar Salam, Hamdallaye, Médine, Mission Catholique, Missira, Ségou Coura, Sido Soninkoura, Somono, Sokalakono, Bananissabakoro.Template:Sfn
ClimateEdit
Ségou has a hot semi-arid climate (Köppen BSh). The city is irrigated by two important waterways: the Niger and the Bani River. Ségou has two seasons: a rainy season and a dry season. The rainy season starts in June and lasts about four months until September. Ségou's dry season includes a relatively mild period followed by a period of sweltering heat. The average yearly rainfall is about Template:Convert. The harmattan is the dominant wind in the dry season and it blows from north to south. The monsoon blowing from south to north-west is frequent during rainy season (hivernage).
DemographyEdit
As of the 2009 Mali Census, Ségou has a population of 130,690, up from 105,305 in 1998.<ref name=":0" /> A 2007 estimate put the city's population at 118,814.Template:Sfn
The population of the Ségou Region is largely rural, and nomadic semi-sedentary or sedentary. The population consists of many ethnic groups, such as Bambara, Bozo, Fulani, Soninke, Malinke and Toucouleur.
The town of Ségou itself is home to a variety of ethnic groups, including the Malinke, the Soninke, the Fulani, and the Toucouleur, due to its complex history and status as a regional commercial center.Template:Sfn
Bambaras are mostly farmers and are the most numerous ethnic group.Template:Citation needed Their language is Bambara or Djoula.Template:Citation needed The Bozos are the second most populous ethnic group.Template:Citation needed They typically live near the shore of the Niger river, in small towns of small houses.Template:Citation needed The Bozo economy is based on fishing.Template:Citation needed Bozo people have a monopoly on the transport system because of their knowledge of the Niger, its shallows and seasonal lakes, and are regarded as the masters of water.Template:Citation needed The Somono, a group known to specialize in fishing and boating, are largely concentrated in Ségou and its surroundings.Template:Sfn The Malinké/Mandinka/Maninka are closely related to Bambaras: They share costumes, religious beliefs, and practices with the Bambaras.Template:Citation needed The Marka, Saracollé or Soninke are merchants and warriors.Template:Citation needed The Soninke people are great travelers and Muslims, and have largely conserved their traditions.Template:Citation needed
- ASC Leiden - F. van der Kraaij Collection - 04 - 053 - Six femmes avec des marchandises sur la tête - Ségou, Mali - 1972.tif
Women with food for sale in dishes on their heads, Niger River bank, Segou 1972
- ASC Leiden - F. van der Kraaij Collection - 13 - 034 - Quatre hommes lavent des vêtements sur la rive du fleuve Niger - Ségou, Région de Ségou, Mali, 1972.tiff
Four men wash clothes in the Niger River, Segou 1972.
- ASC Leiden - F. van der Kraaij Collection - 04 - 058 - Une allée avec des maisons de glaise - Ségou, Mali - 1972.tif
An alley in between mud houses, Segou 1972.
- ASC Leiden - F. van der Kraaij Collection - 19 - 042 - Au moins deux tisserands traditionnels travaillent sous un toit de paille - Ségou, Région de Ségou, Mali, 1972.tiff
Weavers at work, Segou 1972
- ASC Leiden - van Achterberg Collection - 03 - 28 - Un marché avec des arbres sur une rive du fleuve Niger - Ségou, Mali - novembre-décembre 1993.tiff
A market on the bank of the Niger River, 1993
- ASC Leiden - van Achterberg Collection - 03 - 27 - Le Bamanan Bar Restaurant Dancing Ségou - Ségou, Mali - novembre-décembre 1993.tif
The Bamanan Bar Restaurant Dancing Ségou, 1993
- ASC Leiden - van Achterberg Collection - 03 - 59 - Deux petites filles en tenue occidentale avec des bols - Ségou, Mali - novembre-décembre 1993.tif
A girl on a street near a mosque, Segou 1993
- ASC Leiden - van Achterberg Collection - 03 - 42 - Un marché au bord du fleuve Niger. Une présentation de plats - Ségou, Mali - novembre-décembre 1993.tif
Market of cooking pans on the Niger River bank, Segou 1993
Art and cultureEdit
The Bambaras used to transmit their knowledge by oral tradition, hence much of their art and culture is unknown. Ségou's cultural heritage includes traditional musical instruments, wonderful griots, folkloric groups and the traditional masks and marionettes. The history of the Bambara state's traditional religious practices are ambiguous. They practice animism and fetishism as cultural practices, and also totemic and monism (cult of ancestors). The most famous Ségou handcrafts are based on pottery, weaving (blankets, wrappers and carpets), manufacturing of Bogolan (a distinctive variation of Mud cloth), painting and sculpture. Ségou is also regarded as the capital of Malian pottery with a large pottery district in Kalabougou situated on the left bank. Women make the pottery by hand with the clay coming from the Niger River and bring the finished works to the local Monday market.Template:Cn
FestivalsEdit
The most well-known festival in Ségou is the annual Festival sur le Niger (Festival on the Niger).<ref>{{#invoke:citation/CS1|citation |CitationClass=web }}</ref> This festival celebrates music and the arts and culture of the Bambara people, and includes the Caravane culturelle de la paix since 2013.<ref name=fondation>{{#invoke:citation/CS1|citation |CitationClass=web }}</ref> The 16th edition of the festival took place in 2019, when for the first time it combined with Ségou' Art, a contemporary art fair.<ref>{{#invoke:citation/CS1|citation |CitationClass=web }}</ref> The two festivals continue to be combined for the 2023 event, which takes place over six days in early February.<ref>{{#invoke:citation/CS1|citation |CitationClass=web }}</ref><ref name=fondation/>
EducationEdit
The University of Ségou was founded in 2009. As of 2008, Ségou has 13 kindergartens, 33 primary schools, 17 secondary schools, and 40 madrasas.Template:Sfn
Places of worshipEdit
Among the places of worship, they are predominantly Muslim mosques.<ref>J. Gordon Melton, Martin Baumann, ‘‘Religions of the World: A Comprehensive Encyclopedia of Beliefs and Practices’’, ABC-CLIO, USA, 2010, p. 1793</ref> There are also Christian churches and temples : Roman Catholic Diocese of Ségou (Catholic Church), Église Chrétienne Évangélique du Mali (Alliance World Fellowship), Assemblies of God.
ArchitectureEdit
{{ safesubst:#invoke:Unsubst||date=__DATE__ |$B= {{ safesubst:#invoke:Unsubst||date=__DATE__ |$B= Template:Ambox }} }} Ségou has two architectural styles: French Colonial and traditional Sudanese and neo-Sudanese. The Sudanese style influenced public building and important residences. Monuments and great mosques are also built according to this style. Many of Sudano-Sahelian's kings built imposing palaces in the cities over which they ruled and most of these buildings are in red clay. The materials used for building are generally quite poor and many of the buildings need to be restored to maintain their state.
EconomyEdit
Today, Ségou is known for its pottery, its market and its fishing industry. Attractions in the old town of Ségou-Koro included a mosque, Coulibaly's tomb and an ancient tree. In the city center, the main landmark is the water tower.
The most important economic activities are fishing, cattle herding and small scale farming. Millet is the main crop in Ségou, with other major cereals including sorghum, and cowpea.Template:Sfn The main type of millet crop is rice pearl millet.Template:Citation needed Black-eyed peas are also grown.Template:Citation needed Crop yields in Ségou are generally low.Template:Sfn Common types of livestock in Ségou includes sheep, poultry, cattle, goats, and donkeys.Template:Sfn Both artisanal and commercial fishing are practiced in Ségou.Template:Sfn Men often do the fishing, while women usually market the fish.Template:Sfn
While most consumer goods are imported into Ségou, the city produces, and exports, handicraft and agricultural products.Template:Sfn
As of 2008, the town is served by two telecom operators: Ikatel and Sotelma.Template:Sfn
There are two factories processing cotton: Compagnie Malienne des Textiles (COMATEX) and Compagnie malienne pour le développement du textile (CMDT). Commerce consists mostly of the small scale exchange and sale of products from the primary sector, sold weekly at the large Sudano-Sahelian market, drawing customers from far outside of the city. The main products sold are vegetables, pottery, cotton, leather, fruit, ovens, cattle and cereals.
The headquarters of the Office du Niger is based in the town.<ref name=":0" /> The Office du Niger is a semi-autonomous government agency that administers a large irrigation scheme in the Ségou Region to the north of the Niger River.Template:Sfn
Ségou used to be served by Ségou Airport (IATA: SZU, ICAO: GASG). The airport lay south-west of the city center and is visible on old maps as well as satellite imagery.<ref>{{#invoke:citation/CS1|citation |CitationClass=web }}</ref>
Notable residentsEdit
Notable people from Ségou include Adame Ba Konare, Fanta Damba, Garan Fabou Kouyate, Mountaga Tall,<ref name=Ligne>"Présidentielles: 24 SUR LA LIGNE DE DÉPART"Template:Dead link, L'Essor, April 8, 2002 Template:In lang.</ref> and Bassekou Kouyate.
Maryse Condé's historical novel Segu tells the city's history from 1797 to its 1860 defeat by El Hajj Oumar Tall's army.
International relationsEdit
Twin towns – sister citiesEdit
Ségou is twinned with:
- Template:Flagicon Angoulême, France, since 1984.<ref name="Angoulême twinnings">{{#invoke:citation/CS1|citation
|CitationClass=web }}</ref>
- Template:Flagicon Richmond, Virginia, United States.<ref name=SCI>{{#invoke:citation/CS1|citation
|CitationClass=web }}</ref>
See alsoEdit
- Bamana Empire: for the Ségou Empire
- List of cities in Mali
ReferencesEdit
SourcesEdit
- Template:Citation.
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- Template:Cite journal
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Further readingEdit
External linksEdit
Template:Communes of the Ségou Region Template:Niger RiverTemplate:Authority control