Editing Modibo Keïta (section)

==Youth==

{{See also|Keita dynasty}}

Keïta was born in [[Bamako|Bamako-Coura]], a neighborhood of Bamako, which was at the time the capital of [[French Sudan]]. His family were Malian Muslims who claimed direct descent from the Keita dynasty, the founders of the medieval [[Mali Empire]]. His nickname after primary schooling was Modo. He was educated in Bamako and at the [[École normale supérieure William Ponty|école normale William-Ponty]] in [[Dakar]], where he was top of his class. Beginning in 1936, he worked as a teacher in Bamako, [[Sikasso]] and [[Timbuktu|Tombouctou]]. He married [[Mariam Travélé]], who was also a teacher, in September 1939.