Sikasso

From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia

Sikasso is a city in the south of Mali and the capital of the Sikasso Region. With 130,700 residents, Sikasso recently passed Ségou to become Mali's second-largest city.

[edit] Geography

Located at 11°19'00" North, 5°40'00" West, 375 km southeast of Bamako, 100 km north of Côte d'Ivoire, and 45 km west of Burkina Faso, Sikasso acts as a crossroads between the coastal countries (Togo, Bénin, Ghana, Côte d'Ivoire) and the landlocked Mali and Burkina Faso. Sikasso's ethnic groups include the Bambara, the Senufo, the Bobo, and the Minianka.

Sikasso benefits from a subtropical climate and a resulting abundant agriculture. Sikasso's fruit and vegetable production guarantees the city's self-suffiency, sparing it from reliance on international food aid.

[edit] History

Sikasso was founded at the beginning of the nineteenth century by Mansa Douala. The town was a small village until 1876 when Tieba Traoré, whose mother came from Sikasso, became King of the Kénédougou Empire and moved its capital there. He established his palace on the sacred Mamelon hill (now home to a water tower) and constructed a tata or fortifying wall to defend against the attacks of both the Dyula conqueror Samori Ture and the French colonial army. The city withstood a long siege from 1887 to 1888 but fell to the French in 1898; rather than surrender to the colonial army, Tieba's brother Babemba Traoré, now king, committed suicide.

Attractions today include the large market, Mamelon hill, the remains of Tieba Traoré's tata, and the nearby Missirikoro Grotto. The festival Triangle du balafon takes place every June, celebrating the traditional Malian instrument.

Sikasso's sister city is Brive-la-Gaillarde, France.

[edit] Cercle

The Cercle of Sikasso includes the communes of Benkadi, Blendio, Dandéresso, Dembella, Dialakoro, Diomaténé, Dogoni, Doumanaba, Fama, Farakala, Finkolo Ganadougou, Finkolo- Sikasso, Gongasso, Kabarasso, Kaboila, Kafouzela, Kapala, Kapolondougou, Kignan, Klela, Kofan, Kolokoba, Koumankou, Kouoro, Kourouma, Lobougoula, Miniko, Miria, Missirikoro, N Tjikouna, Natien, Niena, Nongo-Souala, pimperna, Sanzana, Sikasso, Soukourani-Missirikoro, Tella, Tiankadi, Waténi, Zanferebougou, Zangaradougou and Zanièna.