Sikasso

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image_caption =Women merchants sell Tomatoes, fruit, nuts, used clothing in stalls and on tables at the Sikasso Market, February 2008.


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pushpin_map_caption =Location within Mali
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subdivision_type = Country
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subdivision_type1 = Region
subdivision_name1 = Sikasso
subdivision_type2 =Cercle
subdivision_name2 =Sikasso Cercle
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established_date = c. 1800
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established_date1 = 1876
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founder =Mansa Douala
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elevation_m =410
elevation_ft =1348
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population_as_of =2007
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population_total =130700
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longd=5 |longm=40 |longs= |longEW=W
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twin1 =Brive-la-Gaillarde
twin1_country =France
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footnotes = 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.

Geography

Located convert|375|km southeast of Bamako, convert|100|km north of Côte d'Ivoire, and convert|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 has abundant agriculture. Sikasso's fruit and vegetable production guarantees the city's self-sufficiency, sparing it from reliance on international food aid.

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, who had succeeded him as king, committed suicide, honoring the famous Bamanankan saying "Saya ka fisa ni maloya ye" (literally: death is preferable to shame).

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.

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.

References

* Portions of this article were translated from French language Wikipedia's Sikasso.
* [http://www.ingentaconnect.com/content/oecd/16849078/2001/00000001/00000002/4402362e L'économie locale de Sikasso, Mali] . Ecoloc - Gérer l'économie localement en Afrique - Evaluation et prospective, Volume 1, Number 2, Décembre 2002, pp. 1-18 (18).
* [http://www.experience-mali.org.ml/visit-mali/regions/sikasso.htm Sikasso] : "Experience Mali" Travel site, Ministere de L'artisanat et du Tourisme, Mali.