Africa
2000
Land of Minstrels
Facts and Figures
Location-Interior of West Africa, Mauritania and Senegal on West,
Guinea, Cote d ‘Ivoire, Burkina Faso on South, Niger on East
and Algeria on North.
Area-1,240,000 sq km
Topography-Landlocked, grassy plains in upper reaches of Senegal
and Niger rivers, southern edge of Sahara in north
Population-11,680,900
Distribution-32% urban
Ethnic Make-up-Mande (Bambara, Malinke, Soninke, ) Peul, Voltaic,
Moor, Songhai
Languages –French (official), Bambara and other native languages
Religions – Muslim 90%, Indigenous beliefs 10%
Capital City – Bamako, pop – 1,340,000
Other Cities – Mopti, Segou, Sikasso, Timbuktu, Gao
Government Type – Republic
Head of State – President Amadou Tounani Toure, since 2002,
Head of Government - Prime Minister Ousmane Issoufi Maiga, since
2004
Currency – CFA Franc 512.17 = $ 1 US
Gross Domestic Product - $ 13.6 bln
Per Capita GDP -$ 1,200
Economy – Food processing, cotton, rice, peanuts, phosphates,
gold, uranium, hydropower
Electricity Production – 410 mln kwh
Literacy – 19%
Life Expectancy – 47.2 male, 51 female
AIDS Rate – 1.7 %
Airports – 9
Railroad – 730 kms
Vehicles – 42,000 units
Telephones – 75,000 lines
Radios – 55 per 1000 people
TV sets – 13 per 1000
Daily Newspaper Circulation – 1.1 per 1000
Internet – 50,000 users
Facts and figures are the latest available at time of publication
and may not necessarily be the most accurate.
Present day Mali is the inheritor of one of Africa’s greatest
civilizations the powerful Mali Empire which up to the 15th century
spread out from its heartland of the legendary Timbuktu. It is still
the center of Islamic learning in West Africa. This proud empire
reached its apex in the late 1400 s but soon after, began to fracture
into smaller fiefdoms. Eventually, the disintegration became complete
as all the tribes fell under French control.
The French had by 1960 named the new country as the Sudanese Republic;
an area that included Senegal. However, Senegal refused to join
the confederation and the still-born Sudanese Republic was re-named
the Republic of Mali.
The new nation, like many others in the African independence year
of 1960, became swept up in the hammer and sickle craze and for
nearly 30 years, Malians were denied multi-party politics.
In 1991, a military coup overthrew President Moussa Traore who had
ruled since he siezed power in 1968. Oumar Konare, one of the leaders
of the coup, was first elected president in 1992 and went on to
win other elections until he lost a run – off to current president
Amadou Tounami Toure.
Timbuktu is a city in Tombouctou Region, Mali. It is home to the
prestigious Sankore University and other madrasas, and was an intellectual
and spiritual capital and centre for the propagation of Islam throughout
Africa in the 15th and 16th centuries. Its three great mosques,
Djingareyber, Sankore and Sidi Yahya, recall Timbuktu’s golden
age. Although continuously restored, these monuments are today under
threat from desertification.
Timbuktu is populated by Songhay, Tuareg, Fulani, and Mandé
people, and is about 15 km north of the River Niger. It is also
at the intersection of an east–west and a north–south
Trans-Saharan trade across the Sahara to Araouane. It was important
historically (and still is today) as an entrepot for rock-salt from
Taoudenni.
Its geographical setting made it a natural meeting point for nearby
African populations and nomadic Berber and Arab peoples from the
north. Its long history as a trading outpost that linked west Africa
with Berber, Arab, and Jewish traders throughout north Africa, and
thereby indirectly with traders from Europe, has given it a fabled
status, and in the West it was for long a metaphor for exotic, distant
lands: “from here to Timbuktu.”
Timbuktu’s long-lasting contribution to Islamic and world
civilization is scholarship.[2] By the fourteenth century, important
books were written and copied in Timbuktu, establishing the city
as the centre of a significant written tradition in Africa.[3]
Salif Keita - A master of West African rhythms and credited as
one of the founders of the Afro-pop genre, Keita is world renowned
for his unforgettable live performances, soaring vocals and his
emotionally-fueled songs.
Born in Mali, West Africa in 1949, Salif Keita comes from a noble
family, and is a descendant of Sunjata Keita, who founded the Mali
Empire in 1240. Keita was the third of thirteen children born to
Sina Keita, a landowner in the village of Djoliba, where he grew
up, near Mali’s capital, Bamako. Born albino in a land of
blistering sun and heat, with limited eyesight and poor despite
his social standing, his mother had to hide him to avoid the attacks
of the superstitious crowds who called for his death. In addition
to the problems of growing up as an albino, Keita found the opposition
of his family to his interest in becoming a singer since the traditions
of his ancestry excluded members of the nobility from becoming singers.
Keita’s decision to become a musician broke an important taboo
as in Mali only the lower jeli class makes its living from music.
In 1970, at the age of 18, Salif Keita left Djoliba for Bamako,
where he spent time as a street musician and playing in bars. The
first group that he worked with was the Rail Band, a state-sponsored
ensemble that was based at a Bamako railway station hotel, and which
has served as an important launching pad for the careers of numerous
West African musicians, including kora player and singer Mory Kante,
and guitarist Kante Manfila.
The Rail Band became legendary because it nurtured Mory Kante and
Salif Keita and also because it was one of the first to electrify
Mandingo music and integrate Afro-Cuban influences which many West
African instrumentalists brought back from their stay in Cuba. In
1973, Salif Keita left the Rail Band, and with guitarist Kante Manfila
he joined Les Ambassadeurs, which later became Les Ambassadeurs
International. The new group developed the fusion between traditional
music and western electric influences. 1977 saw Salif Keita being
awarded the National Order of Guinea by Sekou Toure, the Guinean
President. By that time, Salif Keita had also discovered American
singers like Stevie Wonder, Ray Charles and Tina Turner. Their powerful
way of singing and presence on stage taught Keita a lot about live
performances.
Spain greets new Ethiopian
Millennium with Flamenco
By Kirubel Tadesse
The Spanish Embassy in collaboration with the Ministry of Culture
and Tourism organized a flamenco dance performance at the Addis
Ababa National Theatre on October 3, 2007 to celebrate the new Ethiopian
millennium.
Flamenco is accompanied with guitars and powerful hand clapping
and shoe tapping to color it with an invigorating atmosphere.
The Flamenco group known as Sacromonte showed the art of the Flamenco
dance superbly. The group is made up of four artistes who combine
the strength of Flamenco singing with the elegance of dancing. The
voice of the singer reflects the sensuality, depth and the spirituality
of Flamenco. The group’s performance started with the guitar
show named Granaina and followed by two dancers with another singer.
All used their hands and legs to create unbelievable sounds and
movements which received huge appreciation. The only female member
of the group received the most applause from the audience. The Sacromonte
group performance was followed by an Ethiopian traditional dance
performance.
The night offered a chance for both countries to exchange cultures
as it was attended by hundreds of the Spanish speaking community
in Ethiopia. Tadelech Dalecho, State Minister of the Ministry of
Culture and Tourism, explained that the long history and cooperation
of the two countries goes back to the 17th century. The Ambassador
of Kingdom of Spain to Ethiopia, Carmen De la Pena, on her part
said that the reason the embassy organized the event is in order
to take part in the millennium celebrations and to wish Ethiopians
wonderful and prosperous years.
After its performance at the National Theater, the group is scheduled
to fly to Dire Dawa for another performance the same week.
ASTER
back on screen
By Kirubel Tadesse
Director: Solomon Bekele
Producer: Ethiopian Film Corporation
Cinematography: Abebe Ketsela
Duration: 116 minutes
Type: Drama
Aster, a sixteen year old Habesha beauty, couldn’t find peace
even at the hospital where she was treated for a poison her step
mother gave her. The doctor, played by Teferi Alemu, becomes her
guardian angel from the bossy patient who made it impossible for
Aster to get enough sleep, but that was just a comfort for her next
pain which she seemed to find everywhere she goes.
Aster is named after the main character played by Tigest Degu. Even
if Aster was made way back in 1992, we can find a number of films
which can be outshined by it, as it presents very real scenes. The
shooting on streets, at recreation centers and many other public
places is exemplary for many of our ‘modern films’.
Like the controlled environment in the studio, the shots in hospitals
and the recreation center were perfect, starting from the action
to sound editing. The dialogue of the movie is a little odd and
sometimes ridiculous for this generation’s film fan but I
am sure it wasn’t back in 1992. Fekadu Teklemariam, Tilahun
Gugesa and Jemanesh Solomon are some of the actors Aster features.
Ethiopian movie theaters that charge five birr for old English movies
and demand triple that for Amharic movies should follow Ambassador
Theater and show Amharic movies in the regular program at reasonable
prices. Aster can be enjoyed by film fans and more importantly it
gives a lesson for our film makers of how it can be done well.
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