Studying in Bamako

Because of the extreme heat this time of year we take advantage of the relative comfort of the early morning hours and begin classes (French classes and lectures on Malian history and cuklture) at7:30 am in the Palais de la Culture (at right and below), on the south bank of the Niger river. This creates both more time to explore the city and the daily opportunity for a siesta for students.

The green van passing in front of the entry to the Palais de la Culture is a "Sotrama" the primary means of public transit in Mali. Most students ride the Sotrama to and from class each day. The term Sotrama is constructed from Society for Transportation in Mali. Each van holds from 20-25 people.

Most days begin with two hours of French instruction. Our language teachers are Mme. Aicha CAMARA and M. Youssouf DIONE.

The different training each of these teachers has undergone reflects the different interests of Mali after independence in 1960. Mme. Aicha studied Russian in Moscow for a number of years and M. Youssouf traveled to the US and studied English in New York City. Mme. Aicha is now employed as a teacher of French at the Lycee Notre Dame in Bamako and M. Youssouf has recently retired as a teacher of English at the University.

Immediately following independence on 22 September 1960 Mali pursued a policy of economic development along socialist lines. President Modibo KEITA ruled until 1968 when his one-man rule was overthrown by a military junta. The leader of the junta was Lieutenant Moussa TRAORE who later assumed the presidency. Running as the only candidate, TRAORE was returned to office in elections held in 1979 and 1985. Beginning in early 1991 public demonstrations began, led mainly by high school students and their mothers. TRAORE's troops opened fire on one of these demonstrations and many were killed. In March of 1991 TRAORE was overthrown by a group of military officers sympathetic to the demonstrators' demands. In January of 1992 a new constitution providing for a multi-party republic was approved and Alpha Oumar KONARE was elected president as a candidate from the Alliance for Democracy in Mali (ADEMA) party. KONARE was re-elected in 1997, but since the constitution limits a president to two terms of five years he will not stand for office in the 2002 elections.

Each day we have lunch at Le Cocotiers restaurant which is attached to the Palais de la Culture. This restaurant, so-named because of the coconut trees which fill the courtyard and shade the tables from the sun, is owned by M. Hamidou DIAKITE.

M. DIAKITE studied both business and law in Paris, Leipzig and Moscow. Upon his return to Mali he worked in the aviation industry and at one time supervised all of the airports in Mali. While in Paris, M. DIAKITE grew tired of eating in the student restaurants and began to cook for himself and his fellow Malian students. We have learned that in much of Africa the kitchen is the sole domain of women and it is considered a sign of poor upbringing for a man to enter the kitchen, much less to cook. One afternoon M. DIAKITE related to us that after his return to Mali--and subsequent marriage--he would sometimes indulge in his secret passion and prepare meals in his wife's kitchen! With much laughter he said that when his extended family learned of this he was called aside by one of his brothers and told that he was insulting his wife and compromising the family's good name... As an answer to the situation M. DIAKITE purchased Le Cocotiers where he now works along with his wife to prepare wonderful African dishes which we all enjoy.

Last Friday M. DIAKITE brought his accordion, purchased in Leipzig, and we sang "We Shall Overcome" along with him. He then serenaded us throughout the rest of the meal. M. and Mme. DIAKITE have four school-aged children and are hosting one of the students from Goshen College.

• In le Cocotiers: #1, #2

So far we have spent two mornings at the National Museum of Mali. This is a wonderful institution which houses the most extensive collection of ancient Malian artifacts in the world. On our first trip we were introduced to a temporary exhibit dealing with daily life in ancient Mali and on our second visit we toured the permanent exhibit which is organized around the various stages of life in Mali. Mali has at least ten distinct ethnic groups and many of them retain their traditional modes of life and the ceremonial activities that mark such passages as birth, initiation, marriage and death.

On both visits our guide has been M. Mamadou GOITA, the director of educational activities at the museum. In addition to conducting tours of the museum, M. GOITA has organized and raised funds for a program which allows some of the many orphaned street-children of Bamako to enter the museum for a few hours each day to participate in various artistic/educational activities. M. GOITA has also taken an interest in Bogolanfini, or the decoration of cloth by a mud-staining technique. He will speak to us about this traditional activity of the Bamana people later in the term and then lead us through the steps of this artform as we make our own Bogolanfini.