Mali_Discovered

Mali Discovered Geography 100 Table of Contents; I History/Introduction II Landforms, Graduation Process III Weather and Climate IV Population V Culture VI Political VII Appendix/Bibliography I History/Introduction Mali is a country of almost 16 million people. The official language spoken is French, but there is about 10 others spoken as well. The population is over 50% Mande with a wide combination of Peul, Voltaic, Songhai, Tuareg and Moor. The religion of almost every person is Muslim, a whopping 94%! There has been an ethnic rebellion in the country and the Militia to the North has caused the country to be divided. The military was overthrown in the Northern territories with a strong Islamic foothold on the country. A military intervention started in January of 2013 to retake the three Northern regions. Within a month most of the territories had been taken back from the rebels. They have an upcoming Democratic election in mid 2013. The country of Mali was named after the empire of Mali, which was located in what is now part of the modern day country of Mali, Guinea, Mauritania and Senegal. In the late 19th century Mali became a part of French Africa. Mali gained it’s independence in 1960. II Landforms, Graduation process The Geography of Mali is that the whole country sits on a plateau. Mali being on a table land has a virtually flat surface. There is a narrow coastal plain that borders along the banks of the Niger river. Water from the Niger river is used for drinking, irrigation and industrial use. The four main rivers are the Niger, Bafing, Bakaye and Senegal. Most people dwell on the banks of the Niger river.The southern part of Mali has the following landscapes: The Bandiagara Plateau, the Fouta Djallon and the mountains of Hombori. III Weather and Climate Mali is a dry land-locked country in northwestwern Africa. Mali is very close to the Tropic of Cancer so it has a tropical climate. Mali has three main seasons and has distict Summer and Winter months. The rainy season lasts between June to October. The Winter season is between October and February, which is followed by an extremely dry and hot season which lasts until June. The climate in Mali is extremely hot with average temps between 24 and 32C. The norther regions experience less rainfall throughout the year and the southern regions have heavy downpour throughout the rainy June to October season. They experience a dry Harmattan wind, which is unique to Mali which blows in the month of December. IV Population The population in Mali has a stedeay growth for the past 12 years of an average rate of 3.01%. The main population is under the age of 14 with a staggering 47%. The main populations live in rural areas near the rivers. The life expentancy is 54 years in Mali for both sexes. The infant mortality rate is poor with 106 deaths per 1000 infants which ranks them 2 in the world. There is a high risk to women during child birth as well as they rank 16th for deaths to women at birth. V Culture With the poulation of Mali being a mix of many ethnic groups, such as the Bambara, Tuareg, Dogon, Songhai, Senufo and Fulani. Each group has their own customs and traditions, but Malians are pretty relaxed about their different cultures. Over 90% of the population is Muslim and the mosques are an important part of their social and cultural life. Music is also an important part of the Malian culture. Music can be heard everywhere you go in Mali-in vehicles, in the streets, in boats on the rivers and even in the dessert. The traditional food of Mali is a rice, vegetable and meat dish called”nsaame’” and the two drinks of choice are “jinjinbere” a drink made with water, sugar, lemon and ginger, or”dabileni” a drink made with water, sugar and sorrel. These dishes are often served at celebration of life ceremonies such as a wedding or naming ceremony. VI Political The politics of Mali are a presidential representative democratic republic. The president of Mali is head of state and the presidentally elected Prime Minister is the head of Government. The acting President since April of 2012 is Dioncounda Tracre’, the Prime Minister is Diango Cissoko. In March of 2012 there was a Military uprising in the Northern territories of Mali that was joined be Al Queda groups, there was an attack agaiun in December 2012. We personally have friends that were there for the Danish Embassy and it was a horrible situation last year, they have since been escorted out of the country. In January of this year the French sent help to remove the regime and have made great strides against the Militia. Appendix/Bibliography www.bbc.couk/news/world-africa-13881370 www.our-africa.org/mali/people/culture www.cia.gov/library/publications/the-worldfactbook/geos/ml.html www.royalty.nu/Africa/Mali.html www.wikipedia.org/wiki/history-of-Mali www.mapsofworld.com/mali/geography www.bbc.co.uk/news/world-africa-22117712 www.reuters.com/assets/print'aid=USBRE93B0ZN20130412