Bafoulabé

Infobox Settlement
official_name = Bafoulabé
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settlement_type = Commune
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map_caption = Cercle of Bafoulabé


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pushpin_label_position =bottom
pushpin_map_caption =Location in Mali
subdivision_type = Country
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subdivision_type1 = Region
subdivision_name1 = Kayes Region
subdivision_type2 = Cercle (district):
subdivision_name2 = Bafoulabé Cercle
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leader_title =Mayor
leader_name =Makan Diakité (CNID)
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population_as_of = 2008
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population_total = 24,870
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latd=13 |latm=48 |lats=30 |latNS=N
longd=10|longm=49|longs=50 |longEW=W
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elevation_m = 83
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Bafoulabé is a town in Mali. It is located in the Region of Kayes. Bafoulabé is the capital of the Cercle of Bafoulabé, which in 1887 was the first Cercle to be created in Mali.

Geography

At Bafoulabé the Bafing and Bakoy rivers meet to form the Sénégal River. In Bambara, Bafoulabé means "meeting of two rivers".The Manantali hydroelectric dam and its reservoir, Lake Manantali, the largest in Mali, is located 90 km to the south-east of Bafoulabé.

Population and culture

Bafoulabé had a population of 16,670 in 1998, with a 2008 estimated population of 24,870. [ [http://www.world-gazetteer.com/wg.php?x=&men=gpro&lng=en&dat=32&geo=-140&srt=npan&col=aohdq&pt=c&va=&geo=373696918 world-gazetteer.com, retrieved 2008-01-14] .] Prior to colonialism, Bafoulabé had been a thriving commercial center. The construction of the Dakar Bamako railway in the early 20th century bypassed the river trade, making Kayes the center of commercial activity in the area. [ [http://courses.wcupa.edu/jones/his311/archives/intervus/mali-int.htm Jim Jones. Conversation with Sekou Diawara, Chef de Campement de Bafoulabé] (Bafoulabé, Friday, March 20, 1992).] The town's population consists primarily of Khassonkés, Malinkés, Soninkés and Fulas. Fily Dabo Sissoko, writer and one of the founding fathers of independent Mali, was a native of Bafoulabé. The Festival dansa/diawoura, a festival of traditional dance, took place in Bafoulabé from April 8 to April 10, 2005.

Sister cities

* Lesquin, France.

References

* [http://www.fallingrain.com/world/ML/0/Bafoulabe.html FallingRain Map - elevation = 83m (Red dots are railways)]

* Translation of .
* [http://www.essor.gov.ml/cgi-bin/view_article.pl?id=10122 Le président Touré à Bafoulabé : la voie largement ouverte vers le développement] . M. COULIBALY, l'Essor n°15483 2005-06-28.

External links

* [http://www.pbase.com/bmcmorrow/image/78387457 image of the Senegal river, with Bafoulabé in the background] .
* [http://www.assemblee-nationale.insti.ml/resultat/kayes/bafoul.htm Election results: Assemblee-Nationale of Mali, Bafoulabé cercle] .
* [http://sahara.jam.si/14.11.2007/bafoulabe-mali/ Image gallery from 2007 visit to Bafoulabé] .
* [http://www.revafricain.net/mali2005/bafoulabe.html Image gallery from 2005 visit to Bafoulabé] .