What is a Bambara?

The Bambara people are an ethnic group primarily inhabiting the Ségou and Koulikoro regions of Mali, as well as the Sikasso regions of southeastern Mali and southwestern Burkina Faso. They are the largest ethnicity in Mali, constituting close to one-third of the population. The Bambara call themselves Bamana meaning “refusing death”. Most Bambara people work in farming which has been their main activity for about one and a half thousand years. The Bambara live in large compounds. Many wives or extended family often belong to one compound. It often contains at least one shrine to the household’s ancestors. Their ancestors’ masks appear during important community celebrations. These rituals and ceremonies may have the objective of ensuring good rain, successful harvests, healing people, maintaining community cohesion, or other positive purposes. The language spoken most in Mali is Bambara although French is the official language. This makes the Bambara language quite useful with its estimated over 15-20 million speakers.