Mali

Mali is a fascinating country. I’ve learned about the ancient empire of Mali in High

Chief of Koa village. Dogon dancers

Dogon man wearing turban Man wearing traditional clothing of his region

Wow, this guy is just glaring at me. He could burn a hole through me with that glare

Hunter, meeting in Bamako for a gathering of traditional huntersSo, now you have no reason to fear the guy above(guy in the red turban). If he does anything the hunter will straighten him out

Fisherman riding toward his village. This is the opposite of an oasis isn’t it(desert in the middle of water).

Wow, I love this woman’s colorful dress. Well, it’s only two colors but very pleasing to my eyes.Since yellow is one of my favorite colors, and I like the pattern.

Woman walking by mosque in Djenne.

A modernized young woman.

Some more modernized young women, sitting on a moped. These women live in Bamako.So, yup, westernized(somewhat) city girls.

Man with visiting Western woman

Man fixing a bike Fully covered Moslem man

Women grinding in Senossa, Mali.

Woman selling books Boy carrying his lamb, in Mopti

Another woman in Djenne. Wearing, again, Woman in yellow, my other favorite colorAnother of my favorite colors. RED!

Here is Jenna Bush(George W. Bush’s daughter if you didn’t know), sitting with some girls at Medine Primary School in Dakar. Senegal is right next to Mali, so I didn’t see any problem squeezing that in here.

I am also fascinated by the griots of Mali and surrounding countries. I’ll start of with a big celebrity griot first. Here she is….. Yes it’s a she.

. The beautiful, and extremely talented, Adja Soumano.

Griots sitting together here in the village of Kela in Koulikoro district

Griots are spectacular, whether celebrities or not. Now I don’t think they are believed to have magic powers like hunter

A Hausa griot in Niger. I didn’t even know the Hausa people had griots. Well, maybe the ones in Niger do. I don’t think the Hausa in Ghana and Nigeria have griots, though.

Now, a griot of my favorite Malian people; Sundiata the Lion King’s people; the Malinke. This guy’s name is Papa Susso. Ms. Adja Soumano is a Malinke as well. I don’t know whether Papa Susso is a celebrity in Mali, or somewhat popular;

Tuareg women in Mali

Sudan

These are women in northern Sudan.

Woman at a party celebrating her wedding Woman in refugee camp in Kassala

Women doing make up at same wedding party

This of course is a very old picture. This is an old picture as well, not as old as the one above, but from 1952.The picture of the woman could be from anywhere between the 1870s to about 1910