MALI-CultreGram

Republic of Mali


 * Politics and Government || * Mali became a democracy in 1992. The government has three branches, just like the government of the United States. Mali has a president and a prime minister. Together, with a cabinet of about 26 cabinet ministers, they make up the executive branch
 * Mali's legislative branch has one house called the National Assembly. The National Assembly has 147 elected members.
 * The judicial branch is made up of the Ministry of Justice and the Supreme Court.
 * The voting age in Mali is 21. When there is an election in Mali, voters who cannot read or write choose their candidate by choosing the logo of the political party that they want to support. ||
 * General Population and Size || * Over 13 million people live in Mali, and the population is growing fast.
 * There are 20 major ethnic groups in Mali -Bambara live in the central and southern regions.-Malinke live in the southwest and west.-Sarakole live in the northwest, near Mauritania.-Songhai and the Bozo peoples live along the Niger River.-Dogon people live in an area called the Dogon Cliffs, or the Bandiagara Escarpment, in central Mali.
 * Mali covers 478,841 square miles (about twice the size of Texas). ||
 * Typical Cuisine and Food || * The main foods in a Malian diet are millet and corn that are made into a thick porridge.
 * A popular dish is tiga diga na (peanut butter sauce)or a meat sauce (goat, sheep, beef, or chicken) might be used on occasion.
 * They usually eat food with their hands, and only those living in the city use utensils.
 * Malnutrition is widespread in Mali. July through August food stores are depleted and new crops not ready to harvest, people rely on fresh mangoes, bananas and oranges to supplement scant meals. ||
 * Common Industries and Exports || * Large extent is subsistence agriculture.
 * 70% of Mali's labor force provides 42% of the GDP.
 * The major export is cotton and livestock which annually is 75-80%.
 * Mali also exports rice, surshum, and fish.
 * Mining is also another major export with Gold being the 3rd largest source. They also mine, salt, kaolin, phosphate, and limestone. ||
 * Arts || * The city of Djenné is built of dried bricks covered in mud-based plaster, and is considered to be an architetural wonder.
 * The national anthem of Mali is “Hymne National Malien.” It was adopted in 1962. The lyrics are were written by Seydou Badian Kouyaté and the music by Banzoumana Sissoko.
 * Wood carving is a prominent folk art and they are known for making exquisitely carved wooden masks.
 * The Welcome Danceperformed for visitors of Mali. ||

Why Should We Examine Art, Literature, and Music From Artists Outside of the U.S.? There are many reasons that we should examine art, literature, and music from places outside the US. One of the reasons is that it will help the United Stares learn other cultures and how they express themselves. With a better understanding of things like Music and Arts then we can easliy understand and incorperate the culture into our own. Many of the United States artforms have been taken from other countries and their ways of the arts. If we look close then we can see that we are all tied together and a lot of it has to do with the arts.

What Value Does World Literature, Music and Art Have for Us?

Living in the United States, all of us have ancestors that came from another country. It's important to understand our own indivual heritage as well as those around us. Because our country is so young, compared to other countries worldwide, there is so much in other countries cultures that melts over into the United States. Besides that people are always interested in what other cultures create. It's interesting to see what others have come up with that is different from our own way of doing things. When we cross cultural boundaries and share what enriches the lives of others, our lives will be enriched as well, and we won't look at the world in the same way again.