Somono
.jpg) Somono woman on the banks of the River Niger(photo: Fortier) | |
| Total population | |
|---|---|
| 67,186 (0.3%) 0.3% (including those of ancestral descent) | |
| Regions with significant populations | |
| Languages | |
| Somono | |
| Religion | |
| Islam | |
| Related ethnic groups | |
| Bambara people |
The Somono are an ethnic group in Mali. It is made up of a few tens of thousands of fishermen living around the Niger River. They are related to the Bambara people and share most of their customs.
History
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Biton Coulibaly entrusted them with a war fleet to expand his kingdom in the 18th century.
They were conquered by the Toucouleurs of Omar Saidou Tall in the 19th century.
In principle, they extended from Bamako to Dioro, but some settled in Conakry at the beginning of the 20th century.
Language
Their language, of the same name, is a dialect of Bambara.
Demographics
According to the 2022 Census, there were 67,186 people in Mali.
Culture
The Somono share most of the customs of the Bambaras.
Craftsmanship
The Somono are highly skilled in pottery and canoe construction, and also traditionally master ironwork, which makes them indispensable to the Bozos.
The Somono contributed to the introduction of the drift net technique in Casamance.
Religion
The Somono adopted the Islamic traditions following their conquest by the Toucouleurs of Omar Saidou Tall.
References
- ↑ "Somono Bala of the Upper Niger | David C. Conrad - Africanist, Historian, Lecturer". www.davidcconrad.com. Retrieved 2024-12-31.
- ↑ Institut National de la Statistique (INSTAT) (December 2024). "CINQUIEME RECENSEMENT GENERAL DE LA POPULATION ET DE L'HABITAT (RGPH5)" (PDF). Retrieved 8 June 2026.
Definitions from Wiktionary
Media from Commons
Quotations from Wikiquote
Texts from Wikisource
Textbooks from Wikibooks
Resources from Wikiversity
Bibliography
- (en) Mary Jo Arnoldi, « Sòmonò puppet masquerades in Kirango, Mali », in African Arts (Los Angeles), 34 (1) printemps 2001, p. 72-77
- Georges R. Celis et Yaya T.Coulibaly, Métallurgies traditionnelles du fer Sénoufo, Malinké et Somono, Côte d'Ivoire, Burkina-Faso et Mali, Musée royal de l'Afrique centrale, Tervuren, 2001, 192 p. ISBN 90-75894-39-2
- (en) David C. Conrad, Somono Bala of the Upper Niger: river people, charismatic bards, and mischievous music in a West African culture, Brill, Leyde, Boston, Cologne, 2002, 160 p. ISBN 90-04-12185-4
- Kevin de la Croix, Amadou Dao, Luc Ferry, Frédéric Landy, Nadine Muther et Didier Martin, « Les systèmes de pêches collectives fluviales somono dans le Manden (Mali). Un révélateur territorial et social unique en sursis sur le Niger supérieur », Dynamiques Environnementales. Journal International des géosciences et de l’environnement, n°32, second semestre 2013, p. 124-143. [lire en ligne]
- Jacques Daget, « La pêche à Diafarabé : étude monographique », in Bulletin de l'Institut français d'Afrique noire, série B, T. 18, nos 1–2, 1956
- (de) Thomas Krings, Agrarwissen bäuerlicher Gruppen in Mali, Westafrika : standortgerechte Elemente in den Landnutzungssystemen der Senoufo, Bwa, Dogon und Somono, D. Reimer, Berlin, 1991, 301 p. ISBN 3-496-00409-6
- Paul Marty, « L'islam somono », in Études sur l'Islam et les tribus du Soudan, tome 4, E. Leroux, Paris, 1920, p. 47-62, available at Gallica
