Malik in Mali Trivia Quiz

Answer: West Africa

Clockwise from north, Mali is a landlocked country bordered by Algeria, Niger, Burkina Faso, Côte d'Ivoire, Guinea, Senegal and Mauritania. Mali is a rather large country since it is almost twice the size of the American state of Texas; it may be surprising then to find out that it is only the eighth largest country in Africa.

Answer: Bambara

Bamako's landmarks include a grand mosque, unique national museum and an extensive national library. Whilst French is the official language of Mali, Bambara is spoken by the majority of Mali as a working language. In addition, the Bambara people comprise just over a third of Mali's population. It is therefore fitting that Bamako was derived from a Bambaran word.

Answer: Two thirds

Mali can be broken down into about three zones: an arid zone in the north, a semi-arid zone in the middle and a cultivated zone in the south which is subtropical. Mali's climate is not optimal for cultivation as most of the country experiences little to no rainfall particularly in the dry season.

It was estimated in 2011 that Mali had only 5.63% of arable land and that in 2001 70% of Mali's labor force was working on subsistence farming. Therefore, with much of Mali's economy rooted in agriculture, it is not surprising that it has had a struggling financial state.

Answer: Niger

The 4200km Niger river's source is in Guinea's highlands and flows through Mali, Niger, Benin and Nigeria and out into the Gulf of Guinea. The middle of its flow is known as the Niger bend and was a major source of trade in the Western Saharan region of Africa. Much of Mali's population lives near this cascading force and they rely on it to survive.

Answer: France

In the late 19th century, Mali was colonised by the French and used to be known as French Sudan. In 1960, Modibo Keita became president of a then independent Mali. In some ways, its independence was short lived, as Moussa Traore took over Mali's leadership in a coup and acted as a dictator to the country until 1991 where history repeated itself and he himself fell victim to a coup.

Answer: Tuareg

The Tuareg people comprise a significant minority of Mali's population and have rebelled against the state on numerous occasions. In 2012, they tried to obtain independence for the northern part of Mali in a region that would be called Azawad. Whilst the National Movement for the Liberation of Azawad affirmed that it was independent from Mali, no foreign entity supported this claim.

In 2013, the claim of independence was revoked.

Answer: Songhai

It was supposed that Mali was seen as the Athens of Western Africa when under Songhai rule. The Songhai ruled over a large number of Western African countries as one of the largest Islamic empires. Mali was taken over in the late 14th century and Gao made the Songhai capital.

The Niger bend was where much of its power was entrenched and in this time Mali was a centre of trade and a centre of education as several Islamic establishments were set up to academic ends. In the late 16th century, Moroccan raiders put an end to the Songhai and Mali's prosperity declined consequently.

Answer: Bandiagara Escarpment

An escarpment is a steep cliff and the Bandiagara Escarpment is an impressive example of one of them. Mali's largest peak, the Hombori Tondo, features as a part of the sandstone chain that extends over 150 kilometers. Whilst geologically interesting, there is also cultural heritage in the region.

The Tellem, an ancient people driven out by the Dogon, made caves for ritual and burial purposes. The Dogon villages are littered at the base of the escarpment and are characterised by their square shape and thatched roofs.

Their people are said to be faithful to their ancestral values and traditions and this is one of the reasons the site is worthy of protection.

Answer: Mali Firefinch

Whilst reports vary as to whether the Mali firefinch is the only endemic species to Mali, it is certainly one of only a very select few. Fortunately, the species was classed in the 'Least Concern' category of the IUCN Red List in 2012 and has been at a stable population.

The birds often have brown wings and are otherwise red; it is said that with some persistence they can be seen by watchers.

Answer: Festival au Désert

The Festival au Désert was founded by the Tuareg whose nomadic groups would come together and share in music and culture, and it eventually branched out to exhibit music from international artists from all across the world including Robert Plant of Led Zeppelin fame.

Although the festival is one of tolerance and peace it was sadly cancelled in 2013 due to the Azawad conflicts in northern Mali.