Sikasso
{{Short description|City and urban commune in Sikasso, Mali}}
{{Infobox settlement
|name = Sikasso
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|settlement_type = City and urban commune
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|image_skyline =Le grand marché de Sikasso.jpg
|imagesize =300px
|image_caption =Sikasso
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|pushpin_map = Mali
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|pushpin_map_caption =Location within Mali
|pushpin_mapsize =300
|subdivision_type = Country
|subdivision_name = {{MLI}}
|subdivision_type1 = Region
|subdivision_name1 = Sikasso
|subdivision_type2 = Cercle
|subdivision_name2 = Sikasso Cercle
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|established_title = Settled as a village
|established_date = c. 1800
|established_title1 = Established as the capital of the Kenedougou Kingdom
|established_date1 = 1876
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|founder = Tieba Traore
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|area_total_km2 =400
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|elevation_m =410
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|population_as_of =2009 census
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|population_total =225753
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|timezone = GMT
|utc_offset = +0
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|coordinates = {{coord|11|19|N|5|40|W|region:ML|display=inline,title}}
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Sikasso (Bambara: ߛߌߞߊߛߏ tr. Sikaso) is a city in the south of Mali and the capital of the Sikasso Cercle and the Sikasso Region. It is Mali's second largest city with 225,753 residents in the 2009 census.
History
Sikasso was a small village until 1870, when Tieba Traoré, whose mother came from Sikasso, became Faama of the Kénédougou Kingdom and moved the capital there.{{cite book |last1=Imperato |first1=James Pascal |title=Historical Dictionary of Mali |date=1977 |publisher=Scarecrow Press |location=Metuchen, N.J. |url=https://archive.org/details/historicaldictio0000impe/page/14/mode/2up |access-date=23 September 2023}}{{rp|93}} He established his palace on the sacred Mamelon hill (now home to a water tower) and constructed a massive tata to defend against the attacks of both the Malinke conqueror Samori Ture and the French colonial army. This made Sikasso the largest fortified city ever built in west Africa.Solomana Kante, History of Samory Touré (ߛߊ߬ߡߘߎ߬ߜߍ߫ ߕߎ߬ߙߋ߫ ߟߊ߫ ߘߐ߬ߝߐ), A4, p.34
Sikasso withstood a 15-month siege by Ture from 1887 to 1888 before the French, allies of Kenedougou against Ture, relieved the city.L-G. Binger, Du Niger au golfe de Guinée, Hachette, 1892, p. 88 Despite this, the French contrived a diplomatic crisis to attack in 1898. They began a major artillery barrage against the tata on April 15th 1898, and the city fell on May 1st amid furious house-to-house fighting. Babemba Traore, Tieba's brother who had succeeded him as faama, ordered his bodyguards to kill him rather than let him fall into French hands.{{cite book |last1=Suret-Canale |first1=Jean |title=Afrique noire : occidentale et centrale |date=1968 |publisher=Editions Sociales |location=Paris |page=251 |url=https://archive.org/details/afriquenoireocci0000sure/page/250/mode/2up |access-date=24 September 2023 |language=French}}{{rp|272}} He is still remembered for honoring the Bamanankan saying "Saya ka fisa ni maloya ye" (literally: death is preferable to shame). 4000 captives were taken from the sack and parcelled out as slaves among the French and their African auxiliaries. They were marched back west to the Niger, with many too weak or starved to continue dying or being killed along the way.{{rp|274-5}}
In modern-day Sikasso, attractions include the large market, Mamelon hill, the remains of Tieba Traoré's tata, and the nearby Missirikoro Grotto. The festival {{ill|Triangle du balafon|fr|Triangle du balafon}} takes place every June, celebrating the traditional Malian instrument.
Geography
Located {{convert|375|km}} southeast of Bamako, {{convert|100|km}} north of Côte d'Ivoire, and {{convert|45|km}} west of Burkina Faso, Sikasso acts as a crossroads between the coastal countries (Togo, Bénin, Ghana, Côte d'Ivoire) and the landlocked Mali and Burkina Faso. Sikasso's ethnic groups include the Senufo Bamana,(mainly the Supyire), the Bobo (or Bobo Fing, lit. 'black Bobo'), and the Minianka (Mamara Senufo).
Sikasso has abundant agriculture. Sikasso's fruit and vegetable production guarantees the city's self-sufficiency, sparing it from reliance on international food aid.
Climate
Sikasso features a tropical wet and dry climate under the Köppen climate classification. The city receives just under {{convert|1,200|mm|in|0}} of rain each year, most of which falls between May and October. August is the wettest month, with an average rainfall of {{convert|308.8|mm}}. The highest temperatures are reached at the end of the dry season in March and April when the average daily maximum temperatures are just above {{convert|37|C|1}}.{{cite web
| url = http://worldweather.wmo.int/en/city.html?cityId=131
| title = World Weather Information Service – Sikasso
| publisher = World Meteorological Organization
| access-date = 12 October 2015}}
{{Weather box
|width = auto
|location = Sikasso (1991-2020, extremes 1940-present)
|metric first = yes
|single line = yes
|Jan record high C = 40.5
|Feb record high C = 41.2
|Mar record high C = 42.2
|Apr record high C = 42.0
|May record high C = 44.0
|Jun record high C = 39.2
|Jul record high C = 42.2
|Aug record high C = 36.7
|Sep record high C = 38.9
|Oct record high C = 38.9
|Nov record high C = 40.0
|Dec record high C = 39.2
|year record high C = 44.0
|Jan high C = 32.8
|Feb high C = 35.7
|Mar high C = 37.6
|Apr high C = 37.4
|May high C = 35.6
|Jun high C = 33.0
|Jul high C = 30.6
|Aug high C = 29.8
|Sep high C = 31.0
|Oct high C = 33.3
|Nov high C = 34.6
|Dec high C = 33.2
|year high C = 33.7
|Jan mean C =25.2
|Feb mean C =28.2
|Mar mean C =31.0
|Apr mean C =31.6
|May mean C =30.2
|Jun mean C =28.1
|Jul mean C =26.4
|Aug mean C =25.9
|Sep mean C =26.4
|Oct mean C =27.8
|Nov mean C =27.3
|Dec mean C =25.3
|year mean C = 27.8
|Jan low C = 17.5
|Feb low C = 20.8
|Mar low C = 24.3
|Apr low C = 25.7
|May low C = 24.7
|Jun low C = 23.1
|Jul low C = 22.1
|Aug low C = 21.8
|Sep low C = 21.7
|Oct low C = 22.3
|Nov low C = 20.1
|Dec low C = 17.4
|year low C = 21.8
|Jan record low C = 8.2
|Feb record low C = 10.0
|Mar record low C = 13.0
|Apr record low C = 16.8
|May record low C = 17.1
|Jun record low C = 17.7
|Jul record low C = 17.2
|Aug record low C = 17.0
|Sep record low C = 18.0
|Oct record low C = 14.0
|Nov record low C = 10.0
|Dec record low C = 8.0
|year record low C = 8.0
|precipitation colour = green
|Jan precipitation mm = 3.2
|Feb precipitation mm = 3.8
|Mar precipitation mm = 10.5
|Apr precipitation mm = 49.7
|May precipitation mm = 98.8
|Jun precipitation mm = 158.5
|Jul precipitation mm = 237.8
|Aug precipitation mm = 313.9
|Sep precipitation mm = 231.2
|Oct precipitation mm = 91.3
|Nov precipitation mm = 8.5
|Dec precipitation mm = 0.0
|unit precipitation days = 1.0 mm
|Jan precipitation days = 0.4
|Feb precipitation days = 0.5
|Mar precipitation days = 1.8
|Apr precipitation days = 6.3
|May precipitation days = 10.2
|Jun precipitation days = 13.5
|Jul precipitation days = 17.7
|Aug precipitation days = 20.2
|Sep precipitation days = 18.7
|Oct precipitation days = 10.2
|Nov precipitation days = 1.1
|Dec precipitation days = 0.0
|year precipitation days =
|Jan humidity = 31
|Feb humidity = 27
|Mar humidity = 33
|Apr humidity = 48
|May humidity = 61
|Jun humidity = 72
|Jul humidity = 79
|Aug humidity = 82
|Sep humidity = 80
|Oct humidity = 71
|Nov humidity = 52
|Dec humidity = 38
|year humidity = 56
|Jan sun = 263.1
|Feb sun = 242.3
|Mar sun = 237.6
|Apr sun = 217.5
|May sun = 242.0
|Jun sun = 220.8
|Jul sun = 203.2
|Aug sun = 176.6
|Sep sun = 190.7
|Oct sun = 243.0
|Nov sun = 257.6
|Dec sun = 261.6
|year sun = 2756.0
|source 1 = World Meteorological Organization{{Cite web |url=https://www.nodc.noaa.gov/archive/arc0216/0253808/2.2/data/0-data/Region-1-WMO-Normals-9120/Mali/CSV/Sikasso_61297.csv |title=World Meteorological Organization Climate Normals for 1991-2020: Sikasso |access-date=7 January 2024 |publisher=NOAA |format=CSV}}
|source 2 = NOAA (sun 1961–1990),
{{cite web
| url = ftp://ftp.atdd.noaa.gov/pub/GCOS/WMO-Normals/TABLES/REG__I/M1/61297.TXT
| title = Sikasso Climate Normals 1961-1990
| publisher = National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration
| access-date = 12 October 2015}} Deutscher Wetterdienst (extremes and humidity)
{{cite web
| url = http://www.dwd.de/DWD/klima/beratung/ak/ak_612970_kt.pdf
| title = Klimatafel von Sikasso / Mali
| work = Baseline climate means (1961-1990) from stations all over the world
| publisher = Deutscher Wetterdienst
| language = de
| access-date = 26 January 2016}}
|date=May 2012
}}
== Places of worship ==
Among the places of worship, they are predominantly Muslim mosques.J. Gordon Melton, Martin Baumann, ‘‘Religions of the World: A Comprehensive Encyclopedia of Beliefs and Practices’’, ABC-CLIO, USA, 2010, p. 1793 There are also Christian churches and temples : Roman Catholic Diocese of Sikasso (Catholic Church), Église Chrétienne Évangélique du Mali (Alliance World Fellowship), Assemblies of God.
Sister Cities
Sikasso's sister city is Brive-la-Gaillarde, in France.
See also
References
{{Reflist}}
External links
{{commons category|Sikasso}}
- Portions of this article were translated from French language Wikipedia's Sikasso.
- {{citation | title=Plan de Sécurité Alimentaire Commune Urbaine de Sikasso 2007-2011 | publisher=Commissariat à la Sécurité Alimentaire, République du Mali, USAID-Mali | year=2007 | url=http://www.aec.msu.edu/fs2/mali_fd_strtgy/plans/sikasso/sikasso/psa_sikasso.pdf | language=fr }}.
- [http://www.ingentaconnect.com/content/oecd/16849078/2001/00000001/00000002/4402362e L'économie locale de Sikasso, Mali]. Ecoloc - Gérer l'économie localement en Afrique - Evaluation et prospective, Volume 1, Number 2, Décembre 2002, pp. 1–18 (18).
{{Communes of the Sikasso Region}}
{{Authority control}}