Location, Schedule & Accommodations

Locations:

Bamako, our home base

The program's home base is a thriving city of 1.5 million spanning both sides of the Niger River, where dirt roads and traditional medicines coexist with asphalt and modern hospitals. This city exemplifies the wonderful chaotic confluence of tradition and modernity. The old colonial center of Bamako is composed of neo-classical and neo-Sudanese buildings constructed mostly between 1890 and 1914. Most residential neighborhoods have mud brick buildings, with the exception of the newer developments where modern brick, steel and glass are used. The large central market is a sprawling cacophony of music, traffic, and crowds of people.

Program Travel Sites

We occasionally leave Bamako for short day-trips and overnights in the surrounding region. Half way through the semester, we take a 1-2 week travel-study bus trip to various historical towns and villages. Some of the sites visited in the past include:

Siby - Woyowayanko - Kangaba/Kela:  This short trip along the foothills of the Mande plateau takes participants to the Mande heartland. Students visit a women's collective shea butter project, hike up winding cliff paths to visit important historical sites that date back to the founding of the Mande empire, and relax by beautiful waterfalls. Members of the famed Diabate clan perform historical epics relating to Sunjata Keita's 13th-century exploits.

Segou: Segou was the capital of the eighteenth-century Bamana Empire, whose influence stretched from the Senegal River to Timbuktu. The French took the city in 1892, using it as an administrative center. The Niger River is wide and beautiful at Segou. Though traditional Bamana architecture can be found throughout town, the oldest remains can be found in Segou-Koro (old Segou) five miles west of the modern city, reached by boat. The Segou region is home to many potters, weavers, bogolan and indigo artists, blacksmiths, and wood workers.

Mopti: Located in central Mali, Mopti lies on a series of islands connected by causeways at the juncture of the Niger and Bani rivers. Mopti has long been a commercial center, where many of Mali's ethnic groups come together to trade. Mopti's port is a lively place where boats from up and down the river unload their cargos of salt from the north, dried fish, firewood, pottery, goats, and chickens.

Djenné:  Djenné is a UNESCO World Heritage site famous for its majestic mosque, the largest mud-brick building in the world. Constructed of blocks made from a mixture of rice husks, earth, and water, it is an impressive four story high structure, with three minarets almost 60 feet high. Djenné was the site of some of Mali's earliest urban development. The nearby archeological site of Jenne-Jeno was a city of more than 15,000 people at its peak in the 4th century BC. In the 13th century, it rivaled Timbuktu in prosperity and Muslim culture. Djenné, a city of mud-brick houses lining narrow, winding streets, continues to be an important center of Islamic learning.

Dogon Country:  Most of the Dogon live in more than 700 small villages scattered over 15,000 square miles in the Bandiagara region of north-central Mali, an area of high cliffs and natural caves. Some live on a sandstone plateau above the cliffs and the rest live in the sandy plains below. Until 1930, the Dogon were isolated from the rest of the world and were opposed to foreign influences on their culture and society. For many years, this protected them from attacks by outsiders. The Dogon are famous for their distinctive village architecture, cosmology, energetic masked dance performances, and beautifully carved wooden doors.

Kolokani: Kolokani is recognized as one of the most vital areas of Bamana traditional ceremonial practice, where villagers take time off from working in the millet fields to engage in centuries-old participatory festive events incorporating music, dance, mask, and theater.

Kolondieba - Sikasso:  Kolondieba is home to an energetic, community-based celebration known as Didadi, a traditional style which has been modernized by numerous popular musicians in Bamako. Sikasso is the commercial center of southern Mali, and its lush vegetation contrasts sharply with the drier zones of the majority of the country. The town was once completely surrounded by a protective wall known as a tata, some of which still remains. It was also a base for the 19th-century jihadist empire-builder, Samory Toure.

Schedules

Summer Preparation

Academic requirements begin during the summer with assigned readings, response papers, and journal entries. The director schedules telephone consultations with each participant to further clarify their personal, artistic, and academic goals for the semester abroad. Students are strongly encouraged to begin developing their French or Bamanankan language skills.

On-site orientation

The first few days in Mali are designed as a transition to the sites, sounds, climate, geography, languages, and people of the city of Bamako. Participants map our home base neighborhood, acquaint themselves with public transit and taxi travel, familiarize themselves with important landmarks, and begin intensive language training in Bamanankan and French. Group discussions are held on topics such as cultural adaptation, Malian customs, health issues, and living conditions.

 

Model Itinerary

September 5th	Depart from the U.S. and arrive in Bamako on September 6th
Week 1-3	Orientation; Classes in Languages, Historical and Contemporary Issues and Aesthetic Traditions
Weeks 4-6	Apprenticeship/Homestay
Weeks 7-8	Travel within Mali
Weeks 9-12	Apprenticeship/Homestay
Week 13	Independent Project presentations; preparation for departure
December 4th	Depart from Bamako and arrive in the U.S. on December 5th

 

Model Daily Schedules

Weeks 1-3	Stage 1
Weeks 4-6	Stage 2
Weeks 7-8	Stage 3
Weeks 9-12	Stage 4
Week 13	Stage 5

 

Stage 1: Mali Orientation/Group  Residency

8:00-9:00 AM	Breakfast/free time
9:00-12:00 AM	Language classes
12:00-2:00 PM	Lunch/free time
2:00-6:00 PM	Lecture(s)/field trip
6:00-6:30 PM	Free time
6:30-7:30 PM	Dinner
7:30-9:00PM	Free time/evening concert/art exhibit. Students generally prepare for the next day's classes in the evenings.

Students are divided into their appropriate groups for language classes. Introductory seminars focus on historical material, including the Sunjata epic, Islam, the colonial period, and the independence era. Guest speakers present lectures and demonstrations on various artistic traditions and contemporary issues. Field trip destinations may include the central market of Bamako, Point G scenic lookout, the Museum of Bamako, a bio-fuel project, indigo workshops, bogolan (mud cloth) workshops, the National Museum, the artisan market, medical research facilities, the Modibo Keita Memorial Center, the French Cultural Center's library, the University of Bamako main campus, the Balla Fasseke Conservatory of the Arts, the National Arts Institute, and rehearsals of the National Ballet, the National Instrumental Ensemble, and the Ballet of the District of Bamako.

 

Stages 2 and 4: Homestay

Homestay schedules depend on the mentor/apprentice relationship. Typically, the student will spend most of her/his time with the mentor, receiving two hours of focused learning/lesson time per day, as well as observing the mentor, practicing, and socializing with family members at home and/or with colleagues at work. One-hour private language tutorials occur 2-3 times/week, either at home or at work. Meals are eaten either at home or at the work place. During stage four, daytime and/or evening rehearsals are scheduled in preparation for the final show.

 

Stage 3: Study trip to the interior

During our 10-day study trip to visit historical sites in the interior of the country, our daily schedule varies quite a bit. Lectures are presented during the day or in the evening. Students generally tend to read assigned materials in the evenings, in preparation for the following day's activities. Basically, we rise early, have a simple breakfast, and visit a historical site or attend a workshop. We lunch either in the same town/village or on the road. Following lunch we either travel to a new location or remain for more site visits and/or workshops. Dinner is either at our hotel or students are free to choose a local restaurant. There may be an organized activity/concert, but more often evenings are free. We spend four days in Dogon country, hiking for two and a half days from small village to village.

 

Stage 5: Group Residency/Final Show/Re-entry orientation

8:00-9:00 AM	Breakfast/free time
9:00-12:00 AM	Work on final show
12:00-2:00 PM	Lunch/free time
2:00-6:00 PM	Work on final show
6:00-6:30 PM	Free time
6:30-7:30 PM	Dinner
7:30-9:00 PM	Free time/evening concert/art exhibit/more work on final show!

** Remember that we remain flexible in order to accommodate unforeseen changes - meal times vary, travel schedules change, activities may be switched or canceled or added at the last minute.

 

Accommodations

While in Bamako, students are initially housed in a large home, two students per bedroom, for the period of group residency. During the two 3-4 week homestay periods, each student stays with a Malian family, typically the family of their arts mentor. During travel to the interior of Mali, the group stays in small hotels, guest houses, and designated camping areas.

* Feel free to contact AEA with questions regarding the location, schedule, and accommodations for the Arts and Culture in Mali program.