Sikasso Region ( Bambara : ߛߌߞߊߛߏ ߘߌߣߋߖߊ tr. Sikaso Dineja) is the southernmost region of Mali . The region's capital city, Sikasso , is the country's second-largest city. Major ethnic groups include the Senoufo , known for masks and reverence for animals, the Samago , known for being Mali's best farmers, and the main ethnic group in Mali, the Bambara people .
4-413: Sikasso Region is divided into seven cercles : The city of Sikasso is known for a vibrant outdoor market which features fabrics, numerous vegetables and fruits (especially mangoes , for which Sikasso is particularly renowned.) Sikasso is an ethnic and linguistic melting pot featuring people from outlying villages, immigrants from Côte d'Ivoire and Burkina Faso and refugees. The southwest corner of
8-504: A cercle was the smallest unit of French political administration that was headed by a European officer. A cercle consisted of several cantons, each of which in turn consisted of several villages. In 1887, the Cercle of Bafoulabé was the first cercle to be created in Mali. In most of former French West Africa , the term cercle was changed to prefecture or department after independence, but this
12-465: Is the hub of Mali's highly productive cotton industry, which produces one of the country's few exports. Cercles of Mali A cercle is the second-level administrative unit in Mali . Mali is divided into eight régions and one capital district ( Bamako ); the régions are subdivided into 49 cercles . These subdivisions bear the name of their principal city. During French colonial rule in Mali ,
16-511: The Sikasso region is traditionally known as Wassoulou . This area is known for its unique music and strong tradition of hunting. The main city of Wassoulou is Yanfolila . Besides the regional capital, the other urban communes and major cities in Sikasso Region are Bougouni , a junction town en route to Bamako (the capital of Mali), and Koutiala in the northern part of Sikasso Region, which
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