Bobo-Dioulasso
Encyclopedia
Bobo-Dioulasso is a city with a population of about 435,543 ,National 2006 census preliminary results the second largest city in Burkina Faso
, Africa
, after Ouagadougou
, the nation's capital. The name means literally, "home of the Jula
who speak Bobo
," and is possibly a creation of the French who misunderstood the identity complexities of the location. The local Bobo-speaking population of the city refers to it as Sia. The city is situated in the southwest of the country, in the Houet Province, some 350 km (220 mi) from Ouagadougou
. It is significant both economically (agricultural trade, textile
industry) and culturally (Bobo is the center of culture
and music of Burkina Faso
).
on September 25, 1897 after a brief but bloody confrontation. Soon afterwards the French created an administrative settlement near them, on the east side of the We river, which became the headquarters of a district ("cercle") carrying the same name, Bobo-Dioulasso.
During the 1915-16 anti-colonial war the population in the north and east of the district of Bobo-Dioulasso took the arms against the French colonial government while the city itself became a center for the organization of the suppression. A military base established in the southern sector of the city added to its growing importance.
In 1927 the old village of Tunuma and the other settlements were razed and their population relocated either to neighboring villages or to a previously farmed empty zone 3 kilometers away that was made available to build a new neighborhood (the current neighborhood of Tounouma). Sia proper, which survives today as the Dioulasoba neighborhood, was partly spared this total destruction but nonetheless modified by a large artery pierced through it in 1939 and the widening of the streets in successive urban renewal projects. Between 1926 and 1929 a grid pattern of new avenues and streets intersected by diagonals radiating from a center, and square urban lots between them, established the framework for the modern city center. The Abidjan
railway reached Bobo-Diouolasso in 1934, but the growth of the city as a colonial industrial center halted because of the world economic crisis and the suppression of the colony of Upper Volta in 1933.
The city started expanding again after World War II
and especially the reconstitution of the colony of Upper Volta in 1947, despite the fact that Ouagadougou
had been selected as its capital. Besides being an early industrial center in the country, Bobo-Dioulasso is also the hub of a rich agricultural zone producing food grains, fruits and seedlings (mangos, citrus), export crops (cotton, cashews, and the gathered oil seed karite/shea). Due to its prominent economic position, following independence in 1960 the city was called "the economic capital of the country" (as opposed to the administrative capital, Ouagadougou). Bobo-Dioulasso's economic advantage vis-à-vis the capital declined, however, because of decades of government policy favoring Ouagadougou. Little new industry arrived in the city during the 1980s and 1990s and some of the preexisting enterprises either closed down or relocated to the capital. Economic life was primarily reduced to commerce grounded in the agriculture of the region and services.
Since 2000 the city of Bobo-Dioulasso engaged in a new growth spurt, gaining once again in population and economic vitality, benefitting from the internal crisis in neighboring Côte d'Ivoire, which propelled many of its residents hailing from Burkina Faso to a return migration. The central government is also investing in it (for example the new West African Centre for Economic and Social Studies, a college which is the kernel of what will be the second university of the country).
The city features the Bobo-Dioulasso Old Mosque
(built in 1880 according to some, 1893 according to others), the Konsa house which is the ritual cente of a senior house of the Zara (or Bobo-Jula) group, and a sacred natural pond called Dafra at its southern fringes, which is the source of the We river. The pond is a site of pilgrimage and the giant catfish living in it are given offerings. Bobo-Dioulasso is also a city where one can see several nicely preserved examples of the colonial era architecture called "neo-Sudanic" (examples: the museum building, the train station). In addition to the regional museum there is also a zoo
, and a pottery
market
.
The original population of Bobo-Dioulasso consisted of a majority of farmers speaking the Bobo language and a set of groups associated with them, specializing in trade and warfare, who also speak Bobo, but consider themselves of a distinct historical origin and go by the name Zara.
Today Bobo-Dioulasso is ethnically and linguistically very diverse, due to its position as an old trade town, and especially to its growth during the twentieth century as a colonial administrative and military center. Jula
is the lingua franca
of Bobo and surrounding region of western Burkina Faso, but because of this ethnic diversity two different dialects of Jula live side by side in the city and region. The common (and now dominant) Jula spoken in the streets of Bobo-Dioulasso is a close variation of Bamana
, the majority language of neighboring Mali
. It was brought to the area during the French colonial administration (1898–1960) by the government interpreters and by the soldiers of the colonial army where this language prevailed. Most people speak this Jula as a second language. The people who are of Jula ethnic origin, whether of trader, Muslim-clerical, or warrior origin, speak a different dialect of Jula that is similar to the variety spoken in Côte d'Ivoire. In the city this dialect is called Kon-Jula and survives as an ethnic marker of a particular community.
Burkina Faso
Burkina Faso – also known by its short-form name Burkina – is a landlocked country in west Africa. It is surrounded by six countries: Mali to the north, Niger to the east, Benin to the southeast, Togo and Ghana to the south, and Côte d'Ivoire to the southwest.Its size is with an estimated...
, Africa
Africa
Africa is the world's second largest and second most populous continent, after Asia. At about 30.2 million km² including adjacent islands, it covers 6% of the Earth's total surface area and 20.4% of the total land area...
, after Ouagadougou
Ouagadougou
Ouagadougou is the capital of Burkina Faso and the administrative, communications, cultural and economic center of the nation. It is also the country's largest city, with a population of 1,475,223 . The city's name is often shortened to Ouaga. The inhabitants are called ouagalais...
, the nation's capital. The name means literally, "home of the Jula
Dioula language
Jula is a Mande language spoken in Burkina Faso, Côte d'Ivoire and Mali. It is one of the Manding languages, and is most closely related to Bambara, being mutually intelligible with Bambara as well as Malinke. It is a trade language in West Africa and is spoken by millions of people, either as a...
who speak Bobo
Bobo people
The Bobo are an ethnic group living in Burkina Faso although the area occupied by the Bobo extends north into Mali. In much of the literature on African art the group that lives in the area of Bobo-Dioulasso is called Bobo-Fing, literally 'black Bobo.' These people call themselves Bobo, and they...
," and is possibly a creation of the French who misunderstood the identity complexities of the location. The local Bobo-speaking population of the city refers to it as Sia. The city is situated in the southwest of the country, in the Houet Province, some 350 km (220 mi) from Ouagadougou
Ouagadougou
Ouagadougou is the capital of Burkina Faso and the administrative, communications, cultural and economic center of the nation. It is also the country's largest city, with a population of 1,475,223 . The city's name is often shortened to Ouaga. The inhabitants are called ouagalais...
. It is significant both economically (agricultural trade, textile
Textile
A textile or cloth is a flexible woven material consisting of a network of natural or artificial fibres often referred to as thread or yarn. Yarn is produced by spinning raw fibres of wool, flax, cotton, or other material to produce long strands...
industry) and culturally (Bobo is the center of culture
Culture of Burkina Faso
The culture of Burkina Faso in West Africa is also called the Burkinabé culture.Two key elements of culture in Burkina Faso are its indigenous masks and dancing. The masks used in this region of the western Sahel are made for rites of sacrifice to gods and animal spirits in the villages...
and music of Burkina Faso
Music of Burkina Faso
Burkina Faso is home to some 60 different ethnic groups, each with their own variety of folk music. The country has produced very little popular music compared to its neighbors, which includes African musical giants like Nigeria and the Ivory Coast...
).
History
At the end of the nineteenth century Sia consisted of two large villages, Tunuma and Sia proper, located at a few hundred meters from each other on a narrow spit of land bounded by 8 to 10 feet deep ravines on either side, carved by the We (Houët) river to the east and by its tributary Sanyo to the west, and three small satellite villages lying beyond this natural border. There were a number of other independent villages in the surroundings (Bindogoso, Dogona, Kwirima, Kpa) which all now lie within the municipal boundaries and are incorporated into the city. The two main villages were occupied by the FrenchFrance
The French Republic , The French Republic , The French Republic , (commonly known as France , is a unitary semi-presidential republic in Western Europe with several overseas territories and islands located on other continents and in the Indian, Pacific, and Atlantic oceans. Metropolitan France...
on September 25, 1897 after a brief but bloody confrontation. Soon afterwards the French created an administrative settlement near them, on the east side of the We river, which became the headquarters of a district ("cercle") carrying the same name, Bobo-Dioulasso.
During the 1915-16 anti-colonial war the population in the north and east of the district of Bobo-Dioulasso took the arms against the French colonial government while the city itself became a center for the organization of the suppression. A military base established in the southern sector of the city added to its growing importance.
In 1927 the old village of Tunuma and the other settlements were razed and their population relocated either to neighboring villages or to a previously farmed empty zone 3 kilometers away that was made available to build a new neighborhood (the current neighborhood of Tounouma). Sia proper, which survives today as the Dioulasoba neighborhood, was partly spared this total destruction but nonetheless modified by a large artery pierced through it in 1939 and the widening of the streets in successive urban renewal projects. Between 1926 and 1929 a grid pattern of new avenues and streets intersected by diagonals radiating from a center, and square urban lots between them, established the framework for the modern city center. The Abidjan
Abidjan
Abidjan is the economic and former official capital of Côte d'Ivoire, while the current capital is Yamoussoukro. it was the largest city in the nation and the third-largest French-speaking city in the world, after Paris, and Kinshasa but before Montreal...
railway reached Bobo-Diouolasso in 1934, but the growth of the city as a colonial industrial center halted because of the world economic crisis and the suppression of the colony of Upper Volta in 1933.
World War II
World War II, or the Second World War , was a global conflict lasting from 1939 to 1945, involving most of the world's nations—including all of the great powers—eventually forming two opposing military alliances: the Allies and the Axis...
and especially the reconstitution of the colony of Upper Volta in 1947, despite the fact that Ouagadougou
Ouagadougou
Ouagadougou is the capital of Burkina Faso and the administrative, communications, cultural and economic center of the nation. It is also the country's largest city, with a population of 1,475,223 . The city's name is often shortened to Ouaga. The inhabitants are called ouagalais...
had been selected as its capital. Besides being an early industrial center in the country, Bobo-Dioulasso is also the hub of a rich agricultural zone producing food grains, fruits and seedlings (mangos, citrus), export crops (cotton, cashews, and the gathered oil seed karite/shea). Due to its prominent economic position, following independence in 1960 the city was called "the economic capital of the country" (as opposed to the administrative capital, Ouagadougou). Bobo-Dioulasso's economic advantage vis-à-vis the capital declined, however, because of decades of government policy favoring Ouagadougou. Little new industry arrived in the city during the 1980s and 1990s and some of the preexisting enterprises either closed down or relocated to the capital. Economic life was primarily reduced to commerce grounded in the agriculture of the region and services.
Landmarks
Mosque
A mosque is a place of worship for followers of Islam. The word is likely to have entered the English language through French , from Portuguese , from Spanish , and from Berber , ultimately originating in — . The Arabic word masjid literally means a place of prostration...
(built in 1880 according to some, 1893 according to others), the Konsa house which is the ritual cente of a senior house of the Zara (or Bobo-Jula) group, and a sacred natural pond called Dafra at its southern fringes, which is the source of the We river. The pond is a site of pilgrimage and the giant catfish living in it are given offerings. Bobo-Dioulasso is also a city where one can see several nicely preserved examples of the colonial era architecture called "neo-Sudanic" (examples: the museum building, the train station). In addition to the regional museum there is also a zoo
Zoo
A zoological garden, zoological park, menagerie, or zoo is a facility in which animals are confined within enclosures, displayed to the public, and in which they may also be bred....
, and a pottery
Pottery
Pottery is the material from which the potteryware is made, of which major types include earthenware, stoneware and porcelain. The place where such wares are made is also called a pottery . Pottery also refers to the art or craft of the potter or the manufacture of pottery...
market
Market
A market is one of many varieties of systems, institutions, procedures, social relations and infrastructures whereby parties engage in exchange. While parties may exchange goods and services by barter, most markets rely on sellers offering their goods or services in exchange for money from buyers...
.
Demographics
Today Bobo-Dioulasso is ethnically and linguistically very diverse, due to its position as an old trade town, and especially to its growth during the twentieth century as a colonial administrative and military center. Jula
Dioula language
Jula is a Mande language spoken in Burkina Faso, Côte d'Ivoire and Mali. It is one of the Manding languages, and is most closely related to Bambara, being mutually intelligible with Bambara as well as Malinke. It is a trade language in West Africa and is spoken by millions of people, either as a...
is the lingua franca
Lingua franca
A lingua franca is a language systematically used to make communication possible between people not sharing a mother tongue, in particular when it is a third language, distinct from both mother tongues.-Characteristics:"Lingua franca" is a functionally defined term, independent of the linguistic...
of Bobo and surrounding region of western Burkina Faso, but because of this ethnic diversity two different dialects of Jula live side by side in the city and region. The common (and now dominant) Jula spoken in the streets of Bobo-Dioulasso is a close variation of Bamana
Bambara language
Bambara, more correctly known as Bamanankan , its designation in the language itself , is a language spoken in Mali by as many as six million people...
, the majority language of neighboring Mali
Mali
Mali , officially the Republic of Mali , is a landlocked country in Western Africa. Mali borders Algeria on the north, Niger on the east, Burkina Faso and the Côte d'Ivoire on the south, Guinea on the south-west, and Senegal and Mauritania on the west. Its size is just over 1,240,000 km² with...
. It was brought to the area during the French colonial administration (1898–1960) by the government interpreters and by the soldiers of the colonial army where this language prevailed. Most people speak this Jula as a second language. The people who are of Jula ethnic origin, whether of trader, Muslim-clerical, or warrior origin, speak a different dialect of Jula that is similar to the variety spoken in Côte d'Ivoire. In the city this dialect is called Kon-Jula and survives as an ethnic marker of a particular community.
Notable people
- Moumouni FabreMoumouni FabréMoumouni Fabré is a Burkinabé politician, currently serving as the Ambassador of Burkina Faso to South Africa. He was Minister of Territorial Administration and Decentralization from 2002 to 2006....
(1953-) politician and diplomat - Gaston KaboréGaston KaboréGaston Kaboré is a Burkinabé film director and an important figure in Burkina Faso's film industry. He has won awards for his films Wend Kuuni and Buud Yam.-Biography:Kaboré was born in 1951 in Bobo-Dioulasso in Upper Volta....
(1951-) filmwriter - Dani KouyatéDani KouyatéDani Kouyaté is a film director and griot from Burkina Faso, which BBC describes as "Africa's most important film-making country".-Biography:...
(1961-) filmwriter