Mali

country in the northern half of west africa (sahel region). The capital is Bamako and it also contains historical cities like Djenne, Macina, Timbuktu and Gao. The main language is Bambara which is similar to Dyula/Jula/Dioula, but they also speak French as the language of education, govt, media, etc. There are many different tribes besides Bambara, including Songhais, Fulbe, Bozos, Dogons, Soninkes, Senoufos and Maninkas. The country is mainly savanna landscape, and the Niger river runs in the middle. The northern half is part of the Sahara which is inhabited by a nomadic people called Touaregs. The country is named after the medieval Mali Empire which was based in the same area and the same culture as the modern country, and got very very rich by trading gold to the maghreb. In the late 1800s it was occupied and colonized by France which is the source or a source of a lot of Mali's troubles today. The main religion is Islam but the society is actually very lax and there haven't been religious conflicts until recently, mainly in the north sahara region. Sometimes islam is mixed with traditional african culture. Some tribes like the Senoufos and Dogons still follow their own religions. Mali has a kickass culture, especially the music, for examples check out Salif Keita, Ali Farka Toure, Toumani Diabate, Sissoko. The food is largely similar to other West African countries with dishes like fufu, jolof etc but with local variations.