ABSTRACT
The Bamana and Dogon of Mali, the Senufo and Baule of the Ivory Coast, and the Asante of Ghana live in vegetation zones that vary from savanna grasslands in the north to tropical forests in the coastal regions in the south. Islamic religion and culture had a strong impact on many cultures in Mali, the Ivory Coast, and northern Ghana for many centuries before there was sustained European trade, missionary activities, and colonialization. The one million or so Senufo of the northern Ivory Coast, southern Mali, and southwestern Burkino Faso have two wide-reaching institutions—a male initiation society called Poro and a female divination society called Sandogo. The Bamana number about 750,000 and have a long history of living in southwestern Mali in West Africa. The languages spoken by the Bamana, Dogon, Senufo, and Asante belong to a large West and Central African language group known as the Niger-Congo family.
