Mali Bibliography

Books

Online Resources

Afropop Worldwide. (search Mali).

Ancient Manuscripts from the Desert Libraries of Timbuktu. Library of Congress.

Cain, Aine. Here’s what it was like to be Mansa Musa, thought to be the richest person in history. Businessinsider.com, Feb. 14, 2018.

Geography of Mali. Wikipedia

Handwriting on the Wall: The Case of Omar ibn SaidCuNN ClemsonNewsNow  Youtube,  Oct 4, 2014.

Kai, Nubia.   The Oral Historiography of the Mali Empire. Library of Congress. April, 6, 2015.  

Mali’s Return to Democracy Will Not End Tuareg Crisis, World Politics Review, Sept. 3, 2013.

McGregor, Andrew. Anarchy in Azawad: A Guide to Non-State Armed Groups in Northern Mali. Terrorism Monitor. Vol. 15:2 2017.

Mali. World Heritage (Sites) List. UNESCO

Niane, Djibriltamsir. Sundiata. Boston University.

The Oral Historiography of the Mali Empire. Nubia Kai. 

Prince Among Slaves DVD Unity Productions, 2011

Said, Nicholas, The Autobiography of Nicholas Said; a Native of Bornou, Eastern Soudan, Central Africa: Electronic Edition. Documenting the American South. University of North Carolina Chapel Hill.

Salih Bilali of Massina.  Slavery and ‘Remembrance: A Guide to Sites, Museums and Memory. The Colonial Williamsburg Foundation. 2016. 

Sundiata.” Berkeley Oris. 

Teacher’s Guide for Footsteps Mansa Musa.” Cricket Media 1999.

Timbuktu Manuscripts. World Digital Library. UNESCO.

“Thomas Bluett.”  Documenting the American South: Primary Resources for the Study of Southern History, Literature and Culture) University Library, The University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill, 2004. 

UNESCO History of Africa. Unesco

The wealth of Africa : The kingdom of Mali, Students’ worksheets. British Museum.

Weston, Guy. New Jersey: A State Divided On Freedom. AAHGS Journal Vol 34 GW.pdf

The wonderful world of mudcloth.  africanimports.com 

Worrall, Simon. ‘Badass Librarians’ Foil al Qaeda, Save Ancient Manuscripts. National Geographic, June 12, 2017.

DVDs: 

The Ink Road: Teaching Methods of Timbuktu

ISBN: 0975460919

Presented by the Timbuktu Educational Foundation, this documentary tells the spectacular story of the teaching methodology utilized by the scholars of the University of Timbuktu from the making of the ink to the development of many branches of knowledge. TEF uses historical footage, re-enactments, and a remarkable exposition of art, architecture, and interviews with African scholars to recount the rise and the importance of the University of Timbuktu and its teaching methodology.

 

Keita: The Heritage of the Griot

ISBN 917106477X

Based on one of the most important works of African oral literature, an elderly griot (storyteller) named Djeliba Kouyate appears before young Mabo Keita and begins telling him the origin of his name and its importance in the history of his country. Mabo is instantly fascinated and spends more and more time with the griot, neglecting his schoolwork and upsetting his mother, who insists he concentrate on his European education. The film alternates between modern scenes and dramatizations of the 13th-century epic.

 

Living Memory: Six Sketches of Mali Today 

ISBN: 9990936757

A documentary about Mali’s ancient culture and its place in Mali today. The six sections are arts, culture on display, style, architecture, contemporary artists, and music. The architecture” segment is esp. compelling and vivid: in Djenne a thousand men, women and children turn out to restore the plaster on the great mosque in a few hours, one of the most spectacular but seldom witnessed events in Mali. This beautiful mosque is the world’s largest adobe structure.  

 

The Manuscripts of Timbuktu

Featuring commentary by African scholars, reenactments, and an original musical score by Vieux Farka Touré, this documentary critiques this limited view by demonstrating that Timbuktu was once home to an advanced civilization. It was a leading cultural, economic, scientific and religious center that made a significant and lasting impact on Africa and the world before European intervention. This film establishes the importance of preserving thousands of ancient manuscripts as an empowering legacy for African scholarship today. 

 

Throw Down Your Heart

ISBN: 1422940268

Multiple Grammy-winner Bela Fleck travels to Mali searching for the roots of the banjo. Part road movie, part historical documentary, this fascinating film demonstrates the power of music and musicians to reach across cultural boundaries and the limitations of language to create an instant and abiding connection.

 

Timbuktu: the Untold Story

ISBN: 0975460900

Original footage of Timbuktu presented along a historical timeline, including: Ancient Manuscripts dating back to the 9th Century, both from public and family collections; Historic buildings of the University System of Timbuktu: Sankore, Sidi Yahya, & Djingeber; Interviews with scholars of Timbuktu and professors in the United States on the significance of the Timbuktu Manuscripts.