The Bamana of Mali

The Bamana (the majority of the Bambara are Bamana) are characteristically tall and slim with fine features and a lighter skin than many of the surrounding tribes (Wassing 1968, p. 16) . They are a patrilineal society -- as are the Dogon, Fulani and other Mandingo groups of the region-- in which the bond with father and brothers determines the clan name given to the child, his education, heritage and succession (Wassing p. 59). Each village, averaging around six hundred individuals, has its own chief. The most important social group is the extended family, formed by tracing the descent from a male ancestor. All individuals between the age of six and thirty have status and roles within the village. Family groups, or gwa, hold land in common and provide work for food production- growing millet, rice, sorghum, peanuts, melons and other crops. Some of the households contain sixty or more family members. The members of each gwa work together every day except for Mondays; Monday is traditionally market day. They also raise cattle, goats, sheep, and fowl--which neighboring Fulani herdsman are entrusted to herd during the rainy season (Ulrich 1996).

The Bamana are divided into castes based on occupation and prohibit marriage outside the group. Two important castes are the farmers and the artisans. Among the Bamana-- the largest group descending from the great Manding Empire-- the blacksmiths are apart from the agriculturist core of society. They are the most important technologists in the Bamana culture- having formed a separate cast since ancient times (Sieber and Walker, p. 20). The artisans are called nyamakalaw, the "handlers-of-power." This group also includes leatherworkers, weavers and poets as well as blacksmiths (the women are the potters). While marriage of a smith into another artisan casts is not prohibited, the sons from a smith family generally marry women from other smith families.

Smiths, while respected for their technical skills, are held in awe and often feared for their magical powers (Ulrich 1996). The men are ritual specialists who work iron and sculpt wood for the farmers; their wives are often potters. (Sieber and Walker, p. 20). Smithing/carving is a hereditary occupation. A young boy will spend many hours at his father’s forge- observing and performing small tasks- before he begins his apprenticeship. He will work with his father for as long as seven or eight years-- operating the bellows, then carving wood and finally forging iron (Martin & O’Meara, p. 228).

Blacksmiths are called numuw (Nuni in ancient times according to Leuzinger). Nyama -- a supernatural force understood as power or energy- animates the universe. Blacksmiths inherit large amounts of nyama from their ancestors and must learn to "handle" (definition for kalaw) nyama by undergoing a long training period. Nyama is neither good nor evil; the direction it takes depends on the handler. The smith’s power is the forge. The days work begins with meditation and sacrifice, because the production of tools and other items is a sacred undertaking. While working primarily in iron, he provides the villagers with knives, hoes, horse trappings, alter figures, staffs, and guns. Since the introduction of firearms in the sixteenth century by Morocco, smiths have become skilled in making and repairing weapons (Ulrich 1996).

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