Сегу: История и современность города в Мали

Commune and town in Ségou, Mali

Ségou (seɡu; , Segu) is a town and an urban commune in south central Mali that lies northeast of Bamako on the right bank of the River Niger. The town is the capital of the Ségou Cercle and the Ségou Region. With 130,690 inhabitants in 2009, it is the fifth largest town in Mali. The village of Ségou Koro, upstream of the present town, was established in the 17th century and became the capital of the Bambara Empire.

In the middle of the 19th century there were four villages with the name of Ségou spread out over a distance of around along the right bank of the river. They were, starting from the most upstream, Ségou Koro (Old Ségou), Ségou Bougou, Ségou Koura (New Ségou) and Ségou Sikoro. The present town is on the site of Ségou Sikoro. The village of Ségou Koro prospered after Biton Mamary Coulibaly became king in 1712 and founded the Ségou Empire (also known as the Bambara or Bamana Empire). Mungo Park became the first European known to have visited the village in 1796. The empire gradually declined and was conquered by El Hadj Umar Tall's Toucouleur Empire in 1861, then by the French Army Colonel Louis Archinard in 1890.

Ségou has contested origins. Some claim that the word Ségou come from "Sikoro", meaning to the foot of a shea butter tree. Others argue that it was named after Cheikou, a marabout who founded the city, while still other theories support the claim that Ségou was founded by the Bozo fishermen coming from the north in the 4th century, who established their villages along the Niger River. The 11th century CE saw an influx of the Soninke people, who were trying to escape from the collapse of the Ghana Empire, with Mandinka populations following.

Around 1650 Kaladian Coulibaly overthrew the ruling Koita dynasty and established a powerful if short lived kingdom with Ségou Koro as capital. One of Koulibaly's great grandsons, Mamary Coulibaly, also known as Bitòn, became the chief of his tòn, an association of men, sometime after 1700. By 1712, Bitòn had used his military strength to displace local elders and expand the Bambara Empire. In the subsequent decades, he expanded its territory to encompass regional commerce centers such as Macina and Djenné. The city of Timbuktu would become a tributary state to Bitòn's Bambara Empire. and a distinct urban architecture began to emerge at Ségou Koro, including mosques. After Bitòn's death in 1755 a period of instability followed, during which the capital of the Empire moved to Gassin.

As of the 2009 Mali Census, Ségou has a population of 130,690, up from 105,305 in 1998. This festival celebrates music and the arts and culture of the Bambara people, and includes the Caravane culturelle de la paix since 2013. The 16th edition of the festival took place in 2019, when for the first time it combined with Ségou' Art, a contemporary art fair. The two festivals continue to be combined for the 2023 event, which takes place over six days in early February. There are also Christian churches and temples : Roman Catholic Diocese of Ségou (Catholic Church), Église Chrétienne Évangélique du Mali (Alliance World Fellowship), Assemblies of God.

Ségou has two architectural styles: French Colonial and traditional Sudanese and neo Sudanese. The Sudanese style influenced public building and important residences. Monuments and great mosques are also built according to this style. Many of Sudano Sahelian's kings built imposing palaces in the cities over which they ruled and most of these buildings are in red clay. The materials used for building are generally quite poor and many of the buildings need to be restored to maintain their state.

Today, Ségou is known for its pottery, its market and its fishing industry. Attractions in the old town of Ségou Koro included a mosque, Coulibaly's tomb and an ancient tree. In the city center, the main landmark is the water tower. The most important economic activities are fishing, cattle herding and small scale farming. Millet is the main crop in Ségou, with other major cereals including sorghum, and cowpea. The main type of millet crop is rice pearl millet. Black eyed peas are also grown. Crop yields in Ségou are generally low. Common types of livestock in Ségou includes sheep, poultry, cattle, goats, and donkeys. Both artisanal and commercial fishing are practiced in Ségou. Men often do the fishing, while women usually market the fish. While most consumer goods are imported into Ségou, the city produces, and exports, handicraft and agricultural products. As of 2008, the town is served by two telecom operators: Ikatel and Sotelma. There are two factories processing cotton: Compagnie Malienne des Textiles (COMATEX) and Compagnie malienne pour le développement du textile (CMDT). Commerce consists mostly of the small scale exchange and sale of products from the primary sector, sold weekly at the large Sudano Sahelian market, drawing customers from far outside of the city. The main products sold are vegetables, pottery, cotton, leather, fruit, ovens, cattle and cereals. The headquarters of the Office du Niger is based in the town.

Notable people from Ségou include Adame Ba Konare, Fanta Damba, Garan Fabou Kouyate, Mountaga Tall, and Bassekou Kouyate. Maryse Condé's historical novel Segu tells the city's history from 1797 to its 1860 defeat by El Hajj Oumar Tall's army.