Ne Togo Yakuba Coulibaly!

Today was our first day of classes, starting bright and early with Seykou Camara teaching us Bamanankan, or Bamana, the local language.  French is the national language of Mali because, despite being independent for 50 yrs, enough people know it that it allows for communication between different ethnic groups.  Bamanankan is the language spoken in Bamako and by many Bamara people, but is not spoken as universally outside the capital.  Seykou tells us it’s soon to be a national language though.  As far as I can tell Bamana is short for Bamanankan, but Bamara can be used to describe the language or the people... It’s a little confusing.  So, after our first lesson in Bamana, here’s what we learned:

Good morning - I ni sogoma
Good day - I ni tile
Good afternoon - I ni wula
Good evening - I ni su

See the pattern?  “I” is pronounced like the i in "bit” and imagine an accent over the “e” in “tile” to get the right pronunciation.  Translated literally it means “you and (the time of day)”.  Men respond with “N'ba” which means “I am big,” and women say “N'se” which means “I have power.”  This is what you respond with after “I ni ce” too, which means thank you. 
To ask someone their name you say “I togo?” and the response is “ne togo....”  Usually the first name is given, and then they say back “I jamu?” and you respond “ne jamu...,” which is when you give your last name.  After the lesson, Seykou gave us all “Bamana togo,”or Malian names, and I was named Yakouba, a very strong name, and the name of my host’s father.  Since I’m staying with the Coulibalys, my last name is Coulibaly, so “Ne togo Yakouba Coulibaly!” I am very proud of this name as it was given to me by our dance and drumming teachers, and Seykou, a distinguished academic who speaks Bamana, French, and English.  Finally, if someone calls your name or if you’re in a conversation and agree with someone you can say “Namu” which means “I hear you,”so if you get caught in a conversation with someone speaking Bamana (a common social snafu), you can talk for hours by letting the other person speak and responding with “Namu, namu, namu...”
That’s Bamana 101!  Let me know if you want to hear more Bamana phrases...

An ka taa!
(Let’s go)