Bambouk

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Bambouk (sometimes Bambuk) is a traditional name for the territory in eastern Senegal and western Mali, encompassing the Bambouk Mountains on its eastern edge, the valley of the Faleme River and the hilly country to the east of the river valley. It was a formally described district in French Sudan, but in 1895, the border between Sudan and Senegal was moved to the Faleme River, placing the western portion of the district within Senegal. The term is still used to designate the region, but there is no formal administrative area with that name.

The area was renowned as a major centre for gold mining from the 12th century until the 19th, and some gold mining still takes place on the Malian side of the border. It served as the home of the Khasso kingdom in the eighteenth and nineteenth century before becoming a part of French Sudan.

Bambouk is primarily home to the Malinké people, and a distinctive dialect of the Maninkakan language is spoken there.


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