Kita is a town and urban commune in western Mali. The town is the capital of the Kita Cercle in the

Kayes Region Kayes Region ( Bambara: ߞߊߦߌ ߘߌߣߋߖߊ tr. Kayi Dineja) is one of eight first level national subdivisions in Mali called Regions. It is the first administrative area of Mali and covers an area of . Its capital is the town of Kayes. The p ...

. It lies on the eastern slope of Mount Kita (Bambara: "Kita-kulu"), known for its caves and rock paintings. Today, the town is known for its music, its annual Roman Catholic pilgrimage and its role as a processing center for the surrounding cotton- and peanut-growing region. Kita lies on the Dakar-Niger Railway and is the largest transit hub between Bamako (112 miles) and Kayes (205 miles). In the 2018 census the urban commune had a population of 463,787. In November 1955, Kita became a commune of average exercise. On March 2, 1966, Kita became a commune of full exercise. The town grew in the 1990s around the cotton industry, but this has since declined. A fictionalized version of Kita features as the setting for Malian author Massa Makan Diabaté's "Kouta Trilogy" (

Le lieutenant de Kouta ' ("The Lieutenant of Kouta") is a 1979 novel by Malian author Massa Makan Diabaté. Loosely based on the author's hometown of Kita, Mali, the novel tells the story of a recently returned lieutenant from the French Colonial Army, Siriman Keita, ...

, Le coiffeur de Kouta, and Le boucher de Kouta).

History

Name

Kita proper has been called with different names throughout history. One of its earliest names was "Guénou Kourou". However, a second name "Sediousaba" had been used for the small village, or rather an area in the town.

Birth & Settlements

Two major settlements have been considered the birth of the town of Kita, however the order of these settlements are still subjects to debate. One of the settlements was attributed to the Tounkara traders from Ouagadou, the Ghana empire. Their chief, Diouna Tounkara, created "Sediousaba", which means "Three shea trees" as mentioned above. The second settlement was attributed to a Guinea trader, Siema Toloba Kamara, who created a village called "Fatali. Later, Siema Toloba Kamara and Diouna Tounkara allied with each other to form a new village called "Linguékoto".

Population

In the Health Minister's 2018 census, Kita had a population of 463,787, while in 2020, the urban area of Kita counted 65,908.

Climate

Kita has a fairly dry

tropical savanna climate Tropical savanna climate or tropical wet and dry climate is a tropical climate sub-type that corresponds to the Köppen climate classification categories ''Aw'' (for a dry winter) and ''As'' (for a dry summer). The driest month has less than of ...

( Köppen ''Aw'') with a hot to sweltering and arid

dry season The dry season is a yearly period of low rainfall, especially in the tropics. The weather in the tropics is dominated by the tropical rain belt, which moves from the northern to the southern tropics and back over the course of the year. The ...

from November to late May and a hot, steamy

wet season The wet season (sometimes called the Rainy season) is the time of year when most of a region's average annual rainfall occurs. It is the time of year where the majority of a country's or region's annual precipitation occurs. Generally, the se ...

from late May to October. There is negligible rain and very low humidity in the dry season, whilst in the wet season rainfall totals around with oppressive and uncomfortable humidity.

Notable residents

Sekou Koita Sekou, also spelled Sékou or Seku, is a given name from the Fula language. It is equivalent to the Arabic ''Sheikh''. People with this name include: Given name * Seku Amadu (1776–1845), also known as Sékou Amadou or Sheikh Amadu, founder of th ...

, International Soccer player *

Bako Dagnon Bako Dagnon (1948 or 1953 – 7 July 2015) was a Malian griot singer. She is considered to be a popular representative of Mandinka culture and has released several records in local languages. Early life Bako Dagnon was born in the little villag ...

, female

griot A griot (; ; Manding: jali or jeli (in N'Ko: , ''djeli'' or ''djéli'' in French spelling); Serer: kevel or kewel / okawul; Wolof: gewel) is a West African historian, storyteller, praise singer, poet, and/or musician. The griot is a repos ...

* Cheick Hamala Diabate, griot and

Afropop African popular music (also styled Afropop, Afro-pop or Afro pop), like African traditional music, is vast and varied. Most contemporary genres of African popular music build on cross-pollination with western popular music. Many genres of po ...

musician * Mamadou Diabate, master kora player * Massa Makan Diabaté, historian, author, and playwright * Kandia Kouyaté, musician * Djelimady Tounkara, musician and one of the foremost guitarists in Africa

References

External links

* . {{Authority control Communes of Kayes Region