Kita is a town and urban commune in western

Mali Mali (; ), officially the Republic of Mali,, , ff, 𞤈𞤫𞤲𞥆𞤣𞤢𞥄𞤲𞤣𞤭 𞤃𞤢𞥄𞤤𞤭, Renndaandi Maali, italics=no, ar, جمهورية مالي, Jumhūriyyāt Mālī is a landlocked country in West Africa. Mali ...

. The town is the capital of the

Kita Cercle Kita Cercle is an administrative subdivision of the Kayes Region of Mali. The administrative centre (''chef-lieu'') is the town of Kita. In the 2009 census the population of the ''cercle'' was 434,379. The ''cercle'' is divided into 33 '' ...

in the Kayes Region. It lies on the eastern slope of Mount Kita (Bambara: "Kita-kulu"), known for its caves and

rock painting In archaeology, rock art is human-made markings placed on natural surfaces, typically vertical stone surfaces. A high proportion of surviving historic and prehistoric rock art is found in caves or partly enclosed rock shelters; this type also ...

s. Today, the town is known for its music, its annual

Roman Catholic Roman or Romans most often refers to: *Rome, the capital city of Italy *Ancient Rome, Roman civilization from 8th century BC to 5th century AD *Roman people, the people of ancient Rome *'' Epistle to the Romans'', shortened to ''Romans'', a lette ...

pilgrimage and its role as a processing center for the surrounding cotton- and

peanut The peanut (''Arachis hypogaea''), also known as the groundnut, goober (US), pindar (US) or monkey nut (UK), is a legume crop grown mainly for its edible Seed, seeds. It is widely grown in the tropics and subtropics, important to both small ...

-growing region. Kita lies on the Dakar-Niger Railway and is the largest transit hub between

Bamako Bamako ( bm, ߓߡߊ߬ߞߐ߬ ''Bàmakɔ̌'', ff, 𞤄𞤢𞤥𞤢𞤳𞤮 ''Bamako'') is the Capital city, capital and largest city of Mali, with a 2009 population of 1,810,366 and an estimated 2022 population of 2.81 million. It is located on t ...

(112 miles) and

Kayes Kayes (Bambara language, Bambara: ߞߊߦߌ tr. ''Kayi'', Soninke language, Soninké: ''Xaayi'') is a city in western Mali on the Sénégal River with a population of 127,368 at the 2009 census. Kayes is the capital of the Kayes Region, administ ...

(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 Massa Makan Diabaté (June 12, 1938 – January 27, 1988) was a Malian historian, author, and playwright. Biography Born in 1938 in Kita, Massa Makan Diabaté was the descendant of a long line of West African poets (griots). His uncle, Kélé ...

'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, an ...

, 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 p ...

(

Köppen Köppen is a German surname. Notable people with the surname include: * Bernd Köppen (born 1951), German pianist and composer * Carl Köppen (1833-1907), German military advisor in Meiji era Japan * Edlef Köppen (1893–1939), German author and ...

''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 te ...

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 sea ...

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, International

Soccer Association football, more commonly known as football or soccer, is a team sport played between two teams of 11 players who primarily use their feet to propel the ball around a rectangular field called a pitch. The objective of the game is ...

player * Bako Dagnon, 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 musician *

Mamadou Diabate Mamadou is a common given name in West Africa among predominantly Muslim ethnic groups such as the Mandé and Wolof people. It is a variant of the Arabic name Muhammad. Academics * Mamadou Diouf (historian), Senegalese professor of West African h ...

, master kora player *

, historian, author, and playwright *

Kandia Kouyaté Kandia Kouyaté (also known as Kandja Kouyaté, born in 1959 in Kita, Mali) is a Malian ''jelimuso'' (a female griot) and kora player; she has earned the prestigious title of ''ngara'', and is sometimes called ''La dangereuse'' and ''La grande ve ...

, musician *

Djelimady Tounkara Djelimady Tounkara is a Malian musician and one of the foremost guitarists in Africa. Life and career Born in the culturally rich town of Kita, west of the Malian capital, Bamako, Djelimady grew up surrounded with traditional music played by mem ...

, musician and one of the foremost guitarists in Africa

References

External links

* . {{Authority control Communes of Kayes Region