Bla (
Bambara: ߓߟߊ tr. Bla) is a
rural commune, town and capital of the
Cercle of Bla in
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. Mal ...
's
Ségou Region
Ségou Region ( Bambara: ߛߋߓߎ ߘߌߣߋߖߊ tr. Segu Dineja) is an administrative region in Mali, situated in the centre of the country with an area of , around 5% of Mali. The region is bordered by Sikasso Region on the south, Tombouctou a ...
, located 85 kilometers south of Ségou along Mali's main highway. Bla serves as a central location for NGO activity in the region and is a crossroads for transportation going northeast to
Mopti and
Gao, as well as south to
Sikasso
Sikasso ( Bambara: ߛߌߞߊߛߏ tr. Sikaso) is a city in the south of Mali and the capital of the Sikasso Cercle and the Sikasso Region. It is Mali's second largest city with 225,753 residents in the 2009 census.
History
Sikasso was founded ...
,
Burkina Faso
Burkina Faso (, ; , ff, 𞤄𞤵𞤪𞤳𞤭𞤲𞤢 𞤊𞤢𞤧𞤮, italic=no) is a landlocked country in West Africa with an area of , bordered by Mali to the northwest, Niger to the northeast, Benin to the southeast, Togo and Ghana to ...
, and
Côte d'Ivoire. Bla is also the main town for the Djonka, a sub-group of the
Bamana
Bambara or Bambarra may refer to:
* Bambara people, an ethnic group, primarily in Mali
** Bambara language, their language, a Manding language
** Bamana Empire, a state that flourished in present-day Mali (1640s–1861)
* ''Bambara'' (beetle), a ...
. The town's population as of 2004 was around 15,000 people.
Bla was established as an outpost by
Biton Mamary Coulibaly during the expansion of the
Ségou (or Bamana) Empire around the first half of the 18th century. The verb "ka bila" means to "leave behind" in Bamana, thus Bla's name relates to the town's original function, a supply outpost where the Bamana Empire's military left arms and grain for later use.
See also
*
List of cities in Mali
This list of cities in Mali tabulates all the largest communes in the country of Mali (including those in the north-eastern portion where the Mali Government no longer exercises de facto control). Besides the largest cities and towns (all urb ...
References
Bamana
Communes of Ségou Region
{{Ségou-geo-stub