Ada naama neebe!

(the blog title means "you eat beans" in Fulfulde)

One of the most interesting parts of Mali is how they resolve conflicts and joke with each other. A lot of ethnic tension is mediated through joking cousins. These relationships are based on last names and ethnic groups. For example, the Bambara and the Fulfulde ethnic groups joke with each other as a way to avoid open conflict. Here's the history behind it: After the historic battle of Kirina of 1236 that settled the victory for Sundiata Keita, King of the Mali Empire, a national convention was called to lay out the founding principles of how Malian society would be organized. The joking cousin relationship existed before Sundiata was even born. However, he was the first leader to make it a social institution, hence giving it full powers in Malian communities.

According to oral tradition passed down through griots (village storytellers), once upon a time, two friends went into the bush to collect wood. One of the two buddies got scared by an animal. Back into the village, the one who got scared tried to make everyone believe it was he who had been brave. Soon they were giving each other a hard time. That's how the joking started and eventually turned into a medium whose goal has since been to help ease the relationship between two people at work, in the neighborhood, or within the entire community. In other words, the joking cousin relationship (called senenkuya) is used both as a game and as a social tool aiming to prevent potential conflicts that my arise from various frustrations or misunderstandings.

It turns out that senenkuya (joking cousins) has become one of the most important features of Malian culture thanks to King Sundiata's vision to broaden the scope of that relationship. Finally, the reason why Keitas tend to have the most joking cousins lies in the fact that King Sundiata Keita declared that to become a better leader, one ought to take criticism from everyone else.

You can say anything to your joking cousins. My last name is Dembele, which is a Bobo ethnic group last name. The Bobos joke with the Fulfulde. The main joke between the two of us is the Fulfulde tell the Bobo that they eat dogs. In turn, the Bobos tell the Fulfulde that they stole our cows. This comes from the fact that in Fulfulde, cows say "bobo" instead of "moo." So the cows are always calling the Bobos to come and bring them back to their rightful owners. The most common thing to say to your joking cousins is, "You eat beans!" This is the equivalent of a Malian fart joke. But it is absolutely HILARIOUS, and has been told for centuries.

After greeting a new person, you usually ask their last name. Then you begin joking. A typical encounter might go like this:
Me: Good morning, how are you?
Malian: I am fine, how are you?
Me: No problems at all here. Did you arrive in peace?
Malian: Yes, no problems.
Me: How is your family?
Malian: Everyone is fine.
Me: Did you spend the night in peace?
Malian: Yes, no problems.
Me: What is your name?
Malian: Moussa
Me: What is your last name?
Malian: Diko.
Me: Oh!! You stole my cows!
Malian: You eat dogs!
Me: Yeah, well at least I don't eat beans for every meal.
(and it goes on from here...)

And that is the height of Malian humor! It is a lot of fun to joke with people, and it provides a good way to show people that you understand their culture and speak their language.

*Parts of this blog were taken from the PC Mali Cross Culture Manual, as told by Aliou DIABATE