Bobo-Dioulasso ( , ) (often colloquially called Bobo) is a city in Burkina Faso with a population of 1,129,000 (); Populated by the Oule and Dioula subgroups of the Bobo people, it became an important market center, particularly in the export of horses southwards. Sia was therefore an important link in the developing trade routes linking Djenne and the Inner Niger Delta to Kong, Begho and ultimately the Gold Coast.

Kong Empire

Kong's growing influence in the region culminated in the reign of Seku Watara, who established the Kong Empire in 1710. His brother Famagan Watara and sons Kere-Mori and Bamba Watara played important roles in conquering Sia and subjugating the native Bobo-Dioula and Bobo-Oule in the late 1730s.

Sia proper, which survives today as the Dioulasoba neighborhood, was partly spared this total destruction. It was dramatically modified in 1932 when a large road artery was built through it and by the widening of streets in successive urban renewal projects. Between 1926 and 1929, the French colonial government constructed a typical European grid pattern of new avenues and streets in the city, intersected by diagonals radiating from a center, with square urban lots between them. This established the framework for the modern city center.

The Abidjan Railway reached Bobo-Dioulasso in 1934, increasing its access to markets, transportation, and communications. But the growth of the city as a colonial industrial center halted because of the world economic crisis during the Great Depression, as well as the suppression of the colony of Upper Volta in 1933. The city started expanding again after World War II. Reorganization of the colony of Upper Volta in 1947 attracted business to Bobo-Dioulasso, although Ouagadougou had been selected as the capital. An early industrial center, Bobo-Dioulasso is also the hub of a rich agricultural zone, which produces food grains, fruits and seedlings (mangos, citrus), and export crops (cotton, cashews, and shea butter).

thumb|left|"Hotel de ville", Bobo-Dioulasso townhall, 2013.

Independence

Due to its strong economic contributions, following the nation's gaining independence in 1960, the city was called "the economic capital of the country" (as opposed to the administrative capital, Ouagadougou). Bobo-Dioulasso's economic advantage vis-à-vis the capital has declined following decades of government policy favoring Ouagadougou. Little new industry arrived in the city during the 1980s and 1990s. Some enterprises either closed down or relocated to the capital. Economic life was primarily reduced to commerce grounded in the agriculture of the region and services.

Since 2000 the city of Bobo-Dioulasso has enjoyed a new growth spurt, gaining in population and economic vitality. Residents have returned home following the internal crisis in neighboring Ivory Coast, and the economy has been stimulated by new demands for its goods. The central government has invested more development funds in the city; for example, the new West African Centre for Economic and Social Studies is a college intended as the first piece of development of the second university of the country.

Bobo-Dioulasso has well-preserved examples of the colonial-era architecture in what is called "neo-Sudanic" style (examples: the museum building, the train station). A regional museum interprets the long history and artifacts recovered in archeological work. A zoo and a pottery market are among the city's attractions.

Education

The École française André Malraux, a French international school, has maternelle (preschool) through collège served.

The Nazi Boni University is located in the city and was founded in 1995.

Places of worship

thumb|[[Grand Mosque of Bobo-Dioulasso]]

Among the places of worship, they are predominantly Muslim mosques. There are also Christian churches and temples: Roman Catholic Archdiocese of Bobo-Dioulasso (Catholic Church), Association of Reformed Evangelical Church of Burkina Faso (World Communion of Reformed Churches), Assemblies of God, Deeper Life Bible Church, International Evangelism Center).

The Grand Mosque of Bobo-Dioulasso is possibly the largest example of Sudano-Sahelian architecture in the country, built in 1880 according to some, 1893 according to others as a part of political agreement between the king of Sya and Islamic religious leader Almamy Sidiki Sanou.

Transportation

thumb|The [[Bobo Dioulasso Airport, 2009.]]

thumb|"Sitarail". The [[Bobo Dioulasso railway station, built during the colonial era in the Sudano-Sahelian style, 2012.]]

The city has a railroad station along the Abidjan – Ouagadougou Railway. As of June 2014 Sitarail operated a passenger train along the line three times a week in each direction. As of August 2015 Bobo Dioulasso Airport had direct flights twice a week to both Abidjan and Ouagadougou. The city is an important road junction connecting all of Southwestern Burkina Faso with the capital, Ouagadougou, via the N-1 roadway.

Demographics

The original population of Bobo-Dioulasso consisted of a majority of farmers speaking the Bobo language. Associated with them were groups specializing in trade and warfare; they also speak Bobo, but identify as of distinct historical origin and ethnicity. They call themselves the Zara.

Today Bobo-Dioulasso is ethnically and linguistically very diverse, due both to its position as an old trade town, and especially to its growth during the twentieth century as a colonial administrative and military center. Jula (also called Dioula) is the lingua franca of Bobo and surrounding region of western Burkina Faso. People of the city and region speak two distinctive dialects of Jula. The common (and now dominant) Jula spoken in the streets of Bobo-Dioulasso is a close variation of Bamana, the majority language of neighboring Mali.

It was brought to the area during the French colonial administration (1898–1960) by the government interpreters and by the soldiers of the colonial army, who were majority speakers of this language. Most people speak this Jula as a second language, after the official language of French. The people of Jula ethnicity, whether trader, Muslim-clerical, or warrior origin, speak a different dialect of Jula. It is similar to that spoken in Ivory Coast, from where their ancestors are believed to have come. In the city this dialect is called Kon-Jula; it is an ethnic marker of a particular community.

The population of the city keeps rapidly rising; it rose from 904,920 in 2019

|source 2 = Deutscher Wetterdienst (extremes, humidity 1951–1967, and percent sunshine 1961–1990)

Notable people

  • Ibrahim Sory Sanlé (b. 1943), photographer
  • Gaston Kaboré (b. 1951), film director
  • Moumouni Fabre (b. 1953), politician and diplomat
  • Adama Dramé (b. 1954), musician
  • Cheikh Lô (b. 1955), musician
  • Dani Kouyaté (b. 1961), film director and griot
  • Sékou Traoré (b. 1962), film director
  • Alain Traoré (b. 1988), footballer (Arta/Solar7)
  • Charles Kaboré (b. 1988), footballer
  • Bertrand Traoré (b. 1995), footballer (Sunderland)
  • Lassina Traoré (b. 2001), footballer (Shakhtar Donetsk)
  • Issa Kaboré (b. 2001), footballer (Manchester City)
  • Nasser Djiga (b. 2002), footballer (Rangers)
  • Gustavo Sangaré (b. 1996), footballer (FC Noah)
  • Zakaria Sanogo (b. 1996), footballer (FC Alashkert)
  • Cheick Sanou (b. 1992), strongman

<gallery>

File:Stadiumbobodioulasso1.jpg|Stade Général Aboubacar Sangoulé Lamizana. Stadium, 1999

File:ASC Leiden - van Achterberg Collection - 5 - 020 - Détail d'un minaret d'argile de la Grande Mosquée - Bobo-Dioulasso, Burkina Faso, 19-26 août 2001.tif|Detail of a clay minaret of the Great Mosque in Bobo-Dioulasso, 2001

File:ASC Leiden - van Achterberg Collection - 5 - 010 - Un forgeron dans le quartier des forgerons travaille à l'intérieur - Bobo-Dioulasso, Burkina Faso, 19-26 août 2001.tiff|An iron smith in the blacksmith quarter is working indoors on a sickle with a hammer, 2001

File:ASC Leiden - van Achterberg Collection - 5 - 013 - Vue sur un ensemble de maisons basses - Bobo-Dioulasso, Burkina Faso, 19-26 août 2001.tif|Low square loam stone houses with trees on the bank of the river with sacred fish, Bobo-Dioulasso, 2001

File:Bobo-Dioulasso 4.29163W 11.18171N.jpg|World Wind satellite imagery of Bobo-Dioulasso, 2005 or earlier?

File:MS 1321 Bobo Monument.jpg|Monument. A huge statue of two people, Bobo-Dioulasso, 2006

File:Art-Deco Colonial-Era Chamber of Commerce Building - Bobo-Dioulasso - Burkina Faso.jpg|Chamber of Commerce Building, 2010

File:Market Scene - Bobo-Dioulasso - Burkina Faso.jpg|Market scene in Bobo-Dioulasso, 2010

</gallery>

See also

  • List of cities in Burkina Faso

Notes

References

Sources

  • Official website