Tambacounda Region

Tambacounda, formerly known as Sénégal Orientale, is a region of Senegal. It used to be part of the Mali Empire before the borders were created to separate Mali from Senegal. Tambacounda is physically the largest of Senegal's 14 regions, but is sparsely populated and its economy lags behind the rest of the country. The department of Kédougou was separated from Tambacounda in 2008, and became a separate region.

Departments

Tambacounda region is divided into 4 departments:

Geography

Tambacounda is traversed by the northwesterly line of equal latitude and longitude.

Culture

Tambacounda is famous for its rich djembe and dance culture and heritage. Some of the greatest djembe masters from Segu, Mali came to Tambacounda in the mid 1900s, bringing with them their history, knowledge, and secrets of the djembe. Its official language is French, but Wolof is more widely spoken in Sénégal.

Much knowledge of djembe history was transmitted directly to djembe master Abdoulaye Diakite by his master teacher Suncaru Jara. Suncaru Jara's teacher was Chebleni Traore, whose teacher was Numuni Traore, the first djembe master to bring the djembe out of Bamana secrecy, thus igniting the diaspora of the djembe.

Tambacounda

Tambacounda is the largest city in eastern Senegal, 400 kilometres (250 mi) southeast of Dakar, and is the Regional capital of the province of the same name. Its estimated population in 2007 was 78,800.

Geography

Tambacounda is situated on the sparsely populated sahélien plains of eastern Senegal. Like most of West Africa, the area has two seasons, the rainy season from June to October, characterized by heat, humidity and storms, and the dry season from November to May.

Nearby towns include Madina Maboule, Koukari, Yoro Sankoule, Sambadian, Djidje Kounda, Afia Seno, Saare Boylii and Kanderi Niana.

Population and culture

Between the censuses of 1988 and 2002, Tambacounda grew from 41,885 to 67,543 inhabitants.

In 2007, according to official estimates, the population reached 78,800 persons.

Settled first by Mandike peoples on the outskirts of the Mali Empire, on the regular transhumance routes of Fula cattle herders, and settled again by Wolof farmers in the early 20th century, Tambacounda has a mix of most of the ethnic groups in Senegal.