(Mali, West African Performing Artists) Fatoumata Diawara & Amine Bouhafa- "Timbuktu Fasso" (Timbuktu, My Homeland"

Universal Music France, December 12, 2014

3,173,276 views • Dec 12, 2014

written by Fatoumata Diawara composed by Fatoumata Diawara and Amine Bouhafa based on the Timbuktu [movie] main theme by Amine Bouhafa
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Edited by Azizi Powell
This pancocojams post showcases the 2014 Mali, West African song "Timbuktu Fasso" ("Timbuktu, My Homeland"). The lyrics for that song are included in this post in Bambara and with an English translation. An online excerpt about the meaning of the word "Maliba" and the suffix "ba" is also included in this post.

The content of this post is presented for cultural, entertainment, and aesthetic purposes.

All copyrights remain with their owners.

Thanks to Fatoumata Diawara and Amine Bouhafa for their musical legacies. Thanks to all those who are featured in this video and thanks to the producer of this video. Thanks also to all those who are quoted in this post.
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LYRICS- TIMBUKTU FASSO 
Fatoumata Diawara; Language: Bambara

Ko o ye ne faso ye
n balimalu Tonbuktu ye ne faso ye
mmm ko o ye ne faso ye
sinjilu , Tonbuktu ye ne faso ye
ko denmisɛnnu bɛ kasi la Ala
badenya, badenya dugu ye Tonbuktu ye
sinjiya, sinjiya dugu ye Maliba ye
yankalu yan ye ne faso ye
oo bo oo boo ooo

Ko o ye ne faso ye
n balimalu Maliba ye ne faso ye
aw bɛ kasi la mun na
denmisɛnnu bɛ ka si la mun na
aw bɛ kasi la mun na
kamalennu bɛ kasi la
Maliba — don dɔ be se —

Ko yan ye ne faso ye
n sinjilu Tonbuktu ye ne faso ye
ko siniɲɛsigi jɔrɔ de bɛ an na
n ko denmisɛnnu bɛ kasi la yen
denmisɛnnu bɛ kasi la yen mun na
aw ye hami na mun na yen
aw kana kasi la Ala
Maliba don dɔ - bɛ se -

Aw bɛ - aw bɛ kasi la yen mun na yen
N ko anw bɛ kasi la eee mun na n ba eee Ala
n ko denmisɛnnu bɛ kasi la yen Ala
Maliba n ko don dɔ bɛ se.

Contributed by Krzysiek W2 [Wrona + Wenturi] - 2016
online source: https://www.antiwarsongs.org/canzone.php?lang=en&id=54110 "Tonbuktu faso [Timbuktu fasso]"

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LYRICS - TIMBUKTU FASSO ("Timbuktu, My Homeland") 
(composed by Fatoumata Diawara)

THIS IS MY LAND

This is Timbuktu, my home land,
Where the children are mourning from gloom,
This is my land, Timbuktu «the Maliba»,
The land of love,
The land of warmth,
The land of dignity,
Here is my Nation...
Why are we crying?
Why are the children crying?
Why are the young crying?
Cause of unfairness,
Cause of violence,
Fearing the future...
Here is my home
Stop crying
Cause no matter what, Timbuktu will remain

Online source: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=8yOfimHhARw
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EXCERPT FROM "Find me a Country with More Pride"
by phil | Sep 8, 2011 | Mali

From https://philintheblank.net/2011/09/08/find-me-a-country-with-more-pride-than-mali/
..."In this post, I want to talk about something that may or may not be evident from my earlier reports: Malians have an enormous amount of national pride, moreso than any other country I’ve visited, in Africa and elsewhere. This is perhaps because of Mali’s rich history. Mali was home to several different empires and kingdoms, and even before large state organization, there were centers like Djenné-Jéno, widely considered to have been highly urbanized and advanced for the time period. Maybe Malians are well stocked with pride because they realize they are responsible for some of the most dynamic music on the planet. Or maybe it’s because Mali has a strong civil society and a past that is free of war.*
[...]

Maliba literally translates to “big Mali.” Side note: in Bambara, ba as a suffix means something is big. If you want to say something is really big, you say bele bele ba (pronounced billy billy ba. Go ahead, say it.) Maliba means a bit more than “big Mali,” though. In French you would say “le grand Mali,” a slightly better approximation of what Djeneba* is saying: Mali is the place."....
-snip-
The bold font is given in this article.
*The name of a singer in a video that is given in that article.
-snip-
This article was written in 2011.Notice its statement that [Mali] "has "a past that is free of war".
In 2012 jihadist armed conflicts began in Mali still continue today [March 2024]. Click https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Mali for more information about Malian history, culture, presents conflicts and other conditions. 
-snip-
Here's additional information about the meaning of "-ba" in the Bambara language:
[standard font = English; italics =Bambara; bold = French, as given on that page 
from https://dictionary.ankataa.com/lexicon.php?letter=2
"-ba   suff.
1 • big, large; gros, grand. Ù ye bonba sàn dɛ! They bought a big house! Ils ont acheté une grosse maison!

 2 • important; important. Bǐ ̀ kɛra dɔnba ̀ ye! Today is a big day! Aujourd'hui est un grand jour!

 3 • a lot; beaucoup. À ye wariba sɔ̀rɔ jàgo la. She made a lot of money through trade. Elle a gagné beaucoup d'argent dans le commerce.

Ant: -nin. See: bǒn.

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