Goundiourou
Village in Kayes, Mali
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Toponymy
History
There have been multiple villages with the name Goundiourou, making historical reconstruction difficult. The first settlement presumably pre-dated the arrival of Islam in the region, and was mentioned by Al Bakri in his 11th century travelogue as a major center of trade in the orbit of the Ghana Empire.[2] Specifically Ghiyaru, as he called it, was a densely populated area which was the source of the best gold, 12 miles from the Senegal River on the north bank.[3] Other historians dispute this identification, placing Ghiyaru to the east on the Niger River.[4][5] According to oral traditions, a second Goundiourou on the south bank was founded by Mamadu Khumba Drame in the 12th or 13th century.[6]
While nominally a part of the Kingdom of Diarra, Goundiourou maintained a degree of legal independence as the center of a small theocracy under the rule of Qaids and Islamic judges. The king of Diarra would come to the city every year during Ramadan to pray and honor the scholars.[7]
Goundiourou was sacked by the king of Kaarta in the early 1790s, after which it was abandoned for 20 years.[8] A new Goundiourou, sometimes known as 'Dougouba', meaning 'big village', was eventually built on the ruins.[7] Mahmadu Lamine Drame, a prominent marabout and resistance fighter against French colonialism, was born in Goundiourou. The French destroyed the town as punishment, although it was eventually rebuilt.[9]