| French: italic=no|Le Mali | |
| English Title: | Mali |
| Alt Title: | "French: italic=no|Pour l'Afrique et pour toi, Mali" or "Bambara: italic=no|Afiriki ye ani e ye, Mali" |
| En Alt Title: | "For Africa and for you, Mali" |
| Alt Title 2: | "French: italic=no|À ton appel Mali" |
| En Alt Title 2: | "At your call, Mali" |
| Prefix: | National |
| Author: | Seydou Badian Kouyaté |
| Composer: | Banzumana Sissoko |
| Adopted: | 9 August 1962 |
| Sound: | Malian national anthem, performed by the United States Navy Band.oga |
| Sound Title: | U.S. Navy Band abridged instrumental version (equivalent to the last four lines of a verse and the chorus) |
"French: italic=no|Le Mali" is the national anthem of Mali. Adopted in 1962, it was written by Seydou Badian Kouyaté, while the music is attributed to Banzumana Sissoko. It is popularly known as "French: italic=no|Pour l'Afrique et pour toi, Mali" or "French: italic=no|À ton appel Mali" .[1]
The anthem was written by Seydou Badian Kouyaté around the time of the dissolution of the Mali Federation with Senegal in 1960, which left Mali without a flag or anthem. In a 2010 interview, Kouyaté stated that President Modibo Keïta had been passing through his locality when he approached Kouyaté and asked him to create a song to help the youth remember Malian pre-independence politician Mamadou Konaté. Kouyaté created a song called "French: italic=no|Ô jeunesse, c'est le jour de l'Afrique, belle espoir". Keïta then called Kouyaté and told him to try creating something for the national anthem. Kouyaté made a draft for a national anthem and sang it with Keïta, who was pleased with it. Kouyaté stated that Keïta had previously received a proposal for a national anthem by a European pianist residing in the Malian capital, Bamako, but he rejected it, because he wanted something that had an aura of Africa and Mali. Kouyaté reworked an air dating back to the 13th century and the Mali Empire.[2] The musical arrangement is credited to jeli Banzumana Sissoko.
The anthem was officially adopted just under a year after independence, by law n° 62-72 of 9 August 1962. The Malian Young Pioneer movement of the 1960s translated it into Bambara for its rallies as "Bambara: italic=no|Afiriki ye ani e ye, Mali".[3] The translation is credited to Abdulay Bari.[4] It is traditionally played at state ceremonies by the band of the French: Garde Républicaine of the Armed Forces of Mali.
history and lyrics, updated 13 June 2003.