Voyage à Tombouctou......and the amazing destiny of René Caillié

Would you join me to Tombouctou ? The words of Toumani Diabaté (see post below), praising the Mandink (Malian) musical culture still echo in me. It made me want to learn more about the former Mali empire which reached its golden age throughout the XIIIth century to the XVIth century. A thriving empire doted with three immense gold mines, it became a busy crossroads for prosperous trade exchange.

Tombouctou, the capital city was also a vibrant cultural place. At the beginning of the XVIth century, among its 100 000 people, 25 000 were students. Children were enrolled in school at the age of 7 in one of the 180 coranic schools in the city. At that time, Tombouctou showed the highest literacy level in the world. Thelogy, coranic law, grammar, mathematics, geography and medecine were taught at the University of Sankoré. Doctors from Tombouctou were reputed especially for their techniques in eye surgery and the treatment of cataract. The University also developed frequent exchanges with the universities of Fèz, Cordoba and Cairo.

Reading about Tombouctou's golden age led me to the amazing destiny of René Caillié. Born in France in 1799, he was the son of a baker-apprentice who is accused of theft the year René is born. The little boy never knew his father who died in prison, in Rochefort in 1808. A few years later, his mother died too. At the age of 16, René who has been very impressed by his reading of Robin Crusoe decided to leave France. From 1824 to 1825, he stayed in what is today Mauritania and learnt Arabic and Islamic traditions and religion. To travel safely, he dressed as a Muslim.
When he learnt that the Société de Géographie would bestow a prize of 10 000 francs to the first European who would enter the city of Tombouctou, he started the journey on his own, with barely no money, no military escort. After a 5 month stay in Ivory coast, due to illness, René resumed his journey and reached Tombouctou in 1828, which he described in his Journal d'un voyage à Tembouctou et à Jenné dans l'Afrique centrale (published in 1830). He was however quite disappointed by the aspect of the city which he found in a state of dereliction and could not longer pretend to be the mythical city it used to be. After 16 years of absence, René went back to France where he received the 10 000 francs prize and started to write about his journey. He dreamed about going back to Africa but his health would not allow him to do so and he died at home in 1838.

As I write this post, I look at the blue sky outside and the delicate pink petunias on my balcony. I like it but I now dream of seeing Tombouctou with my own eyes...

pics from here