Xᵉ siècle – XVᵉ siècle
Upper Niger, near Siguiri, West Africa
Traduction non disponible · Original (anglais) · français indisponible
The Bure goldfields were a major gold-producing zone on the Upper Niger, in the region of Siguiri. Sudanese traders opened them in the eleventh or twelfth century as gold production shifted southward from Bambuk. The emergence of Bure coincided with Ghana’s decline and became embedded in Soninke traditions of Wagadu, where the serpent Bida’s death symbolized the transfer of gold and prosperity to a new country of gold.
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Le récit
Bure is identified as one of the three principal goldfields of the western Sudan, situated on the Upper Niger in the region of Siguiri. The pages describe its opening by Sudanese traders who moved southward in the eleventh or twelfth century. This movement reflected a shift in the principal sources of gold as demand from the Maghrib increased across the Sahara.
The rise of Bure coincided with the decline of Ghana. Soninke traditions of Wagadu expressed this transformation through the story of Bida, the snake that had brought gold and prosperity to Wagadu. After Bida was killed, its bleeding head disappeared and fell in Bure, which thereby became “the country of gold.” The tradition preserves a symbolic memory of changing centers of wealth.
Bure was connected to markets and political developments beyond the mines themselves. Mauny suggested that Yaresnā, in al-Bakrī’s account, or Barīsa, in al-Idrīsī’s, was the market town facing Bure’s goldfields. The pages further associate the region with two Malinke principalities, Malal and Do, indicating that gold production formed part of a wider landscape of emerging political authority.
The rise of Mali to hegemony in the thirteenth century is associated with the development of the Bure goldfields and with the control of their trade. Bure’s production is described as approximately eight times that of Bambuk, emphasizing the scale of the region’s contribution to the political economy of western Sudan. The goldfields therefore appear in the passage as an important material foundation for Mali’s expansion.
European demand for gold increased during the fourteenth and fifteenth centuries. Sudanese traders responded by opening routes toward goldfields on the fringes of the Akan forest, while Bôno-Mansu and Be’o developed through commerce linking the gold-producing areas with the Niger and the Sahel. These connections joined mining zones to river transport, caravan routes, and emerging market towns.
The passage also preserves a nineteenth-century description distinguishing the appearance of gold from Bambuk and Bure: Bambuk gold was described as yellow, whereas Bure gold was considered rather whitish. This observation belongs to a later description and does not alter the broader argument that Bure was a particularly productive and commercially significant goldfield.
Xᵉ siècle – XVᵉ siècle
Upper Niger, near Siguiri, West Africa
Traduction non disponible · Original (anglais) · français indisponible
The Bure goldfields were a major gold-producing zone on the Upper Niger, in the region of Siguiri. Sudanese traders opened them in the eleventh or twelfth century as gold production shifted southward from Bambuk. The emergence of Bure coincided with Ghana’s decline and became embedded in Soninke traditions of Wagadu, where the serpent Bida’s death symbolized the transfer of gold and prosperity to a new country of gold.
Poursuivre l’exploration
Le récit
Bure is identified as one of the three principal goldfields of the western Sudan, situated on the Upper Niger in the region of Siguiri. The pages describe its opening by Sudanese traders who moved southward in the eleventh or twelfth century. This movement reflected a shift in the principal sources of gold as demand from the Maghrib increased across the Sahara.
The rise of Bure coincided with the decline of Ghana. Soninke traditions of Wagadu expressed this transformation through the story of Bida, the snake that had brought gold and prosperity to Wagadu. After Bida was killed, its bleeding head disappeared and fell in Bure, which thereby became “the country of gold.” The tradition preserves a symbolic memory of changing centers of wealth.
Bure was connected to markets and political developments beyond the mines themselves. Mauny suggested that Yaresnā, in al-Bakrī’s account, or Barīsa, in al-Idrīsī’s, was the market town facing Bure’s goldfields. The pages further associate the region with two Malinke principalities, Malal and Do, indicating that gold production formed part of a wider landscape of emerging political authority.
The rise of Mali to hegemony in the thirteenth century is associated with the development of the Bure goldfields and with the control of their trade. Bure’s production is described as approximately eight times that of Bambuk, emphasizing the scale of the region’s contribution to the political economy of western Sudan. The goldfields therefore appear in the passage as an important material foundation for Mali’s expansion.
European demand for gold increased during the fourteenth and fifteenth centuries. Sudanese traders responded by opening routes toward goldfields on the fringes of the Akan forest, while Bôno-Mansu and Be’o developed through commerce linking the gold-producing areas with the Niger and the Sahel. These connections joined mining zones to river transport, caravan routes, and emerging market towns.
The passage also preserves a nineteenth-century description distinguishing the appearance of gold from Bambuk and Bure: Bambuk gold was described as yellow, whereas Bure gold was considered rather whitish. This observation belongs to a later description and does not alter the broader argument that Bure was a particularly productive and commercially significant goldfield.
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