Mali, Niger river

The river Niger takes its name from the Tuareg expression egerou n-igereou, which means “river of rivers.” In giving it this name, the nomads meant to emphasize the inestimable value of this river, which flows through Mali’s Saharan sands. Tracing a great loop through West Africa, this “Western Nile” floods every year, between July and December. But the local people are not alarmed, for they have adapted their lives to this seasonal fluctuation and are well aware of the floods’ importance in fertilizing the soil and helping fish to breed. They do not attempt to build embankments along the river but are content instead to build their houses on land that is not prone to flooding. They prefer to live on togué, hillocks whose tops remain above water—like islets—when the river is in flood. What does worry them is drought, which has reduced the river’s floods over the last 30 years