n.
People of the upper Niger region of Mali who speak a Mande language of the Niger-Congo family.
Numbering 3.4 million, the Bambara use the distinctive N'ko alphabet, which reads from right to left, and they are noted for their wood and metal sculptures. In the 17th18th centuries the Bambara developed two separate empires, one based in Ségou (and including Timbuktu ) and the other in Kaarta.