Culture
The majority of the prefecture's population comes from the Malinke and Djallonke ethnic groups, who speak related Mande languages and follow the Muslim religion. The Kouroussa area is the centre of the Hamana-Malinke Mande sub-group -- "Hamana" being the historic name for the region, while the Malinke are the major Mande speaking ethnic group of the upper Niger valley. There are also sizable minority communities of Fula and Dyula, the latter traditionally forming trade communities in towns like Kouroussa.
The writer and intellectual Camara Laye (1928–80) grew up in Kouroussa town, and his memoir, The Black Child, is in part about his youth in the town.
Kouroussa and surrounding towns maintain the pre-colonial Mande ceremonial kingship of Hamana, with the most recent holder of the office King of Kouroussa King Sayon Keita I.
Read more about this topic: Kouroussa Prefecture
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