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MALI’S MISSION CIVILISATRICE 133their ‘backwardness’. Compared to the colonial efforts in education, the Malianresults are impressive indeed. A large increase in the number of pupils was dueto the rebellion ravaging the Cercle in 1963-1964. It left the boarding school inKidal town with approximately 400 orphaned children in permanent residence.But this was not the only cause of the increase. Whereas by the end of thecolonial period only one school had existed in the Cercle of Kidal, at InTedeyni, the Keita Regime left an additional five at Kidal, Tessalit, Boughessa,Aguelhoc, and Ti-n-Essako. In the educational year 1967-68, a total of 910children attended school, drawn from a dispersed nomadic population of around15,000 in all. 45 The educational curriculum under the Keita Regime went beyondmere courses in literacy and mathematics. Its first aim was to inculcateyoungsters with a patriotic spirit and a sense of national consciousness. Atschool, speaking Tamasheq was forbidden. Only French and Bamanakan wereallowed. The Mandefication of the state was in full swing in the Adagh. Next topatriotism, the children were taught the sense of equality of all Malian citizens.The feudal lords and the feudal system needed to be abolished. After schoolhours, children were occupied with the Pioneers, a national scouting corps,where they were taught how to camp and shoot rifles, strange occupationsindeed given the distrust the Government had of the nomad anarchist Tamasheqwarriors. In addition to the Pioneers, the troupes artistiques, folk groupsperforming theatre, songs and dances, played an important educational role.These troupes artistiques had a uniquely Southern repertoire of Mande origins.The theatre pieces were meant to educate and uplift both performers andaudience on a large variety of social issues. In Northern Mali, theatre often hadslavery and feudalism as its main themes. The troupes artistiques also performedoutside the Adagh. Captain Diby Sillas Diarra was of the opinion that,in this way, the Kel Adagh children would get to know their country and wouldget to appreciate the efforts the Party made for their education.Education and sedentarisation were not enough to transform the nomad intoa hard-working member of Malian society. Work ethics needed to be changedas well. This was promoted in the same ways as it was elsewhere in Mali:Through the so-called ‘human investment’ and the creation of the ServiceCivique. 46 The ‘chantiers d’honneur’ in the North were not only meant to createnew buildings, but also to install a sense of civil duty and a particular workethic in the nomad population. From the Rapports Mensuels one gets theimpression that nearly every administrative building in the Kidal area has beenbuilt through fasobara after independence. The Service Civique, organised intobrigades, had very likely been installed in the Adagh as well on a small scale.4546Based on ag Litny, I. 1992.Bogosian, C. 2003; Rossillion, C. 1966.