Religion and tradition: An example of the Bambara tribe in Mali

In this study, the social and religious life of Bambara which one of tribes in Mali was studied. In this context we tried to evaluate the traditions of religion, marriage, birth and death in the Bambara region and the superstitious beliefs related to them in terms of sociology. The study consists of the introduction and two main parts. The first part is about the concept of religion as a social reality. Two definitions of religion -both substantive and functional- have been briefly studied. In addition, there is a reciprocal relationship between religion and society, and in this context, the relations between the two have been discussed. The second part consists of the role of religion in social life in the Bambara tribe in Mali. Bambaras gave traditional beliefs an important place long before Islam. The traditions of marriage, birth and death in the tribe are also discussed. Keywords: Religion, Society, Tradition, Mali, Bambara Tribe.