Tringa, Mali

Tringa is a commune in the Cercle of Yélimané in the Kayes Region of south-western Mali. The commune contains the four villages: Diakoné, Dialaka, Lambatara and Maréna. The administrative centre is Maréna. In 2009 the commune had a population of 12,509.
Sometimes spelled Tiringa, the area was historically a Soninke dyamare beginning in the period of the Wagadu Empire. It is mentioned by al-Bakri as a country on the road between Galambu and the capital and a major producer of cotton. Tiringa was among the first areas conquered by the Bathily dynasty as they established the kingdom of Gajaaga, but regained its independence during a succession crisis. The name 'Tiringa' means 'country of the elephants', and it in fact exported significant quantities of ivory in the 17th century.
Tiringa became a canton under the French colonial regime, then an arrondissement after independence, then a commune in the early 1990s.