Bamana in General does not refer to a particular tribe but denotes certain common religious representations and practices such as the Jow – rites of passage, age groups Ntomo and Kore, Power associations and so forth – the French form "Bambara" is a name given from Outside – by Fula, Arab or Berber informants was never used by the people it designates and encompassed all the Malian people who were not performing prayers to Allah and remained faithful to the religion of their ancestors – the type of practice may defer and was in fact localized in time and space – as explained in a Bamana's saying - "each person has his customs".