Sedia gestatoria an elaborate variation on the sedan chair. Two large fans ("flabella") made of white ostrich feathers —a relic of the ancient liturgical use of the "flabellum", mentioned in the "Constitutiones Apostolicae"— were carried at either side of the "sedia gestatoria". The ceremonial throne was mainly used to carry popes to and from papal ceremonies in the Basilica of St. John Lateran and St. Peter's Basilica. The "sedia" was used as part of papal ceremony for nearly a millennium. Its origins are sometimes thought to date back to the Byzantine Empire where Byzantine emperors were carried along in a similar manner,
Religion in Mali Religion in Mali Mali is an Islamic society. Almost all people from Mali are MuslimsAn estimated 90 percent of Malians are Muslim, mostly Sunni belonging to Maliki school of jurisprudence influenced with Sufism. Ahmadiyya and Shia minorities are also present. the remaining 10 percent of Malians adhere to indigenous or traditional animist beliefs or Christianity. Atheism and agnosticism are believed to be rare among Malians, most of whom practice their religion on a daily basis, although some are Deist. According to the 2005 U.S. Department of State’s annual report on religious freedom, Islam as traditionally practiced in Mali was characterized