It is a sub-prefecture and commune of Odienné Department in Kabadougou Region, Denguélé District.

The French explorer René Caillié arrived in Tiémé on 3 August 1827, on the long journey that would take him to Timbuktu.

Ill with malaria, scurvy and with a tropical ulcer on his foot, he was forced to remain for five months in the village.

He gave a detailed account of his stay in his book Travels through Central Africa to Timbuctoo, which was published in 1830.

He set out for Djenné on 9 January 1828 and joined a large caravan carrying kola nuts.