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jambo
3300 Posts |
 Posted - 02 Jun 2010 : 15:29:31
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hello, can anyone give me some general information on these two groups.
I am interested in helping two groups of the tribes with specific projects, but would like to know the history, i get the feeling that they are all from somewhere else, not native to Gambia is this correct.
i was told that they belong to the fula or jola tribes orginally.
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gainde
Sweden
117 Posts |
Posted - 02 Jun 2010 : 16:02:33
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wikipedia.org has the info below on the Balanta tribe. The Manjago tribe I believe also originate from present day Guinea Bissau.
The Balanta (same spelling in Guinea-Bissau Creole and Portuguese, balante in French transliteration), meaning literally "those who resist", are an ethnic group found in Guinea-Bissau, Senegal, and Gambia. They are the largest ethnic group of Guinea-Bissau, representing more than one-quarter of the population. But despite their numbers, they have remained outside the colonial and postcolonial state because of their social organization. The Balanta can be divided into four subgroups, (three of which are Balanta Kentohe, Balanta Ganja, and Balanta Brassa) the largest of which are the Balanta Brassa.
Archaeologists believe that the people who became the Balanta migrated to present-day Guinea-Bissau in small groups between the tenth and fourteenth century C.E. During the nineteenth century they spread throughout the area that is presently Guinea-Bissau and southern Senegal in order to resist the expansion of the Kaabu kingdom. Oral tradition amongst the Balanta has it that they migrated westward from the area that is now Egypt, Sudan, and Ethiopia to escape drought and wars. Today, the Balanta are mostly found in the south and central regions of Guinea-Bissau.
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jambo
3300 Posts |
Posted - 03 Jun 2010 : 11:34:01
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thank you for this,
one of the families i visit is a Balanta, christian from Guinea, they are among the happest people I have met, happy with what they have, living of the land. When I helped the mother of hte family she had such a good business head and ambitions for her daughter to go to school.
I have often wondered about the background to the tribe, nothing much is written about them and when I ask questions i am sure some of it is lost in translation. |
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