Bainounka
The Bainounka (spelling variants: Bainunk or Bainouk ) are an ethnic group in the West African state of Gambia . More precisely, it is a historical ethnic group.
They lived between the southern bank of the Gambia River and the northern bank of the Casamance River , i.e. in the West Coast region on the border with Casamance , a region in Senegal . Possibly these were the earliest settlers in the Senegambian coastal region. In the 19th century the Bainunka, like the Manjago , were almost completely mixed with the Diola and Mandinka ethnic groups ; in the censuses of 1973 and 1983, they were no longer listed as a separate ethnic group. The history and culture of the Bainounkas is therefore little described.
The name of the second largest city in Gambia, Brikama, is said to come from the Bainounka language and mean " city of women ". In the past, female rulers had their seat of government here under the old matriarchal social order.
Like the Jola and Manjago, they are also often associated with the fact that they produce palm wine . To do this, they skillfully climb up the palm trees with only an elliptical harness. They tap the flower stalk of the oil palm ( Elaeis guineensis ) and collect the juice in vessels, which ferments there and becomes a drink similar to feather white .
Their language - the dialects Samik , Gunyamolo and Gunyuño - is threatened with extinction.
swell
- ^ Arnold Gailey, Harry A. Hughes: Historical Dictionary of the Gambia . The Scarecrow Press, Inc., 1999, ISBN 0-8108-3660-2
- ↑ Michael Tomkinson: Gambia, a tourist guide Tomkinson, London [u. a.] 1983, ISBN 0-905500-13-X