Pepel (people)
The Pepel (other spelling Papel , plural Portuguese Pepeis , Papeis ) are an African ethnic group whose members are almost exclusively in the west of the West African state of Guinea-Bissau in the Biombo region (immediately northwest of the capital). It comprises around 140,000 members, around 4,000 of whom live in other countries, especially Senegal .
The most famous representative of this ethnic group is the former Guinea-Bissau President João Bernardo Vieira .
At the time of colonialism in Portuguese Guinea the real power of the Portuguese over the Pepel was relatively small, until 1915 even the Portuguese had to pay tribute to some Pepel groups in order to be able to pursue their activities in the Bissau region.
Language and culture
The Pepel have a language of the same name, which is one of the Bak languages of the Atlantic-Congo language family.
The clear cultural and historical (i.e. ethnogenetic ) demarcation of the Pepel from other ethnic groups is controversial; There are more similarities than differences, especially with regard to the Mandjaco culture and language . Some authors even believe that the historical origin of the definition of certain ethnic groups as such lay less in the endeavor of the natives to distinguish themselves from one another than in the desire of the European colonialists for classification - probably also for the purpose of easier administration of the colonized; d. That is, the ethnographic schemes were defined by Europeans, even if cultural differences actually existed and continue to exist.
Way of life
Their economy is diversified, in addition to agriculture (especially rice) they raise cattle (cattle, pigs, goats) and fish . They are also known to be skillful weavers of cloths that also serve as clothing for them.
Their political and social form of organization is hierarchical. One lives in large families, consisting of several, often polygynous single families, whose residence on Kriol is called "Moransa" and which is headed by a head. The Moransas, in turn, are subordinate to local chiefs, who are called “Regulos” in the Kriol language ( Latin “little king” ). After marriage, the wife typically moves into the husband's moransa, which is usually his father's too, i.e. i.e., they are patrilocal .
religion
The majority of the Pepel are Christians, but at the same time they are also very close to traditional religious ideas. In addition, their ancestors play ( ancestors ) a very important role for them, as with most sub-Sahrawi peoples of Africa. So is z. B. the after-burial ceremony "Toka Chur", which is celebrated a few months to several years after the actual funeral service of a socially respected deceased in his or her Moransa, one of the most important family and social events.
swell
- ↑ Johannes Augel: State Crisis, Ethnicity and Resource Conflicts in Guinea-Bissau, Uni Bielefeld 1998 ( Memento of the original from March 4, 2016 in the Internet Archive ) Info: The archive link was inserted automatically and has not yet been checked. Please check the original and archive link according to the instructions and then remove this notice. (PDF; 135 kB)
- ↑ Etnologue report for Guinea-Bissau
- ↑ Maria Clara Saraiva: Rituais Funerários entre os Papéis da Guiné-Bissau (Part II) in: Soronda No.8 ( Memento of the original from September 24, 2015 in the Internet Archive ) Info: The archive link has been inserted automatically and has not yet been checked. Please check the original and archive link according to the instructions and then remove this notice.
