#balanta

Guinea-Bissau 🇬🇼

Basic facts

Official name: República da Guiné-Bissau (Republic of Guinea-Bissau)

Capital city: Bissau

Population: 2.1 million (2023)

Demonym: Bissau-Guinean

Type of government: unitary semi-presidential republic

Head of state: Umaro Sissoco Embaló (President)

Head of government: Rui Duarte de Barros (Prime Minister)

Gross domestic product (purchasing power parity): $6 billion (2023)

Gini coefficient of wealth inequality: 50.7% (high) (2010)

Human Development Index: 0.483 (low) (2022)

Currency: West African CFA franc (XOF)

Fun fact: Only two presidents have lasted more than a five-year term.

Etymology

The country’s name comes from the Guinea region, which derives from the Portuguese word Guiné, used to refer to the lands inhabited by the Guineus, a term for black African people, and the name of the capital city.

Geography

Guinea-Bissau is located in West Africa and borders Senegal to the north, Guinea to the southeast, and the Atlantic Ocean to the west.

There are two climates: dry-winter tropical savanna in the southwest and tropical monsoon in the rest. Temperatures range from 17 °C (62.6 °F) in winter to 33 °C (91.4 °F) in spring. The average annual temperature is 26.3 °C (79.3 °F).

The country is divided into eight regions (regiões) and one autonomous sector (setor autónomo), which are further divided into 39 sectors (setores). The largest cities in Guinea-Bissau are Bissau, Gabú, Bafatá, Bissorã, and Bolama.

History

1235-1670: Mali Empire

1537-1867: Kaabu Empire

1588-1972: Overseas Province of Guinea

1792-1870: Colony of Bolama and Bolama River

1963-1974: Guinea-Bissau War of Independence

1972-1974: State of Guinea

1974-present: Republic of Guinea-Bissau

1998-1999: Guinea-Bissau Civil War

2003: coup d’état

2012: military coup

Economy

Guinea-Bissau mainly imports from Portugal, Senegal, and China and exports to India, Belgium, and Côte d’Ivoire. Its top exports are cashew nuts, gold, and fish.

It has bauxite, diamond, gold, and oil reserves. Agriculture represents 50% of the GDP, followed by services (36.9%) and industry (13.1%).

Guinea-Bissau is a member of the African Union, the Community of Portuguese Language Countries, the Economic Community of West African States, la Francophonie, and the Organization of Islamic Cooperation.

Demographics

The Fulani are the largest ethnic groups (28.5%), followed by the Balanta (22.5%), Mandinka (14.7%), Papel (9.1%), and Manjak (8.3%). The main religion is Islam, practiced by 46.1% of the population, most of which are Sunni.

It has a negative net migration rate and a fertility rate of 4.6 children per woman. 45% of the population lives in urban areas. Life expectancy is 63.6 years and the median age is 18 years. The literacy rate is 59.9%.

Languages

The official language of the country is Portuguese, spoken by 32.1% of the population. The most spoken language (90.4%) is Guinea-Bissau Creole. Other indigenous languages include Fula (16%), Balanta (14%), and Mandinka (7%).

Culture

Music and storytelling are very important in Bissau-Guinean culture. Widows often remarry their husband’s brother to remain in the same household group.

Men traditionally wear a shirt, loose pants, and a piece of cloth tied to one shoulder. Women wear a long dress or a top and a skirt.

Architecture

Traditional houses in Guinea-Bissau are round and made of mud and have conical thatched roofs.

Cuisine

The Bissau-Guinean diet is based on fish, meat, rice, and vegetables. Typical dishes include cafriela de frango (grilled chicken with chili, lemon, and onion), caldo de mancarra (chicken and peanut stew), camarões à guineense (shrimp with cucumber and rice), raivas (squiggly-shaped butter cookies), and yassa (spicy fish or meat with lemon, mustard, and onions).

Holidays and festivals

Like other Christian and Muslim countries, Guinea-Bissau celebrates Christmas Day, Eid al-Fitr, and Eid al-Adha. It also commemorates New Year’s Day, International Women’s Day, and Labor Day.

Specific Bissau-Guinean holidays include Heroes’ Day on January 20, which commemorates the assassination of independence leader Amílcar Cabral; Pidjiguti Day on August 3, which commemorates the massacre of striking workers, and National Day on September 24.

Heroes’ Day

Other celebrations include Carnival, Festival de Bubaque, which celebrates local music, and Movimento Hip Hop Festival.

Festival de Bubaque

Landmarks

There is one UNESCO World Heritage Site: Archipel Bolama-Bijagós.

Other landmarks include the Cacheu Fort, the Bissau Cathedral, the Corubal Falls, the Presidential Palace, and the São José da Amura Fortress.

Bissau Cathedral

Famous people

Augusto Midana - wrestler

Bruma - soccer player

Eneida Marta - singer

Flora Gomes - movie director

Graciela Martins - athlete

Holder da Silva - athlete

Jacira Mendonca - wrestler

Jessica Inchude - discus thrower and shot putter

José Carlos Schwarz - poet and musician

Odete Semedo - writer

Jessica Inchude

Sheila Cecilia Escovedo (born December 12, 1957) better known under the stage name Sheila E., is an American percussionist, singer, author, and actress. She began her career in the mid-1970s as a percussionist and singer for The George Duke Band. After leaving the group in 1983, Sheila began a successful solo career, starting with her critically acclaimed debut album, which included the career-defining song, "The Glamorous Life". She became a mainstream solo star in 1985 following the success of the singles "The Belle of St. Mark", "Sister Fate", and "A Love Bizarre" with the last becoming one of her signature songs. She is commonly referred to as The Queen of Percussion.

The Balanta (Guinea-Bissau Creole and Portuguese: balanta; French: balante; lit. “those who resist” in Mandinka) are an ethnic group found in Guinea-Bissau, Guinea, Senegal and The Gambia. They are the largest ethnic group of Guinea-Bissau, representing more than one-quarter of the population. Despite their numbers, they have remained outside the colonial and postcolonial state because of their social organisation. The Balanta can be divided into 7 clans: Nhacra, Ganja, Naga, Mane, Patch, Sofa and Kentohe. The largest of which are the Balanta Kentohe.

Archaeologists believe that the people who became the Balanta migrated to present-day Guinea-Bissau in small groups between the 10th and 14th centuries CE. 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. During the 19th century, they spread throughout the area that is now Guinea-Bissau and southern Senegal in order to resist the expansion of the Kaabu kingdom. Today, the Balanta are found in the modern-day countries of Senegal and Gambia but mostly reside in the southern and central regions of Guinea-Bissau.

All important decisions amongst the Balanta are taken by a Council of Elders. To become a member of the Council of Elders, the person has to be initiated during the Fanado ceremony. In general, egalitarianism prevails amongst the Balanta. Consequently, the Portuguese colonialists found it difficult to govern them. In the late nineteenth and early twentieth centuries, Portugal mounted pacification campaigns against the resistant Balanta and subjected them to appointed Fulbe chiefs. Because of the Portuguese repression, the Balanta enlisted as soldiers in great numbers and were principal supporters of the PAIGC in the nationalist struggle for liberation during the 1960s and 1970s. Many Balanta resented their exclusion from the government; their prominence in the military spurred a series of Balanta-led coup attempts in the 1980s

The Balanta practice indigenous, spiritual customs and rites. In the Balanta society, God is believed to be far away, and communication with the Almighty is established through their spiritual practices and traditions.

The Balanta have initiation rites at various states of the individual's life. Each phase of life, from childhood to adulthood, is regulated by an initiation that marks the entrance into a new social category. From early childhood up to age 15, the child belongs to the category of Nwatch. Around age 18 to 20 the individual enters the Fuur and then enters the Nghaye around age 25. Around age 30, according to the rites of Kgness a man will be authorized to take a woman.

After the young Balanta man has become a landowner and taken on family responsibilities, he can then be chosen by his maternal uncle to participate in the Fanado initiation. Once chosen for the Fanado, a Balanta man cannot refuse the family's wishes. The Fanado initiation ceremony takes place once every four years. The Fanado is a two-month process in the “sacred woods” which is the ultimate phase of initiation rites and social hierarchy. Initiation during the Fanado ritual opens the doors of maturity and wisdom in the Balanta community. Depicted on the back of the 50-peso note (No. 1) is a man in the costume worn by young Balanta men during the “Fanado” or male circumcision ceremony. Part of the costume is a tortoise shell that is hollowed out and worn on the back.

The first day of the Fanado ceremony is a general festival for the entire village during which people eat, drink and dance. The initiates are presented to the village by their maternal uncles and greeted by the village. After the presentation and greeting, the initiates are brought in the middle of a tropical forest to a place completely secret called the “sacred woods.” In the “sacred woods” the initiates are circumcised by the “master”, a sort of magical figure-pedagogical. After the first few days of circumcision, the initiates must build a kind of hut that will serve as their home-base for the next two months. During these two months, the initiates only have contact with their uncles and the “master”. The initiates undergo test of endurance and learn to be men. What is imparted to the initiates during the Fanado not only concerns their entire culture, but also how to behave with others, how to manage the family, and how to live as adults and men therefore wise. The tests and trials are hard to the point where some people face physical suffering, mutilation, and/or do not survive.