The Bainuk people (also called Banyuk, Banun, Banyun, Bainouk, Bainunk, Banyum, Bagnoun, Banhum, Banyung, Ñuñ, Elomay, or Elunay) are an ethnic group that today lives primarily in
Senegal as well as in parts of
Gambia
The Gambia,, ff, Gammbi, ar, غامبيا officially the Republic of The Gambia, is a country in West Africa. It is the smallest country within mainland AfricaHoare, Ben. (2002) ''The Kingfisher A-Z Encyclopedia'', Kingfisher Publicatio ...
and
Guinea-Bissau.
History
The Bainuk are believed to have been the first inhabitants of the lower
Casamance.
The name ''Banyun'' is attributed to the Portuguese, who derived the word from Mandinka and applied it as a collective name for a number of groups settled at strategic sites along waterways, portages, and trade paths between the Gambia and Cacheu rivers.... Possibly ''Banyun'' served as a generic term for "trader," much as ''dyula'' identifies Mande traders engaged in long-distance commerce (Map 9).
In the fifteenth century, there were at least five Bainuk states including
Bichangor, Jase,
Foni
Alfredo Foni (; 20 January 1911 – 28 January 1985) was an Italian footballer in the 1930s and later on a coach, who played as a defender. He is one of only four players to have won both an Olympic gold medal and the FIFA World Cup with the I ...
, and
Buguando. The Bainuk were also a major component of the population of the
Kasa kingdom.
In modern times the Bainuk have heavily adopted
Mande Mande may refer to:
* Mandé peoples of western Africa
* Mande languages
* Manding, a term covering a subgroup of Mande peoples, and sometimes used for one of them, Mandinka
* Garo people of northeastern India and northern Bangladesh
* Mande River ...
and
Jola cultural customs.
Culture
Many Bainuk are adherents of Islam, a process that began around the 17th century due to the influence of Muslim Mande scholars and merchants settling in the region.
Some also practice their traditional
animistic religion.
The Bainuk are known as skilled
dyers and weavers.
Notes
Sources
*Clark, Andrew F. and Lucie Colvin Phillips, ''Historical Dictionary of Senegal'' (Metuchen, New Jersey: Scarecrow Press, 1994) p. 73, 179.
*Barry, Boubacar. ''Senegambia and the Atlantic Salve Trade'' (Cambridge: University Press, 1998), p. 21
External links
* ELAR archive o
Bainouk and its main contact language Mandinka
Ethnic groups in Senegal
Ethnic groups in the Gambia
Ethnic groups in Guinea-Bissau
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