Boniville (also Agoodé) is a village of

Aluku The Aluku are a Bushinengue ethnic group living mainly on the riverbank in Maripasoula in southwest French Guiana. The group are sometimes called Boni, referring to the 18th-century leader, Bokilifu Boni. History The Aluku are an ethnic gro ...

Maroons Maroons are descendants of African diaspora in the Americas, Africans in the Americas who escaped from slavery and formed their own settlements. They often mixed with indigenous peoples of the Americas, indigenous peoples, eventually ethnogenesi ...

in the

commune A commune is an alternative term for an intentional community. Commune or comună or comune or other derivations may also refer to: Administrative-territorial entities * Commune (administrative division), a municipality or township ** Communes of ...

Papaïchton Papaichton (unofficial spelling Papaïchton with a trema) is a commune in the overseas region and department of French Guiana. The village lies on the shores of the Lawa River. Papaichton is served by the Maripasoula Airport. The village whi ...

located on the Lawa River in

French Guiana French Guiana ( or ; french: link=no, Guyane ; gcr, label=French Guianese Creole, Lagwiyann ) is an overseas departments and regions of France, overseas department/region and single territorial collectivity of France on the northern Atlantic ...

History

On 25 May 1891, the

, a tribe of escaped slaves from Suriname, became French citizens, and

Granman Granman (Ndyuka language: ''gaanman'') is the title of the paramount chief of a Maroon (people), Maroon nation in Suriname and French Guiana. The Ndyuka people, Ndyuka, Saramaka, Matawai people, Matawai, Aluku, Paramaccan people, Paramaka and Kwint ...

Ochi became the first officially recognized paramount chief of the tribe. In 1895, Ochi founded the village of Boniville to serve as the administrative centre for the tribe. In 1965, Granman Tolinga moved the capital from Boniville to

, and as of 1993, Boniville is a village within the commune of Papaïchton. The village has lost its importance, and has been reduced to a small hamlet. Boniville is still characterised by traditional Aluku architecture with (painted and carved wood work). In 2017, five traditional houses in Boniville and Loca were restored by the

National Forests Office The National Forests Office (french: Office national des forêts), or ONF, is a Government of France agency that manages the state forests, city forests and biological reserves. ONF is based in Paris. The office is responsible for the sustaina ...

Transport

Papaïchton can only be accessed by plane from the

Maripasoula Airport Maripasoula Airport is an airport north of Maripasoula, a Communes of France, commune in the arrondissement of Saint-Laurent-du-Maroni in French Guiana. It is near the Lawa River (South America), Lawa River, which forms the border between Frenc ...

, or by boat via the Lawa river. There is an unpaved path to

Maripasoula Maripasoula, previously named Upper Maroni, is a commune of French Guiana, an overseas region and department of France located in South America. With a land area of , Maripasoula is the largest commune of France. Geography The Lawa and Maroni ...

. On 20 July 2020, construction has started on a proper road which is scheduled to be completed by 2021.

Notes

References

Bibliography

* * Aluku settlements Papaichton Villages in French Guiana {{FrenchGuiana-geo-stub