Biffeche or Bifeche is an area of

Senegal Senegal,; Wolof: ''Senegaal''; Pulaar: 𞤅𞤫𞤲𞤫𞤺𞤢𞥄𞤤𞤭 (Senegaali); Arabic: السنغال ''As-Sinighal'') officially the Republic of Senegal,; Wolof: ''Réewum Senegaal''; Pulaar : 𞤈𞤫𞤲𞤣𞤢𞥄𞤲𞤣𞤭 � ...

centred on the town of Savoigne, around 30 kilometres north-east of the major coastal city of Saint-Louis. Low-lying and largely flat, the region has

Fula Fula may refer to: *Fula people (or Fulani, Fulɓe) *Fula language (or Pulaar, Fulfulde, Fulani) **The Fula variety known as the Pulaar language **The Fula variety known as the Pular language **The Fula variety known as Maasina Fulfulde *Al-Fula ...

, or ''Peulh''; in ff, Fulɓe.

Serer-Ndut people The Serer-Ndut or Ndut also spelt (''Ndoute'' or ''N'doute'') are an ethnic group in Senegal numbering 38600. They are part of the Serer people who collectively make up the third largest ethnic group in Senegal. The Serer-Ndut live mostly in cen ...

(the original founders of Biffeche and Mt Rolland, and strong adherents to

Serer religion The Serer religion, or ''a ƭat Roog'' ("the way of the Divine"), is the original religious beliefs, practices, and teachings of the Serer people of Senegal in West Africa. The Serer religion believes in a universal supreme deity called Roog (o ...

,For more about the

, see : Dupire, Marguerite, "Sagesse

sereer The Serer people are a West African ethnoreligious group.

: Essais sur la pensée sereer ndut"

/ref> even after the French colonial empire, French and the Muslim communities of Senegal tried to kill them offEchenberg, Myron J, "Black death, white medicine: bubonic plague and the politics of public health in colonial Senegal, 1914-1945", pp 141-146, Heinemann (2002), ,),

Wolof Wolof or Wollof may refer to: * Wolof people, an ethnic group found in Senegal, Gambia, and Mauritania * Wolof language, a language spoken in Senegal, Gambia, and Mauritania * The Wolof or Jolof Empire, a medieval West African successor of the Mal ...

and

Moor Moor or Moors may refer to: Nature and ecology * Moorland, a habitat characterized by low-growing vegetation and acidic soils. Ethnic and religious groups * Moors, Muslim inhabitants of the Maghreb, Iberian Peninsula, Sicily, and Malta during ...

ethnic groups engaged in pasturing animals (mainly the Fulas) and irrigation-based agriculture (mostly the Serer-Ndut who are usually mixed-farmers). Savoigne is the region's largest town, twinned with

La Ferté Macé La Ferté Macé () is a commune in the Orne department, region of Normandy, northwestern France. History During the First World War, the village housed a military detention camp, the ''Dépôt de Triage''. Among others, the American poet E. E ...

; its SOCAS tomato-paste factory imports and dilutes tomato paste for re-shipment within Senegal. The population is primarily

Muslim Muslims ( ar, المسلمون, , ) are people who adhere to Islam, a monotheistic religion belonging to the Abrahamic tradition. They consider the Quran, the foundational religious text of Islam, to be the verbatim word of the God of Abrah ...

, but also contains

Catholics The Catholic Church, also known as the Roman Catholic Church, is the largest Christian church, with 1.3 billion baptized Catholics worldwide . It is among the world's oldest and largest international institutions, and has played a ...

and

animists Animism (from Latin: ' meaning 'breath, spirit, life') is the belief that objects, places, and creatures all possess a distinct spiritual essence. Potentially, animism perceives all things—animals, plants, rocks, rivers, weather systems, hu ...

. The

Djoudj National Bird Sanctuary The Djoudj National Bird Sanctuary (french: Parc national des oiseaux du Djoudj, ) lies on the southeast bank of the Senegal River in Senegal, in northern Biffeche, north east of St-Louis. It provides a range of wetland habitats which prove v ...

is located to the north. Early European accounts used the word for a different location, describing a medium-sized island (''Isle de Bifeche'') in the delta of the

Senegal River ,french: Fleuve Sénégal) , name_etymology = , image = Senegal River Saint Louis.jpg , image_size = , image_caption = Fishermen on the bank of the Senegal River estuary at the outskirts of Saint-Louis, Senegal ...

West Africa West Africa or Western Africa is the westernmost region of Africa. The United Nations defines Western Africa as the 16 countries of Benin, Burkina Faso, Cape Verde, The Gambia, Ghana, Guinea, Guinea-Bissau, Ivory Coast, Liberia, Mali, Maurit ...

, some two miles upstream from the island of N'Dar on which Saint-Louis was founded. ''The Penny Cyclopædia of the Society for the Diffusion of Useful Knowledge'' described the island in 1843 as being "entirely covered with wood, and in the wet season a great portion of them is laid under water." In the 17th century a chief known as the ''Petit Brak'' or ''Little King'' ruled over a region known variously as Biffeche or Gangueul with capital at Maka. The ''Grand Brak'' or ''Big King'' ruled the kingdom of

Waalo Walo ( wo, Waalo) was a kingdom on the lower Senegal River in West Africa, in what are now Senegal and Mauritania. It included parts of the valley proper and areas north and south, extending to the Atlantic Ocean. To the north were Moorish emira ...

, whose capital was originally at

Diourbel Diourbel ( ar, ديوربل; Serer: ''Jurbel'', Wolof: ''Njaaréem'') is a town in Senegal lying east of Thiès. It is known for its mosque and local groundnut industry and is the capital of the Diourbel Region. The population in 2013 was 1 ...

. The area was nearly depopulated by repeated slaving raids by Moors from the north. At times, the Petit Brak was tributary to Waalo, at other times allied with

Bethio The Principality of Bethio (also spelled Bequio, Bekio, Bitio, Bétio or Beetyo) was a small monarchy located for centuries along the lower Senegal River valley, on the border between modern Mauritania and Senegal, in the northeast of Biffeche. In ...

. In the 1720s, the Brak of Waalo was Erim M'Bagnick and Béquio Malicouri, king of the ''Royaume d'Oral'' (Bethio), was his vassal.

Notes

References

General

*Barry, Boubacar. ''Le royaume du Waalo - Le Senegal avant la conquete''. Karthala, 1985. *Becker, Charles and Martin, Victor. ''Journal Historique et Suitte du Journal Historique (1729-1731)'' 39.2 (1977): 223–289.
Wayback Machine
*Cultru, Prosper. ''Premier voyage du Sieur de la Courbe...''. Paris: Larose, 1913. *''Encyclopedie, dictionnaire raisonné des sciences, des arts et des métiers, par une société de gens de lettres, mis en ordre et publié par Mr. * * *, tome quinzieme.'' Neufchastel, France: Samuel Faulche, 1765
Facsimile page
*Knight, Charles. ''The Penny Cyclopædia of the Society for the Diffusion of Useful Knowledge'', ''Vol. XXI.'' London, 1843: 231
Public domain copy
*Labat, Jean-Baptiste. ''Nouvelle Relation de l’Afrique occidentale''. Paris: Cavelier, 1727. t. 2, p. 174. *Thésée, Françoise. ''Actes du colloque de Nantes'', tome I. 1988. 223–245

*Thilmans, Guy. Bull. ''Les planches sénégalaises et mauritaniennes des “Atlas Vingboons” '', G.

IFAN Ifan may refer to: People *Ifan (given name), list of people with this name * Ifan Evans (born 1983), Welsh rugby union player * Wil Ifan * The nickname of Riefian Fajarsyah of a former Seventeen member, disbanded by 2018 Sunda Strait tsunam ...

, B. t. 37.1 (1975): 106–109. * Gravrand, Henry, "La civilisation Sereer - Cosaan : les origines, vol.1, pp 140-146, Nouvelles Editions Africaines, 1983, *Echenberg, Myron J, "Black death, white medicine: bubonic plague and the politics of public health in colonial Senegal, 1914-1945", pp 141–146, Heinemann (2002), *Klein, Martin A., "Islam and Imperialism in Senegal, Sine-Saloum", pp VII-5, Edinburgh University Press, (1968), * Dupire, Marguerite, "Sagesse

sereer The Serer people are a West African ethnoreligious group.

: Essais sur la pensée sereer ndut"
Sagesse sereer: essais sur la pensée sereer ndut
*Becker, Charles, "Les Serer Ndut: Études sur les mutations sociales et religieuses", Microéditions Hachette (1974)

Historical maps

*''Cours de la rivière de Sanaga ou Sénégal depuis son embouchure jusqu'à l'île de Bilbas / Suite du cours de la rivière de Sénégal depuis l'isle de Bilbas jusqu'au sault du Rocherde Govina / levé par un ingénieur francois'', 1718
Online at BNF
*''Carte de la rivière du Sénégal depuis la Barre jusqu'au Panier Foule des petites rivières et marigots qui en dérivent avec les noms des villages qui sont au bord, fait au Sénégal'', 1720
Online at BNF
*Anville, Jean-Baptiste Bourguignon, ''Carte manuscrite de la côte d'Afrique aux environs de Gorée et de la rivière du Sénégal depuis Cagneux jusqu'à son embouchure''. 1724
Online at BNF

External links

Google Maps satellite image of the Senegal River deltaArea Map
{{Serer topics, state=collapsed Regions of West Africa by country Regions of Senegal Serer country Serer precolonial kingdoms Biffeche Biffeche Biffeche (Region of Senegal) Biffeche Biffeche Countries in precolonial Africa