Kankan Mandinka
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Kankan ( Mandingo: Kánkàn; N’ko: ߞߊ߲ߞߊ߲߫) is the largest city in
Guinea Guinea ( ),, fuf, 𞤘𞤭𞤲𞤫, italic=no, Gine, wo, Gine, nqo, ߖߌ߬ߣߍ߫, bm, Gine officially the Republic of Guinea (french: République de Guinée), is a coastal country in West Africa. It borders the Atlantic Ocean to the we ...
in land area, and the third largest in population, with a population of 1 980 130 people as of 2020. The city is located in eastern
Guinea Guinea ( ),, fuf, 𞤘𞤭𞤲𞤫, italic=no, Gine, wo, Gine, nqo, ߖߌ߬ߣߍ߫, bm, Gine officially the Republic of Guinea (french: République de Guinée), is a coastal country in West Africa. It borders the Atlantic Ocean to the we ...
about east of the national capital
Conakry Conakry (; ; sus, Kɔnakiri; N’ko: ߞߐߣߊߞߙߌ߫, Fula: ''Konaakiri'' 𞤑𞤮𞤲𞤢𞥄𞤳𞤭𞤪𞤭) is the capital and largest city of Guinea. A port city, it serves as the economic, financial and cultural centre of Guinea. Its p ...
. The city is the capital and largest town of the
Kankan Prefecture Kankan is a prefecture located in the Kankan Region of Guinea. The capital is Kankan. The prefecture covers an area of 19,750 km.² and has a population of 2,450,890. Sub-prefectures The prefecture is divided administratively into 13 su ...
and of the Kankan Region. The population is largely from the
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 ...
ethnic group. The Kankan region now has more than 6,167,904 inhabitants (2021) a most popular region of Guinea The region has five (5) prefectures (Kankan, Kérouané, Kouroussa, Mandiana and Siguiri), 53 sub-prefectures, 5 urban communes, 53 rural communes , 878 arrondissements, 68 neighborhoods and 1864 sectors.


Geography

The city is located on the Milo River, a tributary of the Niger River.


History

Kankan was founded by the
Soninke people The Soninke people are a West African Mande-speaking ethnic group found in Mali, Fouta Djallon, southern Mauritania, eastern Senegal, Guinea and The Gambia. They speak the Soninke language, also called the Serakhulle or Azer language, which is ...
in the 18th century, after which it became an important trading centre, particularly for
kola nut The term kola nut usually refers to the seeds of certain species of plant of the genus ''Cola'', placed formerly in the cocoa family Sterculiaceae and now usually subsumed in the mallow family Malvaceae (as subfamily Sterculioideae). These cola ...
s, and the capital of the
Baté Empire The Batè Empire (N’ko: ߓߊߕߍ߫ ''Bátɛ'') was a pre-colonial state centred on Kankan in what is today Guinea. It was founded in the 16th century by migrants from the Sahel, Mandinka and Soninke people, as an Islamic merchant state. The founde ...
. The population of the city is predominantly from the Mandinka ethnic group and their language is widely spoken throughout the city. The French explorer René Caillié spent a month in Kankan in 1827 on his journey from Boké, in present-day Guinea, to
Djenné Djenné ( Bambara: ߘߖߋߣߣߋ tr. Djenne; also known as Djénné, Jenné and Jenne) is a Songhai people town and an urban commune in the Inland Niger Delta region of central Mali. The town is the administrative centre of the Djenné Cercle, on ...
and Timbuktu in Mali. He arrived with a
caravan Caravan or caravans may refer to: Transport and travel *Caravan (travellers), a group of travellers journeying together **Caravanserai, a place where a caravan could stop *Camel train, a convoy using camels as pack animals *Convoy, a group of veh ...
transporting
kola nut The term kola nut usually refers to the seeds of certain species of plant of the genus ''Cola'', placed formerly in the cocoa family Sterculiaceae and now usually subsumed in the mallow family Malvaceae (as subfamily Sterculioideae). These cola ...
s. He described the visit in his book ''Travels through Central Africa to Timbuctoo''. The town had a population of 6,000 inhabitants and was an important commercial centre with a market held three times a week. Instead of having a surrounding mud wall, the town was defended by quickset hedges. The chief of the town refused Caillié permission to travel along the river to the north as the town of Kankan was fighting for control of the Bouré gold producing area around Siguiri and the
Tinkisso River The Tinkisso River is a river in Guinea in west Africa. The river is sourced near Dalaba in the Fouta Djallon mountain range, north of Mamou and snakes approximately north-east and then east across the plains of Guinea, until it runs into the Ri ...
. Instead Caillié left the town heading east in the direction of
Minignan Minignan (also spelled Maninian) is a town in north-western Ivory Coast. It is a sub-prefecture of and the seat of Minignan Department. It is also a commune and the seat of Folon Region in Denguélé District. History The French explorer René C ...
in the Ivory Coast. The town was conquered by
Samory Touré Samory Toure ( – June 2, 1900), also known as Samori Toure, Samory Touré, or Almamy Samore Lafiya Toure, was a Muslim cleric, a military strategist, and the founder and leader of the Wassoulou Empire, an Islamic empire that was in present-day ...
in 1881 and occupied by the
French French (french: français(e), link=no) may refer to: * Something of, from, or related to France ** French language, which originated in France, and its various dialects and accents ** French people, a nation and ethnic group identified with Franc ...
in 1891. In 1904, the city is chosen as the final destination during the construction of the Conakry railway in Kankan.


Climate

Kankan has a tropical savanna climate ( Köppen climate classification ''Aw'').


Education

The Julius Nyerere University of Kankan was founded in 1964.


Places of worship

Among the places of worship, they are predominantly
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 ...
mosques. There are also
Christian Christians () are people who follow or adhere to Christianity, a monotheistic Abrahamic religion based on the life and teachings of Jesus Christ. The words ''Christ'' and ''Christian'' derive from the Koine Greek title ''Christós'' (Χρι ...
churches and temples : Roman Catholic Diocese of Kankan ( Catholic Church), Église Protestante Évangélique de Guinée ( Alliance World Fellowship),
Assemblies of God The Assemblies of God (AG), officially the World Assemblies of God Fellowship, is a group of over 144 autonomous self-governing national groupings of churches that together form the world's largest Pentecostal denomination."Assemblies of God". ...
.J. Gordon Melton, Martin Baumann, ‘‘Religions of the World: A Comprehensive Encyclopedia of Beliefs and Practices’’, ABC-CLIO, USA, 2010, p. 1279


Transports

It is home to the
Kankan Airport Kankan Airport (or Kankan Diankana Airport) is an airport serving Kankan, capital of the Kankan Region in Guinea. It is northeast of the city, south of the village of Diankana. The airport was formerly within Kankan, with the ICAO code of GUX ...
and a river port. Kankan is the terminus of the lightduty narrow gauge railway from
Conakry Conakry (; ; sus, Kɔnakiri; N’ko: ߞߐߣߊߞߙߌ߫, Fula: ''Konaakiri'' 𞤑𞤮𞤲𞤢𞥄𞤳𞤭𞤪𞤭) is the capital and largest city of Guinea. A port city, it serves as the economic, financial and cultural centre of Guinea. Its p ...
(traffic suspended since 1993). The N1 highway connects the city with Nzerekore in the south.


References

Sub-prefectures of the Kankan Region {{Guinea-geo-stub