The Mankanya people ( pt, Mancanha; french: Mancagne; self-designed as ''Ba-hula'') are an
ethnic group
An ethnic group or an ethnicity is a grouping of people who identify with each other on the basis of shared attributes that distinguish them from other groups. Those attributes can include common sets of traditions, ancestry, language, history, ...
native to West Africa, more precisely the
Senegambian region and
Guinea
Guinea ( ),, fuf, 五仆井, italic=no, Gine, wo, Gine, nqo, 葶舝葖, bm, Gine officially the Republic of Guinea (french: R矇publique de Guin矇e), is a coastal country in West Africa. It borders the Atlantic Ocean to the we ...
. They make up a notable
ethnic group
An ethnic group or an ethnicity is a grouping of people who identify with each other on the basis of shared attributes that distinguish them from other groups. Those attributes can include common sets of traditions, ancestry, language, history, ...
in the countries of the region, namely
Senegal
Senegal,; Wolof: ''Senegaal''; Pulaar: 井仆井內丐中五 (Senegaali); Arabic: 塈堻媞塈 ''As-Sinighal'') officially the Republic of Senegal,; Wolof: ''R矇ewum Senegaal''; Pulaar : 井仆不丐仆不五 ...
,
The Gambia
The Gambia,, ff, Gammbi, ar, 媞塈堥塈 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
Guinea-Bissau ( ; pt, Guin矇-Bissau; ff, italic=no, 五仆井 五之丐仃亢, Gine-Bisaawo, script=Adlm; Mandinka: ''Gine-Bisawo''), officially the Republic of Guinea-Bissau ( pt, Rep繳blica da Guin矇-Bissau, links=no ) ...
. Their religion is predominantly
Roman Catholic
Roman or Romans most often refers to:
*Rome, the capital city of Italy
*Ancient Rome, Roman civilization from 8th century BC to 5th century AD
*Roman people, the people of ancient Rome
*'' Epistle to the Romans'', shortened to ''Romans'', a lette ...
, yet keep a strong tradition of
animism
Animism (from Latin: ' meaning 'breath, Soul, spirit, life') is the belief that objects, places, and creatures all possess a distinct Spirituality, spiritual essence. Potentially, animism perceives all thingsAnimal, animals, Plant, plants, Ro ...
. They speak
Mankanya, a language belonging to the
Bak group (Niger–Congo).
They are also known as Bola, Brame, Mancagne, Mancanha, Mankagne, and Mankaya.
References
Ethnic groups in Guinea-Bissau
Ethnic groups in the Gambia
Ethnic groups in Senegal
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