Papaichton (unofficial spelling Papaïchton with a

trema Trema may refer to: * a Greek and Latin root meaning ''hole'' * ''Tréma'', a word in French meaning diaeresis ** more generally, two dots (diacritic) * ''Trema'' (plant), a genus of about 15 species of small evergreen trees * Tréma (record la ...

) is a commune in the

overseas region The overseas departments and regions of France (french: départements et régions d'outre-mer, ; ''DROM'') are departments of France that are outside metropolitan France, the European part of France. They have exactly the same status as mainla ...

and department of

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

. The village lies on the shores of the Lawa River. Papaichton is served by the

Maripasoula Airport Maripasoula Airport is an airport north of Maripasoula, a commune in the arrondissement of Saint-Laurent-du-Maroni in French Guiana. It is near the Lawa River, which forms the border between French Guiana and Suriname. The Maripasoula non-dir ...

. The village which is the seat of the commune was named Papaichton-Pompidouville in honour of the

president President most commonly refers to: *President (corporate title) * President (education), a leader of a college or university * President (government title) President may also refer to: Automobiles * Nissan President, a 1966–2010 Japanese ...

Pompidou who invited Granman Tolinga to the Élysée in 1971. The commune is located on the border with

Suriname Suriname (; srn, Sranankondre or ), officially the Republic of Suriname ( nl, Republiek Suriname , srn, Ripolik fu Sranan), is a country on the northeastern Atlantic coast of South America. It is bordered by the Atlantic Ocean to the nor ...

. Papaichton is home to some of the

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 gr ...

people and the seat of their

granman Granman (Ndyuka language: ''gaanman'') is the title of the paramount chief of a Maroon nation in Suriname and French Guiana. The Ndyuka, Saramaka, Matawai, Aluku, Paramaka and Kwinti nations all have a granman. The paramount chiefs of Amerindi ...

(paramount chief).

History

Around 1710, Slaves escape from the plantations in

, and band together in tribes. A tribe calling itself Aluku settled in Cottica over the border in Suriname. In 1760, the Ndyuka, another Maroon tribe, signed a peace treaty with the Society of Suriname allowing them autonomy. Boni also desired a peace treaty, but the Society of Suriname, despite contrary advice from the Dutch government, wanted to persecute and destroy the Aluku. Between 1768 and 1793, the Boni wars started in which the Ndyuka side with the Dutch colonists, and it resulted in many Alukus seeking refuge in France on the other side of the

Maroni River The Maroni or Marowijne (french: link=no, Maroni, nl, Marowijne, Sranan Tongo: ''Marwina-Liba'') is a river in South America that forms the border between French Guiana and Suriname. Course The Maroni runs through the Guianan moist for ...

. In 1895, the village was founded by Granman Ochi. At the time,

Boniville Boniville (also Agoodé) is a village of Aluku Maroons in the commune of Papaïchton located on the Lawa River in French Guiana. History On 25 May 1891, the Aluku, a tribe of escaped slaves from Suriname, became French citizens, and Granman Och ...

was the capital of Aluku tribe. In 1930, the territory of

Inini Inini was an inland territory of French Guiana, administered separately between 6 June 1930 and 19 March 1946, after which all of French Guiana became a department of France. The territory remained governed as a special entity, until 17 March 1 ...

was founded, with Papaichton as one of the administrative divisions. The territory of Inini allowed for an autonomous and self sufficient

tribal The term tribe is used in many different contexts to refer to a category of human social group. The predominant worldwide usage of the term in English is in the discipline of anthropology. This definition is contested, in part due to conflic ...

system for the Maroons without clear borders. In 1946, French Guiana departmentalised, and the territory of Inini became an

arrondissement An arrondissement (, , ) is any of various administrative divisions of France, Belgium, Haiti, certain other Francophone countries, as well as the Netherlands. Europe France The 101 French departments are divided into 342 ''arrondissements ...

. In 1965, Granman Tolinga moved the capital of the tribe from Boniville to Papaichton. In 1968, the municipal circle of Grand-Santi-Papaichton was created, and a year later became a commune. Along with the commune, came a government structure, and

francisation Francization (in American English, Canadian English, and Oxford English) or Francisation (in other British English), Frenchification, or Gallicization is the expansion of French language use—either through willful adoption or coercion—by mo ...

. Most importantly, it led to the concentration in bigger villages and the near abandonment of smaller settlements. In 1976 the communes separated in

Apatou Apatou is a commune in French Guiana, an overseas region and department of France in South America. Apatou is home to Maroons of the Aluku, Paramacca, Ndyuka, and Saramaka tribes. History The town of Apatou was founded in 1882 as Moutendé. ...

and Grand-Santi-Papaichton, and finally in 1993, Papaichton became an independent commune.

Population

Transport

Papaichton can only be accessed by air, or boat via the Maroni river. The unpaved path between

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 ...

and Papaichton will be turned into a proper road. Road work has commenced on 20 July 2020 and was scheduled to be completed by 2021. There are plans to extent the Route Nationale from

Saint-Laurent-du-Maroni Saint-Laurent-du-Maroni (; gcr, Senloran di Maronni) is a commune of French Guiana, an overseas region and department of France located in South America. Saint-Laurent-du-Maroni is one of the three sub-prefectures of French Guiana and the seat ...

to Maripasoula, however the Route Nationale currently ends south of

Incident at Loka

Loka is a hamlet in the commune of Papaichton. In April 2006, 14 people of the same family, including 12 children, were found dead, believed to be the result of

carbon monoxide Carbon monoxide (chemical formula CO) is a colorless, poisonous, odorless, tasteless, flammable gas that is slightly less dense than air. Carbon monoxide consists of one carbon atom and one oxygen atom connected by a triple bond. It is the simple ...

poisoning.

Nature

The commune is dominated by the

Cottica Mountain Cottica Mountain (also Kotika Mountain. French: ''Montagne Cottica''. Aluku: ''Lebi Dotsi'') is a 744 metres high mountain near the Lawa River in the commune of Papaichton in French Guiana, France. Overview Cottica Mountain is close to the Su ...

, which rises to a height of 744 metres. The mountain was ignored by scientists until 2005 when two naturalists started investigating the area, and discovered a remarkable biodiversity. In 2014, an area of was designated as ZNIEFF, an important natural environment. The Lawa River narrows when it passes through the mountainous area around Cottica, and wild streams with waterfalls descend from the mountains through dense rainforest. The river widens to the north and splits in many streams with large river islands. The nature area around river is called .

Villages

* Cormotibo The commune is also home to several small hamlets which have a historic significance to the Aluku people. Between 1793 and 1837, the Aluku settled in Gaan Day (also: ; ). In 1860, a peace treaty was signed with the Ndyuka, and the Aluku were allowed to settle in the village of Abouna Sounga (also: ; ). The

rapids Rapids are sections of a river where the river bed has a relatively steep gradient, causing an increase in water velocity and turbulence. Rapids are hydrological features between a ''run'' (a smoothly flowing part of a stream) and a ''cascade''. ...

of Abouna Sounga form the northern border of the Aluku area. The southern border is the Litani River. L'Enfant Perdu () is a village on a river island across Cottica, Suriname. The Cottica mountain is located on the French side.

Notable people

(1833–1908), guide and captain (village chief)