The Bassari are people who live in

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

Gambia The Gambia,, ff, Gammbi, ar, غامبيا 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 ...

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 ...

and

Guinea-Bissau Guinea-Bissau ( ; pt, Guiné-Bissau; ff, italic=no, 𞤘𞤭𞤲𞤫 𞤄𞤭𞤧𞤢𞥄𞤱𞤮, Gine-Bisaawo, script=Adlm; Mandinka: ''Gine-Bisawo''), officially the Republic of Guinea-Bissau ( pt, República da Guiné-Bissau, links=no ) ...

. The total population is between 10,000 and 30,000. Most of the Bassari are concentrated on either side of the Senegal-Guinea border southwest of Kedougou,

Kédougou Region Kédougou Region is a region of Senegal. It was created in 2008. Formerly it was a department in the Region of Tambacounda. Kedougou has a number of ecotourism attractions. Departments Kédougou Region has three departments Department may ref ...

. This areas is referred to in French as ''Pays Bassari'', or ''liyan'' in the

Bassari language Basari, or Oniyan (Onian, Onëyan, Ayan, Biyan, Wo), is a Senegambian language of Senegal and Guinea spoken by the Bassari people The Bassari are people who live in Senegal, Gambia, Guinea and Guinea-Bissau. The total population is between 10 ...

Religious belief

The Bassari speak a Tenda language, ''o-niyan''. They refer to themselves as ''a-liyan'', pl. ''bi-liyan''. Most of the group are animists, with a significant minority of

Christians 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'' (Χρ� ...

(both

Catholic 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

Protestant Protestantism is a Christian denomination, branch of Christianity that follows the theological tenets of the Reformation, Protestant Reformation, a movement that began seeking to reform the Catholic Church from within in the 16th century agai ...

). Very few Bassari are

Muslims 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 ...

. They have close relations with the

Fula people The Fula, Fulani, or Fulɓe people ( ff, Fulɓe, ; french: Peul, links=no; ha, Fulani or Hilani; pt, Fula, links=no; wo, Pël; bm, Fulaw) are one of the largest ethnic groups in the Sahel and West Africa, widely dispersed across the region ...

centered locally in the nearby hills of the

Fouta Djallon Fouta Djallon ( ff, 𞤊𞤵𞥅𞤼𞤢 𞤔𞤢𞤤𞤮𞥅, Fuuta Jaloo; ar, فوتا جالون) is a highland region in the center of Guinea, roughly corresponding with Middle Guinea, in West Africa. Etymology The Fulani people call the r ...

. The Bassari are subsistence farmers for the most part, growing

rice Rice is the seed of the grass species '' Oryza sativa'' (Asian rice) or less commonly ''Oryza glaberrima'' (African rice). The name wild rice is usually used for species of the genera '' Zizania'' and '' Porteresia'', both wild and domesticat ...

millet Millets () are a highly varied group of small-seeded grasses, widely grown around the world as cereal crops or grains for fodder and human food. Most species generally referred to as millets belong to the tribe Paniceae, but some millets a ...

, earth-peas and

fonio Fonio is the term for two cultivated grasses in the genus '' Digitaria'' that are notable crops in parts of West Africa. They are millets with small grains. Fonio is a nutritious food with a favorable taste. It is consumed mainly in West Afric ...

. They also migrate to the cities and towns of Senegal and Guinea in the dry season in search of wage-labor, using the money they earn to buy household equipment, clothing and other necessary items. The mythology of the

Bassari The Bassari are people who live in Senegal, Gambia, Guinea and Guinea-Bissau. The total population is between 10,000 and 30,000. Most of the Bassari are concentrated on either side of the Senegal-Guinea border southwest of Kedougou, Kédougou Regi ...

is centered on the creation god

Unumbotte Unumbotte is the creator god of the Bassari people in Senegal, the Gambia, Guinea and Guinea-Bissau. The creation story of Unumbotte is a variation on the Garden of Eden. In it Unumbotte creates a man, then the animals including an antelope and a ...

.Manfred Lurker. ''The Routledge Dictionary of Gods and Goddesses, Devils and Demons''. Routledge, Nov 11, 2004 pg. 191

References

*Gessain, Monique 1967, ''Les Migrations des Coniagui et Bassari'', Paris, Mémoires de la Société des Africanistes. *

Nolan, Riall Riall W. Nolan (born October 12, 1943) is an American anthropologist, an emeritus professor of anthropology at Purdue University, USA and a faculty member in the MPhil program in International Development at the University of Cambridge, UK. A schol ...

1986, ''Bassari Migrations: The Quiet Revolution'', Boulder, Westview Press. Ethnic groups in Senegal Ethnic groups in the Gambia Ethnic groups in Guinea Ethnic groups in Guinea-Bissau {{Africa-ethno-group-stub