The Nyancho (also spelled ''Nyantio'', '' Ñaanco'', ''Nyanthio'' or ''Nyanco'') were a royal maternal dynasty that ruled the West African empire of

Kaabu Kaabu (1537–1867), also written Gabu, Ngabou, and N'Gabu, was a federation of Mandinka kingdoms in the Senegambia region centered within modern northeastern Guinea-Bissau, large parts of today's Gambia, and extending into Koussanar, Kou ...

Origins

The Nyancho's legendary origins begin with a

Mandinka Mandinka, Mandika, Mandinkha, Mandinko, or Mandingo may refer to: Media * Mandingo (novel), ''Mandingo'' (novel), a bestselling novel published in 1957 * Mandingo (film), ''Mandingo'' (film), a 1975 film based on the eponymous 1957 novel * ''Man ...

woman named Balaba, or in some versions Tenemba. She fled the

Manding region Manding, Manden or even Mandé is a region located in West Africa, a space between southern Mali and eastern Guinea. It is the historic home of the Manding languages, Mandinka community. The Malinke people, Malinke are at the origin of the found ...

to Mampatim, at the time the center of a

Bainuk The Bainuk people (also called Banyuk, Banun, Banyun, Bainouk, Bainunk, Banyum, Bagnoun, Banhum, Banyung, Ñuñ, Elomay, or Elunay) are an ethnic group that today lives primarily in Senegal as well as in parts of Gambia and Guinea-Bissau. Etymol ...

kingdom, and took shelter in a cave. Pregnant at the time of her arrival, the local population took her for a djinn or sorceress as there was no man living with her. She gave birth to three daughters who were then married to the three sons of

Tiramakhan Traore Tiramakhan Traore (variations : Toure-Makhan Traoré or Tirimakhan Trawally) was a 13th-century general in the Mali Empire who served under Sundiata Keita. In oral histories, Traore is credited with expanding the power of Mali into two very diffe ...

, who had led a powerful force to incorporate the area into the

Mali Empire The Mali Empire (Manding languages, Manding: ''Mandé''Ki-Zerbo, Joseph: ''UNESCO General History of Africa, Vol. IV, Abridged Edition: Africa from the Twelfth to the Sixteenth Century'', p. 57. University of California Press, 1997. or ''Manden ...

. The Nyancho were the maternal descendants of these three couples. They could therefore claim legitimacy through conquest, the Mandinka patrilineal inheritance system, and local Bainuk matrilineal traditions. The term 'Nyancho' is derived from the

phrase ''I nyon ten'', meaning 'you have no equal.

Rule

Traore's three sons and their descendants ruled Kaabu's royal provinces (or constituent kingdoms) of Jimara, Pacana, and Sama, alternating the '' mansaya'' (overall kingship) between them. The Nyancho ruling class, warrior-elites made rich war and slave raiding, were part of either the Manneh and Sanneh paternal lineages. Only those descended from Nyancho bloodlines on both sides could be elected ''mansa'' of Kaabu.

References

Bibliography

*{{cite book , last=Barry , first = Boubacar , title=Senegambia and the Atlantic Slave Trade , publisher=Cambridge University Press , location=Cambridge , year=1998 , pages=388 Pages , isbn=0-521-59226-7 Gambian noble families Senegalese noble families Former monarchies of Africa History of Guinea-Bissau Former countries in Africa

Origins

Rule

See also

References

Bibliography