FACTOID # 117: If someone you know died from falling out of a tree, you’re probably Brazilian.
 
 Home   Encyclopedia   Statistics   Countries A-Z   Flags   Maps   Education   Forum   FAQ   About 
 
WHAT'S NEW
RELATED ARTICLES
People who viewed "Biffeche" also viewed:
RECENT ARTICLES
More Recent Articles »
 

Encyclopedia > Biffeche

Biffeche or Bifeche was the early name for a medium-sized island (Isle de Bifeche) in the delta of the Senegal River in West Africa, some two miles upstream from the island of N'Dar on which Saint-Louis, Senegal [1] was founded. The Penny Cyclopædia of the Society for the Diffusion of Useful Knowledge described the island in 1843 as being "entirely covered with wood, and in the wet season a great portion of them is laid under water." [2] The Senegal River, in West Africa, forms the border between Senegal and Mauritania. ... West Africa is the region of. ... Saint-Louis or Saint-Louis du Sénégal (locally called Ndar in the Wolof language) is a city in the northwest of Senegal near the mouth of the Senegal River (, ). It is the capital of the Saint-Louis Region and has a population of 154,555 (2002 census). ... 1843 was a common year starting on Sunday (see link for calendar). ...


Currently, the river marks this section of the border between Mauritania and Senegal. The island can perhaps most easily be seen on the map [3] with one of its main towns Maka [4] clearly marked. A contemporary map can be found at [5] - this map shows N'Dar under its older French name of Isle St. Louis and the Pointe de isle de Bifeche is also visible. On the island is written Emboulan which appears to be a European variant of a local town name MBoubene. It can also be just seen at the extreme top of Senegal in 1753.


Low-lying and largely flat, the region has Fulfulde (Fula or Peulh), Serer-Ndut, Wolof and Moor ethnic groups engaged in pasturing animals (mainly the Fulfulde) and irrigation-based agriculture. The region's largest town is Savoigne, which has been twinned with La Ferté Macé, and whose SOCAS tomato-paste factory imports and dilutes tomato paste for re-shipment within Senegal. The population is primarily Muslim, but also contains Catholics and animists. The Oiseaux de Djoudj National Park is located upstream. Categories: Africa-related stubs | Burkina Faso | Cameroon | Ethnic groups of Africa | Fulani Empire | Mali | Nigeria ... The Serer-Ndut ethnic group are approximately 22,000 Serer people, most living in central Senegal in the district of Mont-Roland, northwest of the city of Thies. ... The Wolofs are an ethnic group living in Senegal, the Gambia and Mauritania. ... The Moors were the medieval Muslim inhabitants of al-Andalus (the Iberian Peninsula including the present day Spain and Portugal) and the Maghreb, whose culture is often called Moorish. // Origins of the name The name derives from the old tribe of the Mauri and their kingdom, Mauretania. ... A Muslim (Arabic: مسلم) (sometimes also spelled Moslem) is an adherent of Islam. ... This article is in need of attention. ... The Ouiseaux du Djoudj National Park lies on the north bank of the River Senegal in Senegal, north east of St-Louis. ...


In the 17th century a chief known as the Petit Brak or Little King ruled over a region known variously as Biffeche or Gangueul with capital at Maka. The Grand Brak or Big King ruled the kingdom of Waalo, whose capital was originally at Diourbel. The area was nearly depopulated by repeated slaving raids by Moors from the north. At times, the Petit Brak was tributary to Waalo, at other times allied with Bethio. In the 1720s, the Brak of Waalo was Erim M'Bagnick and Béquio Malicouri, king of the Royaume d'Oral (Bethio), was his vassal. (16th century - 17th century - 18th century - more centuries) As a means of recording the passage of time, the 17th century was that century which lasted from 1601-1700. ... Brak (or Braque) was the title of the kings of the kingdoms of Waalo (or Oualo) and Biffeche on the Senegal River in Senegal and Mauritania in West Africa until the 19th Century. ... The Kingdom of Waalo (Oualo) was a kingdom on the lower Senegal River in West Africa, in what are now Senegal and Mauritania. ... Diourbel is a town in Senegal lying east of Thiès. ... The Principality of Bethio (also spelled Bequio, Bekio, Bitio, Bétio or Beetyo) was a small monarchy located for centuries along the lower Senegal River valley, on the border between modern Mauritania and Senegal, in the northeast of Biffeche. ... Events and Trends Manufacture of the earliest surviving pianos. ...


References

  • Barry, Boubacar. Le royaume du Waalo - Le Senegal avant la conquete. Karthala, 1985.
  • Becker, Charles and Martin, Victor. Journal Historique et Suitte du Journal Historique (1729-1731) 39.2 (1977): 223-289. [6]
  • Cultru, Pierre. Premier voyage du Sieur de la Courbe.... Paris: Larose, 1913.
  • Encylopedie, dictionnaire raisonné des sciences, des arts et des métiers, par une société de gens de lettres, mis en ordre et publié par Mr. * * *, tome quinzieme. Neufchastel, France: Samuel Faulche, 1765. Facsimile page
  • Knight, Charles. The Penny Cyclopædia of the Society for the Diffusion of Useful Knowledge, Vol. XXI. London, 1843: 231. Public domain copy
  • Labat, Jean-Baptiste. Nouvelle Relation de l’Afrique occidentale. Paris: Cavelier, 1727. t. 2, p. 174.
  • Thésée, Françoise. Actes du colloque de Nantes, tome I. 1988. 223-245. [7].
  • Thilmans, Guy. Bull. Les planches sénégalaises et mauritaniennes des “Atlas Vingboons” , G. IFAN, B. t. 37.1 (1975): 106-109.

Historical maps

  • Cours de la rivière de Sanaga ou Sénégal depuis son embouchure jusqu'à l'île de Bilbas / Suite du cours de la rivière de Sénégal depuis l'isle de Bilbas jusqu'au sault du Rocherde Govina / levé par un ingénieur francois, 1718. Online at BNF
  • Carte de la rivière du Sénégal depuis la Barre jusqu'au Panier Foule des petites rivières et marigots qui en dérivent avec les noms des villages qui sont au bord, fait au Sénégal, 1720. Online at BNF
  • Anville, Jean-Baptiste Bourguignon, Carte manuscrite de la côte d'Afrique aux environs de Gorée et de la rivière du Sénégal depuis Cagneux jusqu'à son embouchure. 1724. Online at BNF

External links


  Results from FactBites:
 
Royaume de Biffeche Kingdom of Biffeche (410 words)
Biffeche is a small Kingdom on the borders of Sénégal and Mauritanie, on the Sénégal River in the "Sahel" region of West Africa.
Biffeche is home to the Biffeche Dragon, reputedly the second-largest lizard in the world (after the Komodo Dragon of Indonesia), and the government of Sénégal maintains the famous Parc du Djoudj on Biffeche's northern edge, a bird-watcher's paradise of a park with hundreds of rare and important bird species.
The royal capital of Biffeche is the holy village of M'Boubene (formerly Biffeche-Ville), with administrative functions and festivals at the towns of Savoigne and Savoigne-Pionniers.
Kingdom of Biffeche (1497 words)
The modern history of Biffeche begins circa 1960, when “life became too hard” and Roman Catholic members of the Sérér-Ndut tribe (it is uncertain as to how long prior to this event their conversion had taken place) were transported to Biffeche from Mont-Roland in central Sénégal.
After the Biffeche elders received his permission, they mailed Schafer “some symbolic skins, a packet of holy grains, sacred seeds and a notification in French that he was the King.” Schafer then journeyed to Washington, D.C. for a meeting with G. Mennen Williams, Assistant Secretary of State for African Affairs.
The King of Biffeche is automatically the King of Axim on the Ghana coast (“This is similar to the current Queen of the U.K. being also Queen of Canada”).
  More results at FactBites »

 

COMMENTARY     


Share your thoughts, questions and commentary here
Your name
Your location
Your comments
Please enter the 5-letter protection code


Lesson Plans | Student Area | Student FAQ | Reviews | Press Releases |  Feeds | Contact
The Wikipedia article included on this page is licensed under the GFDL.
Images may be subject to relevant owners' copyright.
All other elements are (c) copyright NationMaster.com 2003-5. All Rights Reserved.
Usage implies agreement with terms.