_Gallona_e_sua_comitiva.jpg) Photo of a Biafada tribe. December 1891. | |
| Regions with significant populations | |
|---|---|
| Guinea-Bissau,Senegal andGambia | |
| Languages | |
| Biafada language, Gool (inGeba River), Bubwas, Guinala (both inQuinara Region), Bagandada (Tombali) andFrench language | |
| Religion | |
| Islam (majority religion) andChristians (Catholics) oranimists (minority religion) |
The Biafada people is an ethnic group ofGuinea-Bissau,Senegal andGambia. This group is often considered as a subgroup of theTenda people. They are also known as Biafara, Beafada, Biafar, Bidyola, Dfola, Dyola, Fada, and Yola.[1]
In Guinea Bissau, the Biafada are divided into four groups. A small group lives on the north bank of theGeba River and speaks the Gooldialect. Two large groups reside inQuinara Region, the southwestern part of the country, and they speak theBubwas andGuinala dialects. The fourth group live in the southern province ofTombali, on the border withGuinea Conakry, and speaks the dialectBagandada.[2]
They were once grouped into three kingdoms: Biguda, Guinala and Bissege.[3]
The Biafada speak theBiafada language, which belongs to theNiger-Congo languages family.
Like most West Africans, the Biafada are farmers. The staple crops for these people are cassava and rice. However, due toglobalization, they also raise other crops that originated in other parts of the world: maize, squash, melons, potatoes, peppers and tomatoes. Devoted tolivestock, the Biafadas raise sheep and goats for meat, as they do not drink milk from those animals. This reduces the importance of the hunting.[2]
A ceremony celebrates as each child prepares to enter puberty. One characteristic of these ceremonies is the practice ofcircumcision. Normally, this applies to males, but sometimes also to females.
In more conservative families it is forbidden for a woman to becomepregnant outside of marriage. If this happens, the woman and the man are subject to heavy punishment known as "di minjer justisa" (literally:' justice for women"). This was banned by Guinea Bissau in the 1970s. However, actually,Polygamy is common.
The majority of Biafadas areSunni Muslims. However, some areCatholics oranimists who believe that objects have spirits. The Biafadas mixIslam with animistic rites. About a dozen Biafada areProtestants, most resident in Biafada. Other Biafadas are Catholics in the capital.[2]
