Guinea, officially the Republic of Guinea, is a coastal country in West Africa. Formerly known as French Guinea, the modern country is sometimes referred to as Guinea-Conakry after its capital Conakry, to distinguish it from other territories in the eponymous region such as Guinea-Bissau and Equatorial Guinea. Guinea has a population of 12.4 million and an area of 245,857 square kilometres (94,926 sq mi).
Melanesia is a subregion of Oceania in the southwestern Pacific Ocean. It extends from the island of New Guinea in the west to Tonga in the east, and includes the Arafura Sea.
Pacific Islanders, Pacificer, Pasifika, or Pasefika, are the peoples of the Pacific Islands—particularly those who are indigenous to them.
Guinea is a West African nation, composed of several ethnic groups. Among its most widely known musicians is Mory Kanté - 10 Cola Nuts saw major mainstream success in both Guinea and Mali while "Yeke Yeke", a single from Mory Kanté à Paris, was a European success in 1988.
The Mandinka or Malinke are a West African ethnic group primarily found in southern Mali, eastern Guinea and northern Ivory Coast. Numbering about 11 million, they are the largest subgroup of the Mandé peoples and one of the largest ethnic-linguistic groups in Africa. They speak the Manding languages in the Mande language family and a lingua franca in much of West Africa. Over 99% of Mandinka adhere to Islam. They are predominantly subsistence farmers and live in rural villages. Their largest urban center is Bamako, the capital of Mali.
Spanish Guinea was a set of insular and continental territories controlled by Spain from 1778 in the Gulf of Guinea and on the Bight of Bonny, in Central Africa. It gained independence in 1968 and is known as Equatorial Guinea.
The indigenous peoples of New Guinea, commonly called Papuans, are Melanesians. There is genetic evidence for two major historical lineages in New Guinea and neighboring islands:
- a first wave from the Malay Archipelago perhaps 50,000 years ago when New Guinea and Australia were a single landmass called Sahul,
- and, much later, a wave of Austronesian people from the north who introduced Austronesian languages and pigs about 3,500 years ago, and who left a small but significant genetic trace in many coastal Papuan peoples.
The Casamance conflict is an ongoing low-level conflict that has been waged between the Government of Senegal and the Movement of Democratic Forces of Casamance (MFDC) since 1982. On May 1, 2014 the leader of the MFDC sued for peace and declared a unilateral ceasefire.
Koubia is a prefecture located in the Labé Region of Guinea in the Fouta Djallon mountains. Fulas are the majority ethnic group in the region with Fula (Pular) as the primary language. The capital is Koubia. The prefecture covers an area of 2,800 km.² and has an estimated population of 114,000.
The Northern Province is one of the five provincial divisions of Sierra Leone. It is located in the Northern geographic region of Sierra Leone. It comprises the following four Districts: Bombali, Falaba, Koinadugu and Tonkolili. The Northern Province covers an area of 35,936 km2 (13,875 sq mi) with a population of 2,502,865, based on the 2015 Sierra Leone national census. Its administrative and economic center is Makeni. The North borders the Western Area to the West, the Republic of Guinea to the north-east, the Eastern Province and Southern Province to the south-east.
The Bedick, or Bedik, are a minority ethnic group of Africa. They live in villages in the most isolated area of eastern Senegal, in the Arrondissement of Bandafassi. Iwol is one of their settlements.
The Kaabu Empire (1537–1867), also written Gabu, Ngabou, and N'Gabu, was an empire in the Senegambia region centered within modern northeastern Guinea-Bissau, larger parts of today's Gambia; extending into Koussanar, Koumpentoum, regions of Southeastern Senegal, and Casamance in Senegal. The Kaabu Empire consisted of several languages, namely: Balanta, Jola-Fonyi, Mandinka, Mandjak, Mankanya, Noon (Serer-Noon), Pulaar, Serer, Soninke, and Wolof. It rose to prominence in the region thanks to its origins as a former imperial military province of the Mali Empire. After the decline of the Mali Empire, Kaabu became an independent Empire. Kansala, the imperial capital of Kaabu Empire, was annexed by Futa Jallon during the 19th century Fula jihads. However, Kaabu's successor states across Senegambia continued to thrive even after the fall of Kansala; this lasted until total incorporation of the remaining Kingdoms into the British Gambia, Portuguese and French spheres of influence during the Scramble for Africa.
The Mankanya language is spoken by approximately 70,000 people in Guinea-Bissau, Senegal and Gambia primarily belonging to the ethnic group of the same name. It belongs to the Bak branch of the Niger–Congo language family.
There are various ethnic groups in Senegal, The Wolof according to CIA statistics are the majority ethnic group in Senegal. Many subgroups of those can be further distinguished, based on religion, location and language. According to one 2005 estimate, there are at least twenty distinguishable groups of largely varying size.
Papel, or Oium (Moium), is a Bak language of Guinea-Bissau.
The Papel languages of southern Senegal, Gambia, and northwestern Guinea-Bissau are:
Guinea is approximately 85 percent Muslim, 8 percent Christian, with 7 percent adhering to indigenous religious beliefs. Much of the population, both Muslim and Christian, also incorporate indigenous African beliefs into their outlook.
Sierra Leone is home to about sixteen ethnic groups, each with its own language. In Sierra Leone, membership of an ethnic group often overlaps with a shared religious identity.
The North West Province, also known as North Western Province, covers the northwest part of the West African state of Sierra Leone. It is one of the five administrative regions of Sierra Leone. The province was created in 2017 from the Northern Province. The three districts of Kambia, Karene and Port Loko make up the North Western Province of Sierra Leone. The province has a total of 34 Chiefdoms and a population of 1,162,065 inhabitants. The administrative capital of the North West province is Port Loko.
