Gabu Gabu Nova Lamego | |
|---|---|
 Gabu, Guinea-Bissau | |
  Gabu Location in Guinea-Bissau  Gabu Gabu (Africa) | |
| Coordinates: 12°17′0″N14°13′0″W / 12.28333°N 14.21667°W | |
| Country |  Guinea-Bissau |
| Region | Gabu Region |
| Elevation | 39 m (128 ft) |
| Population (2010) | |
| • Total | 37,525 |
| • Ethnicities | Mandinka Fula |
| • Religions | Islam |
Gabu is the largest town in eastern Guinea-Bissau and capital of the Gabu Region. Under the name Kansala, it was the capital of Kaabu.
Kaabu, also written Ngabou or N’Gabu, was founded by Mandinka immigrants from the Mali Empire in the 13th century, and was initially vassal to the Mali Empire. Mansa Sala Sane established Kansala to replace the old, less centrally located Bainuk capital of Mamapatim. The city was also the site of the sacred grove where the mansaba of Kaabu was crowned. [1] As the Mali empire waned, Sama Koli proclaimed independence in 1537 but maintained many of the trappings of Malian cultural heritage. The kingdom built earthen ramparts (now vanished) around Kansala and established trade relations with the Portuguese on the coast. [2]
In the early nineteenth century, the Fula ethnic group converted to Islam and began the Kansala War to end Mandé dominance. It ended with a big fire which caused extensive damage and casualties on both sides. Gabu thereafter became linked with the Imamate of Futa Jallon and was finally assimilated into the Portuguese Empire. [2] The Portuguese named the town "Nova Lamego" ie "New Lamego", after the Douro town of Lamego. It was renamed Gabu (sometimes spelled Cabu [3] ) after Guinea Bissau's independence.
Gabu is now mostly known as a market town with the second largest market of Guinea-Bissau, notably trading coal and ceramics as well as agricultural products. Traders come from as far afield as Guinea and Senegal.
Gabú has a tropical savanna climate (Köppen Aw), similar to that of the capital Bissau but with – due to its inland location – about a quarter less rainfall and larger diurnal temperature variations. As with all of Guinea-Bissau, there are two extremely contrasting seasons: a dry season from November to May with dusty harmattan winds and hot to sweltering, rainless weather, and a monsoonal wet season from June to October featuring heavy thunderstorm rains almost every day and hot, uncomfortably humid conditions.
| Climate data for Gabú | |||||||||||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Month | Jan | Feb | Mar | Apr | May | Jun | Jul | Aug | Sep | Oct | Nov | Dec | Year |
| Mean daily maximum °C (°F) | 31.7 (89.1) | 34.4 (93.9) | 37.1 (98.8) | 38.0 (100.4) | 36.4 (97.5) | 33.1 (91.6) | 30.2 (86.4) | 29.2 (84.6) | 30.2 (86.4) | 31.2 (88.2) | 31.9 (89.4) | 30.5 (86.9) | 32.8 (91.1) |
| Daily mean °C (°F) | 22.8 (73.0) | 25.4 (77.7) | 28.4 (83.1) | 30.0 (86.0) | 29.6 (85.3) | 27.6 (81.7) | 26.1 (79.0) | 25.4 (77.7) | 25.9 (78.6) | 26.3 (79.3) | 25.7 (78.3) | 22.7 (72.9) | 26.3 (79.4) |
| Mean daily minimum °C (°F) | 13.9 (57.0) | 16.5 (61.7) | 19.8 (67.6) | 22.0 (71.6) | 22.9 (73.2) | 22.1 (71.8) | 22.0 (71.6) | 21.7 (71.1) | 21.7 (71.1) | 21.4 (70.5) | 19.6 (67.3) | 15.0 (59.0) | 19.9 (67.8) |
| Average rainfall mm (inches) | 0 (0) | 0 (0) | 0 (0) | 3 (0.1) | 37 (1.5) | 159 (6.3) | 273 (10.7) | 420 (16.5) | 350 (13.8) | 180 (7.1) | 20 (0.8) | 2 (0.1) | 1,444 (56.9) |
| Source: Climate-Data.org [4] | |||||||||||||
Guinea-Bissau, officially the Republic of Guinea-Bissau, is a country in West Africa that covers 36,125 square kilometres (13,948 sq mi) with an estimated population of 2,026,778. It borders Senegal to its north and Guinea to its southeast.
People have inhabited the region now known as Guinea-Bissau for thousands of years. In the 13th century, it became a province of the Mali Empire that later became independent as the Empire of Kaabu. Portugal claimed the region beginning in the 1450s. During most of this period, Portuguese control of the region was limited to a number of forts along the coast. Portugal gained full control of the mainland after the pacification campaigns of 1912–15. The offshore Bijago islands were not colonised until 1936. After independence in 1974, the country was controlled by a single-party system until 1991. The introduction of multi-party politics in 1991 brought the first multi-party elections in 1994. A civil war broke out from 1998 to 1999.
Banjul, officially the City of Banjul, is the capital of The Gambia. It is the centre of the eponymous administrative division which is home to an estimated 400,000 residents, making it The Gambia's largest and most densely populated metropolitan area. Banjul is located on St Mary's Island, where the Gambia River enters the Atlantic Ocean.
The Mandinka or Malinke are a West African ethnic group primarily found in southern Mali, the Gambia, southern Senegal and eastern Guinea. 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, which are a lingua franca in much of West Africa. Virtually all of Mandinka people are adherent to Islam, mostly based on the Maliki jurisprudence. They are predominantly subsistence farmers and live in rural villages. Their largest urban center is Bamako, the capital of Mali.
Gabú Region is the easternmost region in Guinea-Bissau. Its capital is Gabú. The region borders Senegal to the north, Guinea to the east and south and the Guinea-Bissau regions of Tombali and Bafatá to the west. It covers an area of 9,150 km2, making it the largest of Guinea-Bissau's administrative regions. It is an inland region covered with savannah or light savannah woodland and receives an annual rainfall of more than 2,000 mm (79 in).
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