Mankanya people
Encyclopedia
The Mankanya people form an ethnic group
living in Guinea-Bissau
, Senegal
and Gambia. Their religion is predominantly Roman Catholic, yet keep a strong tradition of animism
. They speak Mankanya
, a language belonging to the Atlantic
group.
Ethnic group
An ethnic group is a group of people whose members identify with each other, through a common heritage, often consisting of a common language, a common culture and/or an ideology that stresses common ancestry or endogamy...
living in Guinea-Bissau
Guinea-Bissau
The Republic of Guinea-Bissau is a country in West Africa. It is bordered by Senegal to the north, and Guinea to the south and east, with the Atlantic Ocean to its west....
, Senegal
Senegal
Senegal , officially the Republic of Senegal , is a country in western Africa. It owes its name to the Sénégal River that borders it to the east and north...
and Gambia. Their religion is predominantly Roman Catholic, yet keep a strong tradition of animism
Animism
Animism refers to the belief that non-human entities are spiritual beings, or at least embody some kind of life-principle....
. They speak Mankanya
Mankanya language
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 Atlantic branch of the Niger–Congo language family....
, a language belonging to the Atlantic
Atlantic languages
The Atlantic or West Atlantic languages of West Africa are an obsolete proposed major group of the Niger–Congo languages. They are those languages west of Kru which have the noun-class systems characteristic of the Niger–Congo family; in this they are distinguished from their Mande neighbors, which...
group.