thumb|Biffeche.

Biffeche or Bifeche is an area of Senegal centred on the town of Savoigne, around 30 kilometres north-east of the major coastal city of Saint-Louis.

Low-lying and largely flat, the region is populated by Fula,, Serer-Ndut, Wolof and Moor ethnic groups. The inhabitants' primary economic activities include animal herding and irrigation-based farming. Savoigne is the region's largest town, twinned with La Ferté Macé; its 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 Djoudj National Bird Sanctuary is located to the north.

History

The Serer-Ndut were the earliest known inhabitants of Biffeche. Strong adherents to their native Serer religion, they were persecuted and killed by the Muslims communities of Senegal, and suffered further persecution under French colonial rule.

Early European accounts described a medium-sized island (Isle de Bifeche) in the delta of the Senegal River, some two miles upstream from the island of N'Dar on which Saint-Louis 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."<!--NO external links in article text, nothing else in this paragraph to keep.

Currently, the river marks this section of the border between Mauritania

and Senegal. The island can perhaps most easily be seen on the map [https://web.archive.org/web/20060212134527/http://www.au-senegal.com/decouvrir_en/cart_stlouis.htm]

with one of its main towns Maka [https://maps.google.com/maps?ll=15.9833,-16.5000&spn=0.1,0.1&t=k&hl=en] clearly marked. A contemporary map can be found at

[http://senegalmaur.ifrance.com/st-louis-com-traite.html] - 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 Mboubène. It can also be just seen at the extreme top of Senegal in 1753. -->

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 its capital at Maka. The Grand Brak or Big King ruled the kingdom of Waalo, whose capital was originally at Ndiourbel on the north bank of the river. 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.

Notes

References

General

  • 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. Wayback Machine
  • Cultru, Prosper. Premier voyage du Sieur de la Courbe.... Paris: Larose, 1913.
  • Encyclopedie, 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.&nbsp;174.
  • Thésée, Françoise. Actes du colloque de Nantes, tome I. 1988. 223–245. population afrique.
  • Thilmans, Guy. Bull. Les planches sénégalaises et mauritaniennes des “Atlas Vingboons” , G. IFAN, B. t. 37.1 (1975): 106–109.
  • Gravrand, Henry, "La civilisation Sereer - Cosaan : les origines, vol.1, pp 140-146, Nouvelles Editions Africaines, 1983,
  • Echenberg, Myron J, "Black death, white medicine: bubonic plague and the politics of public health in colonial Senegal, 1914-1945", pp 141–146, Heinemann (2002),
  • Klein, Martin A., "Islam and Imperialism in Senegal, Sine-Saloum", pp VII-5, Edinburgh University Press, (1968),
  • Dupire, Marguerite, "Sagesse sereer: Essais sur la pensée sereer ndut", Sagesse sereer: essais sur la pensée sereer ndut
  • Becker, Charles, "Les Serer Ndut: Études sur les mutations sociales et religieuses", Microéditions Hachette (1974)

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
  • Google Maps satellite image of the Senegal River delta
  • Area Map
  • History (in French)
  • Ethnicity (in French)
  • Religion (in French)
  • Senegalese History and Geography (mainly in French)
  • Horticulture (in French)
  • Parc du Djoudj
  • Indigenous chief Béquio Malicouri