Balanta Language Lessons
Balanta is now generally divided into two distinct languages; Balanta-Kentohe and Balanta-Ganja. Other subgroups include Petch, Naga, Sofa, and Brassa as well as various dialects.
The Balanta-Kentohe language is spoken by a total of 423,000 people on the north central and central coast of Guinea-Bissau (where as of 2006 it is spoken by 397,000 people, many of which can be found in the Oio Region) as well as in the Gambia.
Balanta-Ganja is spoken by 86,000 people (as of 2006) in the southwest corner of and the south of Senegal. Literacy is less than 1% for Balanta-Ganja. In September 2000, Balanta-Ganja was granted the status of a national language in Senegal, and as of then can now be taught in elementary school.
Charter of the Balanta B’urassa Language Preservation Society
From 1668 to 1829, 145,000 people were shipped from the slave trading port at St. Louis, Senegal. From 1668 to 1843, 126,000 people were shipped from the slave trading port of Bissau on the coast of modern day Guinea Bissau, West Africa. These are the lands were Balanta people were living. From these two slave trading ports, 6,400 people were brought to the Gulf Coast, 10,000 people were brought to the port at Charleston, South Carolina, 4,500 people were brought to Chesapeake, and 1,400 people were brought to New York. In addition, 85,800 people were brought to the Islands of the West Indies. From 1761 to 1815, records show that 6,534 Binham Brassa (Balanta people) were trafficked from their homeland and enslaved in the Americas. That’s an average of at least 121 Balanta per year. If you are a Balanta descendant living in America today, the most likely scenario is that your Balanta ancestor was one of those people and spoke Balanta-Kentohe or Balanta-Ganja.
Now that you know you are Balanta, the next step is for you and your family to learn your language that was taken from you!
NEW!!!!!!
Order
Balanta Kentohé Language Lessons Series 1 , 2 and 3
There are thirty five video lessons that accompany this textbook.
