Queen Oginka Pampa
Queen's village Okinka Pampa village
Sandy beaches and landing points on The Island of Orangeu
The first purpose of this visit to Guinea-Bissau is to visit the tombs of King and Queen Bigegos on the island of I.I.i. de Orango, which is specifically mentioned in the "LP" travel guide, and as a person who particularly likes to learn about the human history of various countries, I will not miss this important place.
Although a lot of homework is done before departure, how to get there safely and smoothly needs to be understood locally.
Location of the queen's village of Okinka Pampa
With regard to the description of the Bijegos Archipelago (Portuguese: Arquipélago dos Bijagós), I have summarized it briefly as follows, based on the introduction in the book "LP" and "Wikipedia":
The Bigegos Archipelago is an archipelago of the Atlantic Ocean, consisting of 18 main islands and multiple small islands with a total area of 2,624 square kilometers, and is the territory of the West African country of Guinea-Bissau, with a population of 30,000 in 2006. The Bigegos Islands are covered in forests and are home to sea turtles, hippos and monkeys, making it one of UNESCO's Biosphere Reserves.
Olanggu Island
The Bigegos Islands have an extraordinary charm: swaying palm trees, refreshing breezes, delicate snow-white sandy beaches. In addition to the beautiful natural landscape, there is a mysterious legend about the "Queen of the Bigegos Islands". Over the centuries, the peoples of the Bigegos islands have developed a unique matriarchal social culture, very different from that of the guinean continent. The inhabitants of the island were ruled by a king or queen (neither of them married nor related), and together they acted as administrators—the king managed the affairs of the men, while the queen was in charge of the women's affairs. At the same time, women are usually the heads of each village and the sole head of ——— which is also fair, since women need to take full responsibility for the construction of houses – from the production of clay bricks to the construction of houses.
The Bigegos Islands expose several kilometres of tidal flats at low tide, making the beach impassable. Protected by rapid tides and eerie sandbars, the island's matrilineal clans escaped Portuguese control until the 1930s. Now the entire archipelago, including the abundance of marine life, has been declared an ecosphere reserve, with two of the islands forming a national park.
After the queen's death, the traditional customs of the matrilineal clans on the island have not been passed on, so the disappearance of "The Last Matriarchal Clans and Queens of Africa" is particularly tempting.
Nowadays, if travelers want to go to the island, transportation is more difficult, it is said that there are several large canoes that can be reached every week to facilitate the islanders to travel to and from Bissau, but only from Bissau to Bubak Island, in addition, whether there is an ideal time to cooperate and return in time and other issues are very uncertain, so the best way is to rent a boat, but the price is expensive.
Previous I wrote "Little Tour of Bissau", while visiting Bissau, I also asked around the pier about how to get to IIha de Orango on the island of Orangeo. We would love to be able to catch a boat to the archipelago to save money. But the results learned were disappointing, and none of the ship's round-trip times had a definite date.
Upon returning to the hotel, he immediately contacted Mr. "L", stating that we wanted to go to The Island of Orangeu to see the village and cemetery of the "Queen", and he immediately asked his black assistant to contact him, and before dinner he used a reply, you can rent a boat to go, the dock can leave, the same day round trip, the price is 800,000 West African francs. We felt that the price was very expensive, but there was no room for counter-offer, so we had to agree to it.
Unable to settle by credit card, Mr. "L" took us to a casino opened by a Fujianese in Bissau that night, borrowed 800,000 Spanish, the money was borrowed by Mr. "L", and we returned it to Mr. "L" a few days later in RENMINBI. During his time in Bissau, "L" helped us a lot and took this opportunity to thank him.
In the morning, the boats by the dock were stuck in the mud
We arrived at the docks before 8 a.m. the next morning, and Mr. "L." the black assistant brought us over. The beaches along Bissau are wide, and on the dockside, many boats are stuck in the mud, waiting for the tide to go out. It was not until 10 o'clock that the sea floated the boat, and we boarded a speedboat, which we later learned was a fishing boat from Bissau, and that on the way to the island they were on the task of collecting taxes from the fishing boats along the way.
Farmers' market by the dock in Bissau
The boat was very powerful, two huge Yamaha engines roaring, leaving the docks of Bissau, and there were four black people on board, all middle-aged, including three fishermen and a driver.
There were four black men on board, all middle-aged, including three fishermen and a driver.
On the island of Orangeu, in the southwest corner of the Bigegos Islands, 55 miles from Bissau, fishermen along the way invoiced and collected taxes from a fishing vessel that encountered them, which also gave them a large fish.
Harvest a big fish
It took 3 hours to reach the destination, the boat stopped more than 50 meters from the shore, and a black man on the boat waded into the water to carry the two of us back ashore. When you go ashore and cross the beach, you'll see the sign "Hotel Orango Parque", the only location with a place name when looking for "Island of Orangeu" on Google Maps. There is a wooden boardwalk leading to the rooms of the hotel inside, which from the outside have not been inhabited for a long time, but to enter the Queen's village requires buying tickets here.
We came ashore
The sign "Hotel Orango Parque", which is the only place with a place name when looking for "Island of Orangeu" on Google Maps.
Behind the hotel, there is a dirt road that people have stepped out to extend to the center of the island, and there are several tin signs at the intersection, which introduce the general situation of the reserve and the precautions for sightseeing.
There are several tin signs at the intersection that give an overview of the reserve and sightseeing precautions
Dirt road to the village
A few hundred meters further ahead, on the left side of the road, a wooden "notice board" with a grassy roof covered with rain cover contains pictures and descriptions of "Queen Oginka Pampa". The introduction to the Queen is much more detailed here. Here's what's in general about this introduction:
On the left side of the road, a wooden "notice board" with a grassy roof is a picture and description of "Queen Oginka Pampa"
A hut in the village of Okinka Pampa (the village is named after the Queen) was once the home of one of the most important women in African history, Queen Okinka Pampa, and her resting place. She and her matrilineal relatives of members of the royal family were buried under the floor of the building.
Her name is "Ukanhimpan", which means "lucky man" in Bijago. Her nieces and nephews affectionately called it "Pampa", while "Okinka", which roughly translates to "priestess", is a title peculiar to the Barobella family. A descendant of the powerful Auraga bloodline, she controlled the island of Aurangau from 1910 to 1930.
Oginka Pampa protected her people from the bloody peace movement waged by the Portuguese to conquer them. She abolished slavery, increased women's rights, and reunified the grand island of Olango. She was beloved by her subjects and earned the respect of colonists who respected her power and authority.
The Queen was an advocate of tolerance and mutual respect, and she died in 1930. According to legend, she was over 100 years old when she died.
A journalist has studied Queen Odjinka Pampa and The Island of Orangeu in greater depth, supplemented by the following:
(1) Traditional religious practices have protected the sacred villages of this archipelago off the coast of Guinea-Bissau for centuries, and now traditional religious practices are being disturbed by foreign religions, and missionaries and younger generations are working to change them;
2. The 12 traditional priestesses of Orango Island are buried in a hut in the village of Okinka Pampa, and no one can go near the hut, not even the great-grandson of Oginka Pampa;
3. Augusto Pereira, a descendant (great-grandson) of Oginka Pampa, is now a traditional chief, and the ceremonial spear he holds in his hand is a symbol of power.
I have written about the feeling of "change" in a previous article, which can not only be felt during travel, but also obviously: "With the rapid development of the economy and the impact of globalization, the economic life of backward areas has changed rapidly, but with it, many traditional cultural practices have disappeared, and this disappearance is irreversible." This is the main reason why I chose to get africa done as soon as possible in the early days of my trip!
The road to the village is two kilometers away, the weather is clear and hot, and it is already breathless to walk to the village.
The village is full of grass houses, both round and square, mud brick walls, grass roofs, and the houses are surrounded by wide rain corridors, which is quite distinctive. There were tall cashew trees in the village, and some villagers were cooking and some were handling cashew nuts, and our arrival did not surprise them at all.
There are tall cashew trees in the village
Grass huts in the village
Grass huts in the village
Women who peel cashews
cashew
Villagers cooking
The village seems quiet, like a pure land isolated from the world.
Poverty is obvious, but the children are still happy and carefree.
The children in the village are still happy and carefree
The children in the village are still happy and carefree
The boat driver, who must have known the village well, took me directly to the house of the Queen's great-grandson, who is now the chief, and when he came out of the room he was wearing a black hat, shorts and shorts, and he was thin and frail, and he seemed to have a hard time moving his body, presumably plagued by disease. He went out and carried a long yellow cloth with a pattern on his body, tied a loose knot on his chest, and then sat down in the plastic circle chair, holding the rusted iron spear that symbolized power, so that he looked quite chieftainlike, and I took a few pictures of him.
The Queen's great-grandson came out of his room
He held the rusty iron spear that symbolized power, which looked quite a chieftain
Then, escorted by the boat driver, he staggered us to the holy place of the village, the burial ground of the Queen's family, a white-roofed house in the middle of the village.
The chief took us to the queen's grave
The roof of the hut is asbestos tiles, surrounded by a wall with an EU flag in the center, and it is estimated that the house was built with EU aid. The cottage has a single wooden door with the two lines at the top of the wooden door inscribed with the Queen's name and the year of her death, and below it are motifs of some life scenes.
The chief is in front of the holy hut of the village
Chieftain in front of the hut
Didn't expect him (the chief) to agree to let us into the room. The room was dark, and inside was a cemetery, where more than 10 people should be buried, as evidenced by the wooden strip tombstones on the slightly raised mounds, and the tomb of "Queen Okinka Pampa" was on the left-central side, and her tomb appeared to be larger than the others, and the wooden strip tombstone was much larger. With our consent, we took a few photos.
Queen's royal cemetery in the cottage
Tomb of Queen Oginka Pampa
Wooden tombstone of Queen Oginka Pampa
Sending off the chief, we walked around the village to have a look. There is a small school in the village, which is another brick building with asbestos tile houses. The grass hut of the religious sacrifice is special, and the surrounding walls are covered with paintings of scenes of life and entertainment, as well as patterns of animals and houses.
Village schools
Houses of sacrifice
Pictures on the walls
Pictures on the walls
Pictures on the walls
Pictures on the walls
At 4:00 PM, we left Aurangow Island for the return journey to Bissau.
leave
On the way back, the fishermen invoiced and collected taxes from several fishing boats, and as usual, each ship gave them a large fish as an extra reward, which made several fishermen harvest a lot.
Fishing boats that collect taxes along the way
#Bigegos Islands # # Orangu Island # Queen #奥金卡 Pampa # Guinea-Bissau # #非洲最后的母系氏族 #