Biguina is a community or village in the commune of

Bassila Bassila is a town, arrondissement, and commune located in the Donga Department of Benin. The commune covers an area of 5,661 square kilometres and as of 2013 had a population of 130,770 people. The RNIE 3 highway of Benin passes through the t ...

in the

Donga Department Donga is one of the twelve departments of Benin; its capital is Djougou, the fourth largest city in the country. The department of Donga was created in 1999 when it was split off from Atakora Department. Donga is subdivided into five communes ...

of northwestern

Benin Benin, officially the Republic of Benin, is a country in West Africa. It was formerly known as Dahomey. It is bordered by Togo to the west, Nigeria to the east, Burkina Faso to the north-west, and Niger to the north-east. The majority of its po ...

. It is located near the border with

Togo Togo, officially the Togolese Republic, is a country in West Africa. It is bordered by Ghana to Ghana–Togo border, the west, Benin to Benin–Togo border, the east and Burkina Faso to Burkina Faso–Togo border, the north. It is one of the le ...

and it sits on Benin's ''Route Nationale 3'', one of the two main north-south highways in the country. Biguina is composed of four small villages. The four villages are situated in a line along the highway, each spaced one to two kilometers apart. From north to south, Biguina's constituent villages are Koiwali, Biguina 1 (Akpassa), Biguina 2, and Biguina 3. Biguina 1, usually known to the residents as Akpassa, is the largest of the four villages. It is home to a majority of the total population, to the village's weekly market, and to the community health center. Biguina 1 is located 28 km south of the commune capital town of Bassila. Koiwali is 2 km to the north of Biguina 1. Biguina 2 is a kilometer south of Biguina 1 and Biguina 3 is a further 2 km. Other nearby villages include

Prekete Prekete is a village in the commune of Bassila in the Donga Department of western Benin Benin, officially the Republic of Benin, is a country in West Africa. It was formerly known as Dahomey. It is bordered by Togo to the west, Nigeria to t ...

(12 km to the south), Aworo (6 km to the north), Kamboli, Togo (8 km to the southwest), and Balanka, Togo (10 km to the northwest).

Population

The population of Biguina is uncertain, but likely in the range of 5,000 to 8,000 people. Approximately half of the total population resides in Biguina 1. Biguina 3 is the next largest of the four villages, with perhaps a quarter of the population, while Biguina 2 and Koiwali are both small.

Ethnic composition

A large majority of residents of Biguina are ethnic Lokpa (or Lukpa) who speak Lukpa. The Lokpa are closely related to the

Kabye people The Kabye (also known as Kabiye, Kabre, Cabrai), are a people living in the north central mountains and northern plains of Togo. They speak the Kabiye language. The Kabye are primarily known for farming and cultivation of harsh, dry, infertile lan ...

who live in adjacent areas of Togo and speak Kabiye. Both Lukpa and Kabiye are members of the Gurunsi or Grusi branch of the Gur language group.

Gur languages The Gur languages, also known as Central Gur or Mabia, belong to the Niger–Congo languages. They are spoken in the Sahelian and savanna regions of West Africa, namely: in most areas of Burkina Faso, and in south-central Mali, northeastern Ivor ...

are widely spoken across

Burkina Faso Burkina Faso is a landlocked country in West Africa, bordered by Mali to the northwest, Niger to the northeast, Benin to the southeast, Togo and Ghana to the south, and Ivory Coast to the southwest. It covers an area of 274,223 km2 (105,87 ...

, northern

Ghana Ghana, officially the Republic of Ghana, is a country in West Africa. It is situated along the Gulf of Guinea and the Atlantic Ocean to the south, and shares borders with Côte d’Ivoire to the west, Burkina Faso to the north, and Togo to t ...

, northern

, and northwestern

. Biguina also has a significant resident

Fulani The Fula, Fulani, or Fulɓe people are an ethnic group in Sahara, Sahel and West Africa, widely dispersed across the region. Inhabiting many countries, they live mainly in West Africa and northern parts of Central Africa, South Sudan, Darfur, ...

(or Fula; or ''Peuhl''; ) population. The resident Fulani primarily live in small villages or encampments located in the farmlands to the east and west of the main villages. In addition to these two main ethnic groups, there are small minorities of ethnic

Nago is a city located in the northern part of Okinawa Island, Okinawa Prefecture, Japan. As of December 2012, the city has an estimated population of 61,659 and a population density of 293 persons per km2. Its total area is 210.30 km2. Geo ...

and Fon.

History

Biguina was founded in the 1960s by Lokpa migrants from the Ouake area, the population center of the Lokpa ethnic group in Benin. Migrants cleared forest land and settled neighboring Aoro first, then settled Biguina later in the 1960s. The primary school in Biguina 1 was founded in 1972. Biguina 2, Biguina 3, and Koiwali were settled later.

Institutions

Each of the four constituent villages of Biguina has a public primary school. There are two secondary schools, known as ''collèges d'enseignement général'', or CEGs. CEG Sourou is located a kilometer north of Koiwali (at the far north end of Biguina). It was founded in 2004 to serve Biguina and Aoro. CEG Biguina is situated between Biguina 1 and Biguina 2. It was founded in 2010 to offer a more convenient location for students, most of whom walk to school. Both schools offer instruction through troisième classe, equivalent to ninth grade. Biguina 1 has a community health center and an open-air village market, held every Tuesday. Each of four villages has a

mosque A mosque ( ), also called a masjid ( ), is a place of worship for Muslims. The term usually refers to a covered building, but can be any place where Salah, Islamic prayers are performed; such as an outdoor courtyard. Originally, mosques were si ...

. Biguina 1 has a

Protestant Protestantism is a branch of Christianity that emphasizes Justification (theology), justification of sinners Sola fide, through faith alone, the teaching that Salvation in Christianity, salvation comes by unmerited Grace in Christianity, divin ...

evangelical Evangelicalism (), also called evangelical Christianity or evangelical Protestantism, is a worldwide, interdenominational movement within Protestantism, Protestant Christianity that emphasizes evangelism, or the preaching and spreading of th ...

church, a

Catholic The Catholic Church (), also known as the Roman Catholic Church, is the List of Christian denominations by number of members, largest Christian church, with 1.27 to 1.41 billion baptized Catholics Catholic Church by country, worldwid ...

church, and a Christian Celeste church.

Government

Biguina is part of the commune of

and therefore falls under the jurisdiction of the mayor of Bassila. Biguina also has a local governance structure, consisting of a village chief and council. The eight councillors (''conseillers'') and the chief (''chef de village'' or ''délégué'') each represent one of the neighborhoods (''quartiers'') of the village. They are elected locally by the villagers. Their most frequent responsibility is to mediate and resolve disputes. Additionally, they are responsible for organizing and supervising projects relating to the development of the village. For instance, the village council organized the construction of a new secondary school, CEG Biguina, in 2010. Biguina 2, Biguina 3, and Koiwali have discussed splitting from Biguina 1 in 2014 to elect their own village councils and chiefs.

Economy

Biguina is a rural village with a primarily agricultural economy. It is a located in an agriculturally rich region of Benin. Nearly every crop that is grown in Benin is grown in Biguina. The major food crops are

corn Maize (; ''Zea mays''), also known as corn in North American English, is a tall stout Poaceae, grass that produces cereal grain. It was domesticated by indigenous peoples of Mexico, indigenous peoples in southern Mexico about 9,000 years ago ...

, African yams, and

manioc ''Manihot esculenta'', common name, commonly called cassava, manioc, or yuca (among numerous regional names), is a woody shrub of the spurge family, Euphorbiaceae, native to South America, from Brazil, Paraguay and parts of the Andes. Although ...

Corn Maize (; ''Zea mays''), also known as corn in North American English, is a tall stout Poaceae, grass that produces cereal grain. It was domesticated by indigenous peoples of Mexico, indigenous peoples in southern Mexico about 9,000 years ago ...

and

cashews Cashew is the common name of a tropical evergreen tree ''Anacardium occidentale'', in the family Anacardiaceae. It is native to South America and is the source of the cashew nut and the cashew apple, an accessory fruit. The tree can grow as tal ...

are the two most important cash crops. Other important local crops include

soybean The soybean, soy bean, or soya bean (''Glycine max'') is a species of legume native to East Asia, widely grown for its edible bean. Soy is a staple crop, the world's most grown legume, and an important animal feed. Soy is a key source o ...

s, beans, rice,

sorghum ''Sorghum bicolor'', commonly called sorghum () and also known as great millet, broomcorn, guinea corn, durra, imphee, jowar, or milo, is a species in the Poaceae, grass genus ''Sorghum (genus), Sorghum'' cultivated for its grain. The grain i ...

millet Millets () are a highly varied group of small-seeded grasses, widely grown around the world as cereal crops or grains for fodder and human food. Most millets belong to the tribe Paniceae. Millets are important crops in the Semi-arid climate, ...

tomatoes The tomato (, ), ''Solanum lycopersicum'', is a plant whose fruit is an edible berry that is eaten as a vegetable. The tomato is a member of the nightshade family that includes tobacco, potato, and chili peppers. It originated from and was d ...

okra Okra (, ), ''Abelmoschus esculentus'', known in some English-speaking countries as lady's fingers, is a flowering plant in the Malvaceae, mallow family native to East Africa. Cultivated in tropical, subtropical, and warm temperate regions aro ...

, and

cotton Cotton (), first recorded in ancient India, is a soft, fluffy staple fiber that grows in a boll, or protective case, around the seeds of the cotton plants of the genus '' Gossypium'' in the mallow family Malvaceae. The fiber is almost pure ...

. Minor crops (in terms of cash value) include

mango A mango is an edible stone fruit produced by the tropical tree '' Mangifera indica''. It originated from the region between northwestern Myanmar, Bangladesh, and northeastern India. ''M. indica'' has been cultivated in South and Southeast As ...

es,

banana A banana is an elongated, edible fruit – botanically a berry – produced by several kinds of large treelike herbaceous flowering plants in the genus '' Musa''. In some countries, cooking bananas are called plantains, distinguishing the ...

papaya The papaya (, ), papaw, () or pawpaw () is the plant species ''Carica papaya'', one of the 21 accepted species in the genus '' Carica'' of the family Caricaceae, and also the name of its fruit. It was first domesticated in Mesoamerica, within ...

s, shea nuts,

palm nuts Palm nut can refer to: * The fruit of the oil palm (''Elaeis'') tree * The fruit or seed of any palm tree (''Arecaceae'') * The immature fruits of ''Arenga pinnata ''Arenga pinnata'' (syn. ''Arenga saccharifera'') is an economically important f ...

, Rônier palm fruits, and various leaf vegetables. Commerce is also an important sector of the local economy. There are several small stores, and the village hosts an open-air market every Tuesday. Biguina does not have electricity. Local homes do not have indoor running water, but the village does have a clean water supply. Biguina has a central diesel-powered water pump, which fills a water tower located on high ground in Biguina 2. From the tower, water flows to spigots located around the village.

External links

Satellite map at Maplandia
{{Commune of Bassila Populated places in the Donga Department Commune of Bassila