Boniville (also Agoodé) is a village of

Aluku The Aluku are a Bushinengue ethnic group living mainly on the riverbank in Maripasoula in southwest French Guiana. The group are sometimes called Boni, referring to the 18th-century leader, Boni (guerrilla leader), Bokilifu Boni. History The ...

Maroons Maroons are descendants of Africans in the Americas and islands of the Indian Ocean who escaped from slavery, through flight or manumission, and formed their own settlements. They often mixed with Indigenous peoples, eventually evolving into ...

in the commune of

Papaïchton Papaichton (; unofficial spelling Papaïchton with a trema; ) is a commune in the overseas region and department of French Guiana. The village lies on the shores of the Lawa River. Papaichton is served by the Maripasoula Airport. The village ...

located on the Lawa River in

French Guiana French Guiana, or Guyane in French, is an Overseas departments and regions of France, overseas department and region of France located on the northern coast of South America in the Guianas and the West Indies. Bordered by Suriname to the west ...

History

On 25 May 1891, the

, a tribe of escaped slaves from Suriname, became French citizens, and

Granman Granman (Ndyuka language: ''gaanman'') is the title of the paramount chief of a Maroon (people), Maroon nation in Suriname and French Guiana. The Ndyuka people, Ndyuka, Saramaka, Matawai people, Matawai, Aluku, Paramaccan people, Paramaka and Kwin ...

Ochi became the first officially recognized paramount chief of the tribe. In 1895, Ochi founded the village of Boniville to serve as the administrative centre for the tribe. In 1965, Granman Tolinga moved the capital from Boniville to

, and as of 1993, Boniville is a village within the commune of Papaïchton. The village has lost its importance, and has been reduced to a small hamlet. Boniville is still characterised by traditional Aluku architecture with (painted and carved wood work). In 2017, five traditional houses in Boniville and Loca were restored by the National Forests Office.

Transport

Papaïchton can only be accessed by plane from the

Maripasoula Airport Maripasoula Airport is an airport north of Maripasoula, a Communes of France, commune in the arrondissement of Saint-Laurent-du-Maroni in French Guiana. It is near the Lawa River (South America), Lawa River, which forms the border between Frenc ...

, or by boat via the Lawa river. There is an unpaved path to

Maripasoula Maripasoula (), previously named Upper Maroni, is a commune of French Guiana, an overseas region and department of France located in South America. With a land area of , Maripasoula is the largest commune of France. The commune is slightly lar ...

. On 20 July 2020, construction has started on a proper road which is scheduled to be completed by 2021.

Notes

References

Bibliography

* * Aluku settlements Papaichton Villages in French Guiana {{FrenchGuiana-geo-stub