Papaichton (unofficial spelling Papaïchton with a

trema Trema may refer to: * a List of Greek and Latin roots in English/P–Z#T, Greek and Latin root meaning ''hole'' * ''Tréma'', a word in French meaning diaeresis ** more generally, two dots (diacritic) * Trema (plant), ''Trema'' (plant), a genus of ...

) is a commune in the

overseas region The overseas departments and regions of France (french: départements et régions d'outre-mer, ; ''DROM'') are departments of France that are outside metropolitan France, the European part of France. They have exactly the same status as mainlan ...

and

department Department may refer to: * Departmentalization, division of a larger organization into parts with specific responsibility Government and military *Department (administrative division), a geographical and administrative division within a country, ...

of French Guiana. The village lies on the shores of the Lawa River. Papaichton is served by the

Maripasoula Airport Maripasoula Airport is an airport north of Maripasoula, a commune in the arrondissement of Saint-Laurent-du-Maroni in French Guiana. It is near the Lawa River, which forms the border between French Guiana and Suriname. The Maripasoula non-di ...

. The village which is the seat of the commune was named Papaichton-Pompidouville in honour of the president Pompidou who invited Granman Tolinga to the Élysée in 1971. The commune is located on the border with

Suriname Suriname (; srn, Sranankondre or ), officially the Republic of Suriname ( nl, Republiek Suriname , srn, Ripolik fu Sranan), is a country on the northeastern Atlantic coast of South America. It is bordered by the Atlantic Ocean to the north ...

. Papaichton is home to some of the Aluku people and the seat of their granman (paramount chief).

History

Around 1710, Slaves escape from the plantations in

, and band together in tribes. A tribe calling itself Aluku settled in Cottica over the border in Suriname. In 1760, the Ndyuka, another Maroon tribe, signed a peace treaty with the Society of Suriname allowing them autonomy.

Boni Boni may refer to: Places * Bone state, a vassal state of the government of Celebes, Dutch East Indies * Boni MRT Station, a train station in Manila, Philippines * Boni, Benin, an arrondissement in the Collines department of Benin state * Boni (d ...

also desired a peace treaty, but the Society of Suriname, despite contrary advice from the Dutch government, wanted to persecute and destroy the Aluku. Between 1768 and 1793, the Boni wars started in which the Ndyuka side with the Dutch colonists, and it resulted in many Alukus seeking refuge in France on the other side of the Maroni River. In 1895, the village was founded by Granman Ochi. At the time, Boniville was the capital of Aluku tribe. In 1930, the territory of Inini was founded, with Papaichton as one of the administrative divisions. The territory of Inini allowed for an autonomous and self sufficient tribal system for the Maroons without clear borders. In 1946, French Guiana departmentalised, and the territory of Inini became an arrondissement. In 1965, Granman Tolinga moved the capital of the tribe from Boniville to Papaichton. In 1968, the municipal circle of Grand-Santi-Papaichton was created, and a year later became a commune. Along with the commune, came a government structure, and

francisation Francization (in American English, Canadian English, and Oxford English) or Francisation (in other British English), Frenchification, or Gallicization is the expansion of French language use—either through willful adoption or coercion—by mo ...

. Most importantly, it led to the concentration in bigger villages and the near abandonment of smaller settlements. In 1976 the communes separated in Apatou and Grand-Santi-Papaichton, and finally in 1993, Papaichton became an independent commune.

Population

Transport

Papaichton can only be accessed by air, or boat via the Maroni river. The unpaved path between Maripasoula and Papaichton will be turned into a proper road. Road work has commenced on 20 July 2020 and was scheduled to be completed by 2021. There are plans to extent the Route Nationale from Saint-Laurent-du-Maroni to Maripasoula, however the Route Nationale currently ends south of Apatou.

Incident at Loka

Loka is a hamlet in the commune of Papaichton. In April 2006, 14 people of the same family, including 12 children, were found dead, believed to be the result of carbon monoxide poisoning.

Nature

The commune is dominated by the Cottica Mountain, which rises to a height of 744 metres. The mountain was ignored by scientists until 2005 when two naturalists started investigating the area, and discovered a remarkable biodiversity. In 2014, an area of was designated as ZNIEFF, an important natural environment. The Lawa River narrows when it passes through the mountainous area around Cottica, and wild streams with waterfalls descend from the mountains through dense rainforest. The river widens to the north and splits in many streams with large river islands. The nature area around river is called .

Villages

* Boniville *

Cormotibo Cormotibo (Cormontibo, Kormotibo) is a village in western French Guiana, close to the border with Suriname, it is inhabited by Aluku Maroons. The village has been founded by Hervé Tolinga, the son of the granman Granman (Ndyuka language: ''gaa ...

The commune is also home to several small hamlets which have a historic significance to the Aluku people. Between 1793 and 1837, the Aluku settled in Gaan Day (also: ; ). In 1860, a peace treaty was signed with the Ndyuka, and the Aluku were allowed to settle in the village of Abouna Sounga (also: ; ). The

rapids Rapids are sections of a river where the river bed has a relatively steep gradient, causing an increase in water velocity and turbulence. Rapids are hydrological features between a ''run'' (a smoothly flowing part of a stream) and a ''cascade''. ...

of Abouna Sounga form the northern border of the Aluku area. The southern border is the Litani River. L'Enfant Perdu () is a village on a river island across Cottica, Suriname. The Cottica mountain is located on the French side.

Notable people

* Apatou (1833–1908), guide and captain (village chief)

References

External links

Papaichton at Annuaire-mairie
(in French) {{DEFAULTSORT:Papaichton Communes of French Guiana