Thionck Essyl (also called Tionk Essil) is a town in

Ziguinchor Ziguinchor (; wo, Siggcoor ; ar, زيغينكور) is the capital of the Ziguinchor Region, and the chief town of the Casamance area of Senegal, lying at the mouth of the Casamance River. It has a population of over 230,000 (2007 estimate). I ...

Senegal Senegal,; Wolof: ''Senegaal''; Pulaar: 𞤅𞤫𞤲𞤫𞤺𞤢𞥄𞤤𞤭 (Senegaali); Arabic: السنغال ''As-Sinighal'') officially the Republic of Senegal,; Wolof: ''Réewum Senegaal''; Pulaar : 𞤈𞤫𞤲𞤣𞤢𞥄𞤲𞤣� ...

, located 65 km north-west of the region capital.

Etymology

The name of the town means "cook remaining crouched."

History

The origins of the town are connected to the kingdom of Mof-Ewi, when it was populated by

defectors In politics, a defector is a person who gives up allegiance to one state in exchange for allegiance to another, changing sides in a way which is considered illegitimate by the first state. More broadly, defection involves abandoning a person, ca ...

from

Guinea-Bissau Guinea-Bissau ( ; pt, Guiné-Bissau; ff, italic=no, 𞤘𞤭𞤲𞤫 𞤄𞤭𞤧𞤢𞥄𞤱𞤮, Gine-Bisaawo, script=Adlm; Mandinka: ''Gine-Bisawo''), officially the Republic of Guinea-Bissau ( pt, República da Guiné-Bissau, links=no ), ...

. Long considered the largest village in Senegal, the village was

urbanized ''Urbanized'' is a documentary film directed by Gary Hustwit and released on 26 October 2011. It is considered the third of a three-part series on design known as the Design Trilogy; the first being '' Helvetica'', about the typeface, and the s ...

in 1990.

Administration

Thionck Essyl is part of the

arrondissement An arrondissement (, , ) is any of various administrative divisions of France, Belgium, Haiti, certain other Francophone countries, as well as the Netherlands. Europe France The 101 French departments are divided into 342 ''arrondissements'' ...

Tendouck Tendouck Arrondissement is an arrondissement of the Bignona Department in the Ziguinchor Region of Senegal Senegal,; Wolof: ''Senegaal''; Pulaar: 𞤅𞤫𞤲𞤫𞤺𞤢𞥄𞤤𞤭 (Senegaali); Arabic: السنغال ''As-Sinighal'') ...

Bignona Bignona is a town with commune status located in the Ziguinchor Region of Senegal (Casamance). It briefly appears in the movie ''Binta and the Great Idea.'' Its population on 2013 was 27,826. Notable people *Landing Savané, politician *Ibrahi ...

, Ziguinchor.

Geography

The nearest towns are Hilol, Mantat, Etouta,

Mlomp Mlomp is a rural community and village in the Ziguinchor Region of Senegal in the Casamance, situated approximately south-west of Ziguinchor. As of 2000, it had a population of 7,628, rising to around 8,500 in 2006. Most inhabitants are of Diol ...

, and Djimande.
View map to locate Thionck Essyl
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Population

The population is primarily Jola. Some sources suggest that more than 10000 people live in Thionck Essyl, however the census of 2002 stated that the town's population was only 8006 living in 1021 households. According to official estimates, the population was supposed to reach 8507 by the end of 2007. According to PEPAM (Water and Sanitation Program for the Millennium), however, there are currently 6954 people and 968 households in Thionck Essyl.

Economy

The borders of the town do not lend themselves to easy growth. The town hospital is not very functional because of the law budget, there remains 2 doctors, of the more than 10 there were. There is a high school in the town.

References

External links

Thionck Essyl on the PEPAM website

Les Amis de Thionck Essyl
Populated places in the Bignona Department Communes of Senegal {{Bignona Department Cooperation has been established with medical doctors from Barcelona.