Bassari people

The Bassari are an ethnic group who live primarily in Senegal, with some diaspora into Gambia, Guinea and Guinea-Bissau. They are a matrilineal society stratified into different co ed social groups by age. The Bassari speak a Tenda language called o-niyan. They are mainly subsistence farmers growing for self consumption, with fonio being a crop of large importance both to combat climate change and for cultural significance. The majority of the Bassari are animists, and the men take part in the Kore initiation society. Their art is mainly metallurgy, made for both cosmetic decoration and regalia with significance to the initiation society. The total population is estimated to be 15,000. Most of the Bassari are concentrated on either side of the Senegal-Guinea border southwest of Kedougou, Kédougou Region, which is part of the larger Bassari Country. This area is referred to in French as Pays Bassari, or liyan in the Bassari language. They migrate to the cities and towns of Senegal and Guinea in the dry season in search of wage-labor, using the money they earn to buy household equipment, clothing and other necessary items. Within the Kedougou Region, there are three cultural landscapes divided between the Bassari, the Bedik, and the Fula people. The area of Kedougou inhabited by the Bassari is known as Salemata. On the Guinean side of the border, the Bassari mainly live in a group of villages collectively referred to as Bokore, which can be translated to "Those of Kore," Kore being the name of the initiation society within the region. The Bassari are subsistence farmers for the most part, growing rice, millet, earth-peas and fonio. Within Bassari Country around 80% of production is for self consumption, as the off season from August to November are particular harsh agriculturally. The Bassari particularly have been documented to stock pile food for 2–3 years in advance, which also opens up opportunity for market trade with neighboring communities. The Festival of the Fonio is an annual event used to popularize the usage of fonio as a local crop and food in the Kedougou region.