Thursday, December 1, 2011

The Balanta of Guinea-Bissau

Since my discovery of my maternal Balanta genetic heritage, there has been an explosion of information online about all things Balanta and Guinea-Bissau. With the increased amount of genetic testing being done by African Americans, many groups and cultural exchanges have taken place through the Internet.  Here are a few of my favorite videos  and online resources about the Balanta and Guinea-Bissau.

Typical Banlanta trube music called Broksa. According to my source, there is an annual festival of this dance organized in the village of Nhacra just outside of the capital Bissau.
 
 
There is also a new documentary about Amilcar Cabral (1924 - 1973) the father of Guinea-Bissau Independence movement.  For more detailed information about the film and the Cabralista movement which seeks to honor Amilcar Cabral visit the website http://www.cabralista.com.
 
BBC Radio 3 World Routes Guinea-Bissau Part 2
 Groups: (note that some groups you must have a facebook account to join or view)
https://www.facebook.com/groups/ATOGB/
https://www.facebook.com/pages/The-Balanta-Tribe/156610237683310

2 comments:

Kristin said...

We named our youngest son Cabral in honor of Amilcar Cabral.

The Family Griot said...

That's awesome Kristin!