Baïla | |
Settlement Type: | Village |
Pushpin Map: | Senegal |
Subdivision Type: | Country |
Subdivision Name: | Senegal |
Subdivision Type1: | Region |
Subdivision Name1: | Ziguinchor |
Subdivision Type2: | Department |
Subdivision Name2: | Bignona |
Population Total: | 1287 |
Coordinates: | 12.8942°N -16.3522°W |
Baïla is a village in the rural community of Suelle, Sindian, Bignona, Ziguinchor, Casamance, Senegal.
Boukout, a Jola rite of passage, took place in Baïla for the first time in 1971, but it was 36 years before it was held there again. On August 4, 2007, thousands of people gathered for the occasion. In 2002, the French commune of Houdan committed to providing Baïla with humanitarian aid, both economically and culturally.
Baïla is one of 16 villages in Suelle.
The village is located approximately from Ziguinchor and from Bignona on the N5 road that leads to Banjul, The Gambia. The nearest towns are Tilaye, Belaye, Diakoye, Diatang, Kaparan, and Diegoun.
According to PEPAM (Water and Sanitation Program for the Millennium), there are 1287 people and 179 households in Baïla. Most of the population is Jola, specifically Jola Fogny, a subgroup within the ethnicity. Pierre Goudiaby Atepa, an architect, was born in Baïla.
In Baïla, there is a kapok tree—a common name for fibre-producing trees of the Malvaceae family—considered sacred by the population, which is 14 centuries old.