Origins and
banjo. According to oral history, a man named Mecau, the son of a king from the Kingdom of
Quinara on the south of the river
Geba, arrived at
Bissau on one of his hunting trips. He opted to reside there due to its fertile soil and established a kingdom. From Quinara he brought his pregnant sister Punguenhum and his six wives: Intende, Djokom, Mala, Intsoma, Kliker and Intchipolo. Mecau invited other subjects from his father's kingdom to settle the area of Bissau alongside him. From his sister and six wives seven main Papel clans arose. • The N'nssassun (plural, bossassun) clan comes from the line of Punguenhum. This line inherited commandership roles in the form of kings and nobles (In Kriol, Jagras). They are represented by the
Leopard. Surnames tend to be 'Le' and have traditionally lived in the Bissau region. • The N'nsso (plural, Bosso) clan from the line of Mala traditionally lived in the Bandim region of Bissau. Due to their historical speciality and dedication to agriculture they represented themselves as the
Frog. Their surnames tend to be 'Co'. • The N'ndjukomo (plural, Bodjukumo) clan from the line of Intsoma traditionally lived in the Alto Crim region of Bissau. They are the second most important clan behind the Bossassun. This clan saw themselves as fearless warriors and represented themselves as the
Hyena. Surnames tend to be 'Ca'. • The N'nsafinte (plural, Bosafinte) clan from the line of Djokom traditionally lived in the Safim region of
Biombo. They saw themselves as cunning and were represented by the
hare. They tend to hold the surname 'Te'. • The N'niga (plural, Boiga) clan from the line of Kliker traditionally lived in the Calequir region of Bissau, and they represented themselves as the
Goat due to their speed. They tend to hold the surname 'Sa'. • The N'nssuzu (plural, Bossuzu) clan from the line of Intende traditionally lived in the Mindara region of Bissau and were represented by the
Aardvark. They usually hold the surname 'Dju'. • The N'nttat (plural, Bottat) from the line of Intchipolo traditionally lived in the Bissalanca region of Bissau. They were represented by the
Monkey because their main occupation was to climb trees and extract
palm wine. Their surnames tend to be 'Indi'. The Kingdom of Bissau and the vassal states that belonged to the Papel in the Biombo used a matrilineal line of succession, in which the son of the sovereign's maternal sister was next in line for kingship, or to the nearest male relative in the King's maternal grandparents' line. Individuals would inherit their mother's clan name, although in later times the father's name could and would be taken. L3e2b was more exclusively found in the Papel, this haplogroup resembles haplogroups found in East and Central Africa. The relationship as mentioned was pleasant with King Equendé ruling in 1663, relations were so friendly Lemos Coelho encouraged a movement of persons from Cacheu to Bissau due to the excellent treatment of
Lançados in the Kingdom of Bissau. On 14 February 1891, when the Portuguese called a meeting to adjust the current peace treaty between them, Antula, Intim and for them to submit to Portuguese authority of which only chiefs of Antula agreed to. This situation caused war to break out with the other Papel vassal states attacking the Portuguese fortress eight days later, and killing the soldiers guarding the bastions though the Portuguese defended themselves effectively until reinforcements arrived. The attack plunged the region into a state of hostilities with the Portuguese declaration of war on the next day, banning the sales of guns and gunpowder to the natives, and increasing gunboat patrols of the local waters. On 24 February 120 Portuguese troops accompanied by five officers marched into Papel territory, the troops were crushed by the Papels and forced to retreat. On 9 March that year the Portuguese once again were defeated by the Papels, and in the month of May during the Portuguese attempt under Minister Antonio Eanes to extend the wall of one of their fortresses, the Papels opened fire on them handing the Portuguese another defeat, this led to Papel warriors replacing their necklaces usually decorated with beads with the teeth of their fallen enemies. The relationship between the Papels and Portuguese were so sour that the Papels would watch the fortress continuously, waiting for people to leave, this occurred when a Cape Verdean left the fortress and was set upon by Papels and killed, they were reported to then of gathered at the top of Intim celebrating the killing with war dances and making preparations for war. This is what they got, the Portuguese on 1 December declared war on the Papels once again for the murder, they bombarded Bissau with artillery pieces and would regularly enter gunfights with the Papels, this attack did not result in a Papel full out attack which confused the Portuguese into a belief of victory. The Papel lack of response was due to their mobilisation of other ethnicities into the war such as the Balanta, the Papel had planned a sneak attack on 7 December but even though it came as a surprise, the Portuguese were able to escape defeat due to the increased security they prepared around the fortress.
1900–2000 AD The Portuguese suffered major defeats from the Papels during their pacification campaign in the years 1891, 1894, and 1904. After the Republican take over and reformation of Portugal in 1910 changes to the colonial approach in Guinea-Bissau were implemented, such changes were necessary due to the situation in the colony which is summarised in the writings of Portuguese military officer
Teixeira Pinto: Teixeira Pinto was the military officer entrusted by the Republican government to finally subdue the Papels, and in May 1915 Teixeira ordered the Papel to surrender their weapons and pay their taxes in the form of a letter to King N'Kanande Ka of Bissau. He rejected the demand, claiming that "The ground...will forever belong to the Papel people". Teixeira was furious and on 13 May he declared war on the Kingdom of Bissau. Hostilities began on 29 May where observing a shuttle of boats from a river bank Papel forces began unleashing gunfire on to Portuguese troops, in response Portuguese troops set machine gun fire on them. Teixeira gave the orders to continuously bombard the territory of Antula. On 31 May an attack was launched by the Papel on Portuguese troops transporting artillery near a Portuguese town, who in turn returned gunfire. The day after this attack, the Portuguese responded with the use of machine gunning on Papel villages. The war continued with this back and forth style of warfare, at one point in a show of resistance the Papel forces proactively advanced on Portuguese troops and their auxiliaries, the Papels descended upon them from the heights of Intim by the thousands. However, with no real success up to this point, Pinto marched on Bandim and Intim on 5 June with a large collection of artillery, and with a force of 1500 soldiers consisting of Fula's and other indigenous conscripts. This was to cover
Abdul Injai who was marching on Antula. The Papels tried to defend their position through the use of continuous gunfire, but in the face of skilled soldiers armed with machine guns they could do little and were defeated at Bandim. Pinto was injured during the battle of Jaal in Safim on 12 June, during an ambush when Papels hiding on higher ground fired on the marching troops. It is believed that a Papel soldier named N'djilonde Ca was the one who shot Teixeira off his horse. Teixeira was replaced with Lieutenant Henrique de Sousa Guerra, who took command of the operations against the Papels in Quisset and
Prabis. Antula was conquered due an event in which the majority Papel soldiers of Antula went to a peace talk between their chiefs and the Portuguese governor, here they got drunk and on the way back to Antula they were attacked by the Portuguese and defeated. The Papel response to this was to sack villages and loot the stores the week after. Once the objective of subduing the Papels was accomplished in these areas of Bissau, the Portuguese marched on to
Quinhamel in the area of Biombo. It was in this region on 20 July 1915 that King N'Kanande Ka incorporated a false surrender, firing upon the column of Portuguese forces and signalling the Papel forces to make a final attack. The final attack was a failure and N'Kanande was captured by the Portuguese and sentenced to death by Teixeira Pinto. He was tortured and buried alive while his pregnant wife was shot. The death of N'Kanande Ka ended the revolts and resistance of the Papels against the Portuguese, and solidified their subsequent submission to Portuguese authority and tax. As a sign of their defeat Teixeira had military posts constructed in the areas of Bor, Safim, Bijimita, and Biombo. The wars against the Papel were some of the bloodiest wars in the whole campaign, according to Abdul Injai, an important warlord whose assistance was instrumental in the conquest of Guinea-Bissau. == Demography ==