Boniville
Agoodé | |
---|---|
Village | |
Coordinates: 3°50′02″N 54°11′08″W / 3.8339°N 54.1855°W | |
Country | France |
Overseas region | French Guiana |
Arrondissement | Saint-Laurent-du-Maroni |
Commune | Papaïchton |
Boniville (also Agoodé [2]) is a village of Aluku Maroons [3] in the commune of Papaïchton located on the Lawa River in French Guiana.
On 25 May 1891, the Aluku, a tribe of escaped slaves from Suriname, became French citizens, [4] and Granman Ochi became the first officially recognized paramount chief of the tribe. [5] In 1895, Ochi founded the village of Boniville [6] to serve as the administrative centre for the tribe. [7]
In 1965, Granman Tolinga moved the capital from Boniville to Papaïchton, [7] and as of 1993, Boniville is a village within the commune of Papaïchton. [4] The village has lost its importance, and has been reduced to a small hamlet. [8] Boniville is still characterised by traditional Aluku architecture with tembé (painted and carved wood work). [9] In 2017, five traditional houses in Boniville and Loca were restored by the National Forests Office. [10]
Papaïchton can only be accessed by plane from the Maripasoula Airport, or by boat via the Lawa river. [11] There is an unpaved path to Maripasoula. On 20 July 2020, construction has started on a proper road which is scheduled to be completed by 2021. [12]
{{
cite journal}}
: Cite journal requires |journal=
(
help)