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Guinea-Bissau Sacred Forests (Bijagós & Felupe)
NW Guinea-Bissau & the 88-island Bijagós Archipelago
Guinea-Bissau
Active
Regional cluster
- Location
- NW Guinea-Bissau & the 88-island Bijagós Archipelago
- Coordinates
- ~11.3°N 16.0°W
- Elevation
- Coastal islands & lowland
- Size
- Hundreds of sacred forests (e.g., Cobiana, Colage)
- Age / Founded
- Ancient (land-based religion)
- Status
- Active
- Deity & Religion
- Ancestral spirits & land deities; Bijagós (matriarchal) & Felupe traditional religions
- Community & Guardians
- Bijagós (female priests) & Felupe (Amanhe king, Alamba landowner, Obiapulo, Kassetin)
- Vernacular name
- Mato sagrado (sacred forest)
- Record type
- Regional cluster
Cultural practices & uses
Absolute no-tree-cutting rule; restricted-access initiation & ceremony sites
Plant species
Coastal & island forest; mangroves
Biome & fauna
Bijagós (UNESCO Biosphere Reserve) forests; primates, turtles, 508 bird species nationally
Threats & protection
Taboo-protected; growing formal recognition of coastal sacred natural sites
Source
Mongabay 2019 'Tradition and taboo keep Guinea-Bissau's forests standing'; Sacred Land — Bijagós Archipelago