The Tenda or Tanda are an ethnolinguistic group living in eastern Senegal, Guinea, and Guinea-Bissau, including the Basaris, Konagis (Coniagui), Badyarans (Bajaranke, Badyaranke), Bediks, Boenis, and Mayos.
The Konagis, Basaris, and Badyaran are concentrated around Youkoukoun in the northern part of middle Guinea. The Konagis and Basaris actually straddle the border between Senegal and Guinea. The Boenis are probably Basaris who converted to Islam. During the years of the slave trade, the Tenda peoples fled to the isolated hills of southeastern Senegal and across the border in Guinea and Guinea-Bissau.
Their population today is approximately 30,000 people.
Tenda is the Mandinka word for a landing place or wharf, reflecting the Tenda region's historic importance as a river crossing.
The Tenda historically occupied much of what is now southeastern Senegal. In particular, the stretch of the Gambia river between the Nieriko and Niokolo Koba was not navigable by water but offered many excellent fords. It was a preferred crossing place for caravans plying the trade routes that linked Kaabu, the Futa Jallon, the states of Senegambia, the gold fields of Bambouk and Bure, and the great Niger river cities such as Djenné.
The area was a major source of slaves from the 1670s to the 1730s.
The Tenda languages are a part of the Senegambian language family.
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