The Balanta (same spelling in Guinea-Bissau Creole and Portuguese, balante in French transliteration), meaning literally “those who resist”, are an ethnic group found in Guinea-Bissau, Senegal, and the Gambia. They are the largest ethnic group of Guinea-Bissau, representing more than one-quarter of the population. Despite their numbers, they have remained outside the colonial and postcolonial state because of their social organization. The Balanta can be divided into four subgroups, (three of which are Balanta Kentohe, Balanta Ganja, and Balanta Brassa, the largest of which are the Balanta Brassa. Archaeologists believe that the people who became the Balanta migrated to present-day Guinea-Bissau in small groups between the tenth and fourteenth centuries C.E. During the nineteenth century, they spread throughout the area that is now Guinea-Bissau and southern Senegal in order to resist the expansion of the Kaabu kingdom. Today, the Balanta are mostly found in the southern and central regions of Guinea-Bissau.
