Kankan

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title: "Kankan" type: doc version: 1 created: 2026-02-28 author: "Wikipedia contributors" status: active scope: public tags: ["kankan", "sub-prefectures-of-the-kankan-region", "wangara-trade-towns"] topic_path: "general/kankan" source: "https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Kankan" license: "CC BY-SA 4.0" wikipedia_page_id: 0 wikipedia_revision_id: 0

::data[format=table title="Infobox settlement"]

FieldValue
name
native_name
settlement_typeSub-prefecture and town
motto
image_skylineKankan (14604699012).jpg
imagesize300px
image_captionDowntown Kankan
pushpin_mapGuinea
pushpin_mapsize300
pushpin_map_caption
subdivision_typeCountry
subdivision_name[[File:Flag of Guinea.svg
subdivision_type1Region
subdivision_name1Kankan Region
subdivision_type2Prefecture
subdivision_name2Kankan Prefecture
subdivision_name4
leader_titleMayor
leader_nameMory Kolofon Diakité
leader_title1
established_title
established_title2
established_title3
established_date3
unit_prefImperial
area_land_km2
area_blank1_sq_mi
population_as_of2020
population_total198,013
population_blank1_titleEthnicities
population_blank2_titleReligions
population_density_blank1_sq_mi
coordinates
elevation_footnotes
elevation_ft
postal_code_type
::

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Kankan (Mandingo: Kánkàn; N’ko: ߞߊ߲ߞߊ߲߫) is the largest city in Guinea in land area, and the third largest in population, with a population of 198,013 people as of 2020. The city is located in eastern Guinea about 345 mi east of the national capital Conakry.

The city is the capital and largest town of the Kankan Prefecture and of the Kankan Region with its population being largely from the Mandinka ethnic group.

Etymology

Kankan had different names before being dubbed Kankan during Arafan Kabine's rule as patriarch, which means 'the defenses' (or 'God protect our city from all the attacks'), due to successives attacks by the unfaithful people.

But there are other terms which says that during the Kaba's negotiation of the place from Conde's, they were informed to install where the people made the Kankan (A fixed wood that Mandes often used as a door), and there were no other human settlement between Makonon and Diankana (30 km) during this moment.

The other terms are used by the griots, that there were too much of the Kankan-Kissè (an arborescent name) in to the area that Kankan settled in, so the Conde's told the Kaba to install this place, which made the Kaba to rename it as Kankan. Those terms have no sources and the speakers didn't know anything about Kankan's history.

Geography

The city is located on the Milo River, a tributary of the Niger River.

History

Early history

According to oral histories, Kankan was founded in 1690 by Daouda Kaba, whose ancestors had come from Diafounou, in what is now Mali, a few decades earlier. His uncle Fodemoudou Conde, chief of the nearby village Makonon, gave Kaba the land on the banks of the Milo river near where the bridge is today, which was open bush. The hamlet was originally called Fadou (place of plenty), then Kaourou (prosperous place), then Nabaya (place of welcome).

Another tradition holds that Kankan was founded in the mid 17th century by Dyula traders of the Sarif and Sanyo families. By the 18th century it was an important religious center under the great marabout and Islamic scholar Alfa Kaabinè Kaba as well as a center of trade linking the coast, the kola nut growing regions, and the Niger river valley to the north. During this period Kankan was the capital of the Bate Empire.

In 1763 the warlord Bourama Diakite from Wassoulou drove the inhabitants of the Bate region, including Kankan, intto Fouta Jalon, where they took refuge in Timbo and Fougoumba due to their shared Islamic background. Their exile lasted seven years. Upon their return in 1770 they rebuilt and fortified the town and renamed it Kankan, meaning 'protected city'. The new town was built in six districts, two of which were named after the towns that had sheltered their inhabitants during exile. Timbo neighborhood still exists today..

Another later invasion from Wassoulou, led by the kings Diédi and Djiba (or DJI), attempted to conquer Kankan but it was defeated by Alpha-Mamoudou Kaba..

The French explorer René Caillié spent a month in Kankan in 1827 during his journey from Boké, in present-day Guinea, to Djenné and Timbuktu in Mali. He arrived with a caravan transporting kola nuts. He described the visit in his book Travels through Central Africa to Timbuctoo. The town had a population of 6,000 inhabitants and was an important commercial centre with a market held three times a week. Instead of having a surrounding mud wall, the town was defended by quickset hedges. The chief of the town refused Caillié permission to travel along the river to the north as the town of Kankan was fighting for control of the Bouré gold producing area around Siguiri and the Tinkisso River. Instead Caillié left the town heading east in the direction of Minignan in the Ivory Coast.

Alliance with Samori and conflict

After defeating Jamoro Aji and Ouorokodo Famoudou in the Battle of Saman-Saman, Kankan sent emissaries to join the theocratic alliance led by Samori Ture and signed the peace treaty with him.

While Samori was trying to conquering the Cissé kingdom, he called on Bate (Kankan) to help him, but Kankan categorically refused because one of the Séré-Bréma's wives, Mali Kaba, was from Kankan. Samori saw this as a betrayal, and in 1879 sent troops to besiege the town within three months. Mamadi Kaba (commonly known as Dayi Kaba) escaped the besieged city. During this siege, Karifamoudouya sent troops to break the siege over Kankan, but they were repelled and massacred until they crossed the River Gbourouroun, the border between two cities.. After having driven out the Kaba, Samori installed a puppet ruler. Kaba, meanwhile, joined the French colonial forces in Ségou, fighting with them until they captured Kankan in 1891, at which point the dynasty was restored.

Colonial Era

In 1904, the city was chosen as the final destination for the railroad originating in Conakry. This was eventually completed in 1914, enhancing Kankan's longstanding position as a crossroads of trade. By 1922 it was widely seen as the second city of Guinea, after the capital Conkary.

Climate

Kankan has a tropical savanna climate (Köppen climate classification Aw).

| width = auto | metric first = yes | single line = yes | location = Kankan (1991–2020) | Jan high C = 34.4 | Feb high C = 36.7 | Mar high C = 37.9 | Apr high C = 37.3 | May high C = 35.0 | Jun high C = 32.3 | Jul high C = 30.7 | Aug high C = 30.4 | Sep high C = 31.1 | Oct high C = 32.7 | Nov high C = 34.3 | Dec high C = 34.4 | year high C = 33.9

| Jan mean C = 24.7 | Feb mean C = 27.6 | Mar mean C = 30.1 | Apr mean C = 30.6 | May mean C = 28.9 | Jun mean C = 26.9 | Jul mean C = 25.9 | Aug mean C = 25.8 | Sep mean C = 25.9 | Oct mean C = 26.9 | Nov mean C = 26.5 | Dec mean C = 24.7 | year mean C = 27.0

| Jan low C = 15.0 | Feb low C = 18.4 | Mar low C = 22.4 | Apr low C = 23.9 | May low C = 22.8 | Jun low C = 21.5 | Jul low C = 21.1 | Aug low C = 21.1 | Sep low C = 20.8 | Oct low C = 21.0 | Nov low C = 18.7 | Dec low C = 15.0 | year low C = 20.1

| precipitation colour = green | Jan precipitation mm = 3.5 | Feb precipitation mm = 4.5 | Mar precipitation mm = 18.4 | Apr precipitation mm = 48.3 | May precipitation mm = 132.3 | Jun precipitation mm = 181.3 | Jul precipitation mm = 235.2 | Aug precipitation mm = 352.2 | Sep precipitation mm = 314.8 | Oct precipitation mm = 132.8 | Nov precipitation mm = 18.5 | Dec precipitation mm = 0.0 | year precipitation mm = 1441.8

| unit precipitation days = 1.0 mm | Jan precipitation days = 0.5 | Feb precipitation days = 0.5 | Mar precipitation days = 2.0 | Apr precipitation days = 4.5 | May precipitation days = 8.9 | Jun precipitation days = 13.2 | Jul precipitation days = 14.7 | Aug precipitation days = 19.2 | Sep precipitation days = 18.2 | Oct precipitation days = 10.7 | Nov precipitation days = 1.3 | Dec precipitation days = 0.0 | year precipitation days = 93.7

|Jan humidity = 38 |Feb humidity = 35 |Mar humidity = 38 |Apr humidity = 49 |May humidity = 63 |Jun humidity = 73 |Jul humidity = 77 |Aug humidity = 79 |Sep humidity = 77 |Oct humidity = 75 |Nov humidity = 57 |Dec humidity = 46 |year humidity = 59 |Jan sun = 262 |Feb sun = 236 |Mar sun = 249 |Apr sun = 220 |May sun = 234 |Jun sun = 216 |Jul sun = 169 |Aug sun = 159 |Sep sun = 191 |Oct sun = 221 |Nov sun = 241 |Dec sun = 260 | source = NOAA (humidity, sun 1961–1990){{cite web |url = https://www.nodc.noaa.gov/archive/arc0216/0253808/2.2/data/0-data/Region-1-WMO-Normals-9120/Guinea/CSV/KANKAN_61829.csv |title = World Meteorological Organization Climate Normals for 1991-2020 — Kankan |publisher = National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration |access-date = January 4, 2024}}{{Cite FTP | url = ftp://ftp.atdd.noaa.gov/pub/GCOS/WMO-Normals/TABLES/REG__I/GW/61829.TXT | server = National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration | title = Kankan Climate Normals 1961–1990 | access-date = July 6, 2015}}

Education

The Julius Nyerere University of Kankan was founded in 1964.

Places of worship

::figure[src="https://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/2/28/ߞߊ߲ߞߊ߲߫_ߡߌ߲߬ߛߙߌߓߊ߫_Grande_Mosquée_de_Kankan.jpg" caption="The great Mosque of Kankan"] ::

Among the places of worship, they are predominantly Muslim mosques. There are also Christian churches and temples : the Roman Catholic Diocese of Kankan (Catholic Church), Église Protestante Évangélique de Guinée (Alliance World Fellowship), Assemblies of God.

Transports

::figure[src="https://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/d/d1/ߞߊ߲ߞߊ߲߫_ߕߌ߲߬ߞߎߘߎ߲_ߞߐ߲߬ߛߏ߬_ߜߘߋ.jpg" caption="Regional parking of Kankan"] ::

It is home to the Kankan Airport and a river port. Kankan is the terminus of the lightduty narrow gauge railway from Conakry (traffic suspended since 1993). The N1 highway connects the city with Nzerekore in the south.

Notable people

References

References

  1. (2018). "Commune de Kankan : Mory ‘’Kolofon’’ Diakité du RPG élu maire !".
  2. "Etat et Structure de la Population Recensement General de la Population et de l’habitation 2020".
  4. "Etat et Structure de la Population Recensement General de la Population et de l’habitation 2014".
  5. (20 Jan 2017). "Bref rappel historique de la fondation de la ville de Kankan par Daouda Kaba en 1690".
  6. (1985). "The Mane, the Decline of Mali, and Mandinka Expansion towards the South Windward Coast". Cahiers d'Études Africaines.
  7. (29 May 2020). "The History of Guinea". [[Oxford University Press]].
  8. Caillié, René. (1830). "Travels through Central Africa to Timbuctoo; and across the Great Desert, to Morocco, performed in the years 1824-1828 (Volume 1)". Colburn & Bentley.
  9. Quella-Villéger, Alain. (2012). "René Caillié, l'Africain : une vie d'explorateur, 1799-1838". Aubéron.
  10. (2005). "Encyclopedia of African History and Culture". Facts On File.
  11. J. Gordon Melton, Martin Baumann, ‘‘Religions of the World: A Comprehensive Encyclopedia of Beliefs and Practices’’, ABC-CLIO, USA, 2010, p. 1279

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kankansub-prefectures-of-the-kankan-regionwangara-trade-towns