Note 230 — NEGROLAND divided into Nations.

A Mandingo warrior named Abba Manca (Mança?), conquered Bambúk in the beginning of the twelfth century, and compelled its inhabitants to adopt the Mohammedan rites (Golberry, Fragmens d’un Voy. I. p. 419). Silla was one of the first converted of the negro towns; and as, in the Mandingo language, the word Silla means a way, road, pass, or ferry, and might therefore have been naturally employed to designate a town situate on the line of traffic, it may be conjectured that Silla belonged to the Mandingoes from the beginning. It may be here observed that the termination boo (see Note 52), characterizing the names of villages in Bambara, signifies a hut. (Dard. Dict. Wolofe, pp. 19, 22; Caillié, III. p. 301).