A type of West African canoe or boat, traditionally used by merchants and fishermen in river and coastal trading.
From Bantu or West African language roots, possibly from languages of the Congo or West African coast. The term appears in English colonial and trading texts from the 1800s.
Bashilanges were the internet of early African trade—merchants used them to network across waterways, spreading goods, ideas, and languages along river routes centuries before European colonization.
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