Canquelifá, sometimes spelled Kankelefa, is a village in the Gabú Region of north-eastern Guinea-Bissau. It lies to the northwest of Buruntuma.
A drawing of the tata of Kankelefa in 1849
Kankelefa was the site of a large tata, the home and power center of the ruler of Paquesi, one of the constituent kingdoms of the Kaabu Empire. It consisted of a series of concentric 12m tall zig-zag walls built of rammed earth, complete with towers.
References
^Canós-Donnay, Sirio (2022). "Fluid fortresses in changing states: Tàta in southern Senegal (13th–19th centuries AD)". In Ibsen, Timo; Ilves, Kristin; Maixner, Birgit; Messal, Sebastian; Schneeweiß, Jens (eds.). Fortifications in their Natural and Cultural Landscape: From Organising Space to the Creation of Power. Bonn: Habelt-Verlag. pp. 72–3.
