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Q. What is the Arabic form of the Kingdom name?
A. It is officially Mamlakaa Biffeche: 
rather than Al Mamlakaatoul Biffeche, although the latter
is a common and harmless mistake.
Q. Has Biffeche ever had a Queen?
A. The wives
of the Kings are Queens, but Biffeche has not had a ruling
Queen in over 400 years. There is no law against it in the Biffeche
system of Royal succession, but it has not been our custom recently
to have a ruling Queen.
Q. Is there polygamy (one man, multiple women)
in Biffeche?
A. Yes, sometimes. But not among our strictly Roman
Catholic Christians. Muslims are allowed up to four wives by the
sacred Koran. Followers of the old religion of the Great White
Leopard and Pangool are allowed to marry as many wives as they can
comfortably support.
Q. The late Edward Schafer (H.M., King Edward
I) was a Roman Catholic Christian from Saint Louis, Missouri, USA,
chosen and sanctified by the Catholic Church; how do Biffeche's
Muslims feel about him?
A. The evidence today is that the Muslims
revere Edward I as much as the Christians do. (The same is true of
our current King, H.M., Ronald I.) The Muslims gave attention and
respect and reverence to the great tomb of King Edward at Savoigne.
They are welcome to visit it on pilgrimages to Savoigne.
Our current King is punctilious about honoring all Biffeche
religions and he is especially beloved by the followers of Pangool
and the Great White Leopard.
Q. Can the Reverend Father Timothy, Baron of
Mells, Roman Catholic Priest, and Benedictine Monk in Saint Louis
and Chaplain Royal of the Kingdom of Biffeche, write with authority
for or about the Kingdom?
A. Yes, on the Christian spiritual matters
involved. He advises, blesses and Royally supports our Kings. He has
been the official Christian Chaplain Royal of Biffeche for over 25
years and was dearly beloved by our late King Edward I. Fr. Timothy
never addresses any issues of Islam, White Leopard, or Pangool, nor
does he exert any civic or temporal authority over the people of
Biffeche.
Q. Does the Reverend Brother Emanuele Zanaboni,
an Italian lay priest and monk of St. John of God, write with
authority for or about the Kingdom?
A. No, he writes and speaks his
own personal opinion only. He has no office or title in the
Kingdom, nor any civic authority over us. He is
not our Chef de Village. He is stationed at our St. Blaise Center.
He is a legitimate Roman Catholic Christian monk and priest from
Milano, Italy who has performed many good works that were valuable
to the Kingdom in the past, but he presently is in a feuding battle
with the whole Christian congregation from Biffeche and he
continually disrespects our elders, Chefs des Villages, aristocrats
and Conseils des Anciens. In 1999, he promised not to interfere in
our civic village matters anymore (confirmed by his supervising
Diocese of Saint-Louis), but he has not kept that promise. Fr.
Zanaboni writes inappropriate letters and mass-mailings to stir up
needless disagreements, but he does not answer most sincere
correspondence inquiries truthfully (or, most often, at all). He
(very unsuccessfully!) tries to make us feel ashamed of the history
of our Kingdom, and his anti-Americanism is a kind of racism that
Africans who are actually concerned do not feel at all. He says that
he is the one who is doing God's work in Biffeche, and that we
should obey him. He has become improperly familiar with certain of
our youth against our respected ancients and chefs, and he has
violated our customs of honor, seniority and and precedence. He
started a number of complicated political campaigns (seeking to
influence the Kingdom by the famous "fine Italian hand")
which we think have no chance of success. We are very proud of our
Kingdom of Biffeche and our history and Kings and our way of life
and we make no apologies to persons (if there are any) who think
like Fr. Zanaboni about about us. [Note: In January, 2001, we asked
permission from the King to put this FAQ answer in the official
web-page. The King had no objection and made no comment on it.]
Q. Do the Biffeche mind being photographed?
A.
No, we love being photographed, Muslim, Christian, and followers of
the Great White Leopard alike. It is no problem. The most wonderful
character studies in West Africa may be obtained in Biffeche, as
well as shots of many exceptionally handsome people.
Q. Can I build a house or villa in Biffeche?
A.
Often this can be arranged. Contact the Offices of the Kingdom, or
the relevant Chef de Village if you wish to build at or near a
village. Those who build important villas tend to be aristocrats,
chiefs or imams.
Q. What is the weather like in Biffeche?
A. We
have beautiful, perfect weather in the months of November through
February. It is dry, desert climate but cool and pleasant with blue
skies. In this period it virtually never rains. In summer, however,
it gets hot, and then the rains come to replenish our fields and
gardens. Sometimes you will see the remarkable Harmattan
wind, close-up, as it blows Saharan dust up into the sky to make
beautiful sunsets.
Q. Are there lions and tigers in the Kingdom of
Biffeche?
A. For tigers the answer is simple: tigers are in Asia,
not Africa. For lions, very probably not, but we are not completely
sure. Visual reports can be unreliable. No lion has been
photographed wild in the Kingdom of Biffeche in many years. There is
a remote possibility, since there are parts of Biffeche where nobody
goes, that there could be a few lion families. Mysteriously mangled,
eaten sheep and goats have been reported occasionally, over the
years (sometimes the Great White Leopard may be assumed). The lion is an
appealing possibility because, if there is indeed a lion left in
Biffeche, it is, with little doubt, probably the largest specimen of
a lion on earth. The largest lions in Africa still live in the
Sengambia area, and traditionally in the old times the largest
(male) lions in the Senegambia area hunted in Biffeche.
Q. Is Biffeche in the Jungle?
A. No, we have
fields, lakes, sand dunes, stands of acacia and other remarkable
trees, palms, forests and the great Baobab, but no thick jungle like
Gabon or Congo. In ancient times we believe that there was jungle in
Biffeche, before the Sahara spread south to the Sahel region. It is
in our memories and legends.
Q.Where is the Biffeche River?
A. That is just
the old name of the Marigot de Lampsar, in southeastern Biffeche.
Q. How old is the Kingdom of Biffeche?
A. According to our traditions, Biffeche was founded by the
Great White Leopard at the beginning of time. The oldest
western records in our control date the Kingdom of Biffeche back to
at least 1726 ce.
Q. When was the Kingdom of Biffeche
conquered by France?
A. Contrary to French
maps at the time, Biffeche always maintained her independence from
any western colonial powers.
Biffeche is one of the very few places in Africa which has been able to withstand
the imposition of such a yoke.
Q. How many Kings have there been in
Biffeche?
A. From our traditional founder, the Great
White Leopard, who was our first King, to Ronald I, our present
King, there have been a total of 101 Kings. As we all dearly
love our King, we pray that the 102nd King will not be enthroned for
many, many years. |
