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Tribe Snapshots Ngbaka |
| Location: |
Northern Congo
(Zaire) |
| Population: |
400,000 |
| Language: |
Gbaya (Ubangi) |
| Neighboring
Peoples: |
Ngbandi, Ngombe, Gbaya, Mono |
| Types
of Art: |
The most common forms of sculpture center around
representations of Seto and Nabo. Often they are
portrayed with a heavy ridge of scars which bisect
the forehead vertically. The Ngbaka also carve
several types of masks and numerous utilitarian
objects. |
| History: |
The Ngbaka arrived on the Gemena Plateau in
1920. They migrated from the area around Lake
Chad to the north with the Manja and Gbaya peoples.
Throughout their travels they encountered numerous
peoples who influenced their direction. It is
known that the Ngbaka had contact with the Mabo
at the Lua-Dekere River and with the Mono at the
Bembe and Lubia Rivers. Although they share many
cultural similarities with their neighbors, the
Gbaya, they speak slightly different languages
and consider themselves separate peoples. There
is constant contact between them and their other
neighbors the Ngbandi and Ngombe, yet there is
often conflict between them over landownership. |
| Economy: |
The Ngbaka are primarily subsistence farmers
who raise manioc and maize, along with sorghum
and bananas. They also raise chickens and goats
for eggs and milk. The region is nearly depleted
of game, and hunting is no longer of economic
importance. Most of the dietary protein comes
from fish caught in the local rivers by women.
The blacksmith plays an important role in Ngbaka
communities. He is responsible for fashioning
many of the utilitarian objects that are necessary
for farming, and he also makes arrowheads out
of iron, which are used for the little hunting
that is done, and numerous other objects out of
copper and, occasionally, ivory. |
| Political
Systems: |
Being able to trace one's lineage to an important
or very old ancestor is the primary measure of
political importance in Ngbaka villages. There
is no centralized power representing all Ngbaka,
but there is normally a headman in each village
who is selected and advised by individual family
heads. All of the family leaders are expected
to meet and agree on a policy before it can be
enacted. Often this agreement is sealed with a
blood pact. Polygamy is widely practiced among
the Ngbaka. They are a patrilineal people, but
the position of honor within the family is normally
reserved for the oldest female member. |
| Religion: |
The Ngbaka believe in a supreme deity (Gale
or Gbonboso). His message was brought to Earth
by two messengers, Seto and Nabo, who are recognized
as the primordial ancestors of the Ngbaka peoples.
They are sister and brother who created the Ngbaka
through an act of incest. Respect is paid to these
ancestors whose carved images are daily placed
upon the family altar (twabozo), where they are
protected from any misfortune that might befall
them. It is believed that they protect the owner
and his family from hardship and that they also
have the ability to cure many types of illness.
Divination, which has the power to reveal the
causes of misfortune, is an essential part of
Ngbaka society. Young men and women are expected
to go through circumcision, practices which have
been borrowed from their neighbors. There is also
a secret society for sorcery known as Wi-Limi. |
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