Mboshi and Teke Culture Contact: a Case Study of Making up Bantu Cultural Area
Total Page:16
File Type:pdf, Size:1020Kb
American Journal of Humanities and Social Sciences Vo1. 2, No. 1, 2014, 54-65 DOI: 10.11634/232907811402505 Mboshi and Teke Culture Contact: A Case Study of Making up Bantu Cultural Area Joseph Itoua Associate Professor in History, Marien Ngouabi University, Brazzaville This paper is based on a comparative study of three ethnic groups by focusing on the elements of interpenetration between two different civilization groups in Congo-Brazzaville namely Ngala and Teke. By so doing, the article resorts to three peoples namely Mbosi and Moye for the Ngala group and Engugwέl people for the Teke group to establish the existence of a cultural area uniting these two groups that share the same geographical space. This comparative study scrutinizes the elements of culture and history of every group that gets Ngala and Teke closer by their resemblance and reciprocal exchange beyond the gap between these two big entities. Key Words: Ngala-Teke, Mbosi, Moye, Ngungwel, crossroads, culture, interpenetration, cultural space Introduction This Cultural area can associate some peoples (or tribes) of languages (or dialects) and of different The most immediate result of the migration of the culture. Defining this concept of a cultural area, human species is the setting in contact of peoples Bakajika (1985) using the geographical factor from different cultures. This contact, according to highlighted by Hersksvits, writes: the teachings of the historians, always results in a Celui-ci est cependant subordonné aux crossing that necessarily causes reciprocal reactions. ressemblances culturelles. Ces similitudes These reactions depend on the behaviours of culturelles des deux peuples sont plus remarquables peoples in presence, as well as of the conditions quand ces peuples sont plus rapprochés que and reasons of their meeting. lorsqu’ils sont éloignés les uns des autres. Autrement When the contact between two human dit, l’emprunt de divers éléments culturels est plus communities becomes recurrent, it happens that facile entre groupes rapprochés; ils ont en effet plus psychological factors come into play and influence de possibilités de contacts entre eux qu’avec des their cohabitation relationship: there can be groupes fort éloignés. imitation, suggestion, conversion by constraint or In other words, the loan of various cultural by conviction. These have the tendency to bring elements is easier between closer groups; they have closer the cultures and to harmonize them. indeed more possibilities of contacts between them One often observes that, when conditions and than with groups which are very distant. reasons of contact generate unequal physical, In the present article, we want to observe the military and intellectual puzzles, this closeness results of this very old contact between Ngala and gives rise to the absorption of one of the "cultures" Teke peoples and to discover the effects of the by the other one. But, when they encourage the contact of these cultures through their subgroups respect of mutual interests by every people, Mboshi and Moye (for the Ngala) and Ngungwel interests that are favorable to the life and to the (for the Teke). It is necessary to mention that these peace, the closeness keeps the peoples and their peoples are Bantu and originated from the Nile culture behind a boundary. It results, however, that Valley and got to their present location through the reciprocal interests provide an interpenetration separate ways. They share this land with other of the cultures. Every culture in presence inherits groups such as Kongo, Maka and Ubangi. This what is in its culture respectively. contribution does not pretend to fix the real time of This last case is often the most attested fact in the settlement of these peoples but we rather confess history of the migrations and cultures of the Bantu that they found their present land not properly peoples mainly. In fact, this crossing sometimes settled even though there were pygmies long time occurred through military confrontations between ago. The main objective of the present survey is to Bantu and the natives of the conquered earths. scrutinize Mboshi and Teke contact in order to A cultural area can result from this people point out the results of their contact. contact which takes place peacefully or in trouble. Print ISSN 2329-0781 - Online ISSN 2329-079X / World Scholars http://www.worldscholars.org American Journal of Humanities and Social Sciences 55 I. Identification of the two Bantu groups The Bobangi are Ngala people living in the two sides of the Congo River, precisely the region of 1. Ngala group the Congolese Basin. It is composed of the following subgroups: The Ngala group is constituted of peoples that - Bobangi, living downstream the mouth of the occupy the Congolese basin. Ngala derives from Alima river and upstream of the mouth of the the term "mongala" that is geographical since it Nkéni river; means "fairway", "arm of river" or "river of 20 to - Nunu (or Nounou), living in the region of Bolobo, 50 meters long" in the dialects of the Group C20 in the province of Bandoundou, a region of the big languages. It is also used by the same group to Congolese Basin, the center-west of the designate the downstream in relation to the zone Democratic Republic of Congo. where the person is. The human geography uses - Moye (Moï). this term therefore to designate the inhabitants of the country of the fairways or rivers which flow in I.1.2.1. Identification of the Moye a very big number the bottom of the Congolese basin. This term also specifies a Bantu language in The Moye occupy the right side of the Congo River which the individual designates himself by "nga, and the interior marshes spreads between the Alima ngaï (me) ". Here this individual is designated by River and the village of Mpouya, in the same way the morpheme "moro, moto" with the plural in to their brothers Nanny of the RDC. "baré, bato (people) ". We distinguish: In the Congo-Brazzaville, the big group Ngala - in the north, the Moye from zamba, this means the is composed by the Mbosi subgroups, Moye (or Moye from the swampy forest, installed mainly in Moï), Bobangi, Likouba, Likouala, Buéni, Bonga, the villages of Kongo, Motoko, Kongo, Bounda, Bomitaba, Enyelle and Bondongo. Mekala, Lelombe, Tanga-Lenga and Nkala. These On an administrative level, the Ngala occupy Moye people are the neighbours of the Mbosi Olee the geo-administrative space corresponding to the in the district of Ollombo; departments of the Congolese Basin, Likouala, - in the south the Moye from esobe (Ntseke), this Sangha and the Plateaux. means the Moye from the swampy savanna Of this whole, our article is interested in two populating Makotimpoko, Motokomba, Bodouango, subgroups that share borders with the Teke group Maboua, Mbantsé, Bobanda, Nkonda, Bobi, the space in the department of the Plateau: Mboshi Kanga-Kanga, Mouamba and Mompongo. and Moye. The Moye live in the district of Makotimpoko and share with their brothers mbosi from the I.1.1. Mbosi group flooded space in the administrative region of the Plateaux. As a detachment bobangi, they have a Mbosi people (called Mbochi thanks to the civilization based on the river from which they colonization) live in the North-Congo and share derive the essential of their subsistence and their boundaries with Teke, Sangha, Maka peoples main activities. These are the Bobangi of the inside Pygmy, Ubanguian. They occupy the of the land (Ndinga-Mbo, op. cit., 116). administrative space corresponding to the It is therefore by these Moye that the Ngala, departments of the Cuvette-Ouest (districts of share a border with the Angùngwel people the East Itoumbi, Mbomo), the Cuvette (districts of Ntokou, of this one, the land of Pomi. Makoua, Owando, Ngoko, Boundji, Oyo, Tchikapika, Mossaka) and of the Plateaux (districts I.1.2.2. The origin of the Moye of Allembé, Abala, Ollombo, Ongogni, Makotimpoko and Gamboma). It spreads therefore René Gatsako (2009:52-54) mentioning the oral from the Bangangoulou space in the south, until the sources and the archives of the Congo-Belgian (in clinch the Mambili in the north. It is one of the Bolobo), declares that the Moye came from the biggest ethnic groups that populate the Republic of Edouard lake in Uganda. He nearly reinforces our Congo. hypothesis about the basin of the Nile as the origin Several studies (Obenga 1976, J. Itoua 2007, of the Mbosi, brothers and present neighbors of the Ndinga-Mbo 2004) have been carried out for this Moye. This confirms the thesis defended by Cheikh people's identification and it is attested that it is Anta Diop (1981:234). divided into several subgroups namely Mboko, Departed from the Nile region, without Ngaré, Akwa, Koyo and Mbosi. The mboshi individual identity, the Moye might had been for subgroup includes Mbonzi, Obaa, Eboyi or Omboo, centuries in the mouth of the Congo River, with the Tsambitso, Bognala, Ngaë, Nguilima and Olee. Mongo and the Mbosi. They would have left this site with other Bobangi and stayed on the right side I.1.2. Moye group (or Bobangi) of the Ubangi river that would have provided the name to the whole group. They settle in their 56 J. Itoua present land on the left side of the Congo River as 2). Ongungwel (pl. A'ngu-ngwele): it is an individualized group with a name and a presumably later that the A-Nzinzion had changed language: the Moye (or Moï) and the Bobangui. themselves by the term of Angungwel (that designates the people) and O'ngungwel that I.2. Identification of the Teke group designates the man. This designation is reminiscent of a movement. Indeed, the term Angungwel means The Tio, often named Teke, are the Bantu people inhabitant on the other side (border, bank of a who are located between the west of the river?).