INTRODUCTION
In the Teke civilization, the question of cohabitation
between different ethnicities and civilizations is a major concern and more
over a thorny question accompanied by antagonisms and strife (Hall, 2017). This is the case
of the plateau department and more precisely in the region of Ngo where the
Bantu and Tswa have lived since time immemorial (Mumpande, 2020). Benefiting from
several privileges, gradually becoming lord of the land, although occupying
space after the Tswa, the Bantu exert a far-reaching influence and domination
over the Tswa to the point of considering and transforming them as sub-men (Mumpande, 2020). The relations
between these two peoples are generally to the advantage of the Bantu (George, 2010). This work, which
is an important contribution to the history and civilizations of the Teke
subgroup and their neighbor Twa, tries to shed considerable and significant
light both on the knowledge of civilizations still poorly known and on the
relations between these two groups since time immemorial. In this work, it will
first be a question of showing first the origins and migrations of the two
peoples, then the forms of organization of their society in the period from 1960, date of the
accession of the independence of the Congo, in 2013, date of the accelerated
municipalization of the plateaux department. These are the different points
that this article intends to study.
METHOD
One type of descriptive
qualitative research is in the form of research with the method or case study
approach. Case studies include in descriptive analysis research, namely
research conducted focused on a particular case to be observed and analyzed
carefully to completion (Creswell & Poth, 2016). The case in
question can be singular or plural, for example in the form of individuals or
group. This research focuses on intensively on a particular object that studies
it as a case.
Case study research or
field study (field study) is intended to study intensively about the background
of the problem situation and the position of an event that is currently taking
place, as well as environmental interactions certain social units that are
given. Research subjects can be: individual, group, institution or society (Moleong, 2021). Case study
research is in-depth study of a particular social unit and the results of that
research provide a broad and in-depth picture of a particular social unit.
RESULTS AND DISCUSSION
A. Location of the study environment
Ngo is located in the center of the
Republic of Congo (Paluck, 2009). Administratively,
it is one of the eleven (11) districts of the plateaux
department ; it is located about 250km north of Brazzaville, 125km
from Djambala, capital of the department, 72km from Gamboma and 59km from
Mpouya (Mviri, 2020). The
district of Ngo is limited:to the north by the district of Gamboma, to the
north-west by the district of Mbon, to the south by the Léfini river, to the
east by the district of Mpouya, and to the east by the district of
Djambala. It has an area that covers an area of 9000km2. The
district of Ngo is shown in the map below (Fig. 1)
Figure 1. Map of
the Ngo district in the plateaux department
B. The Tswa and
their origins
In this chapter on
the Tswa people we have covered three points of
Tswa life. First of all their origin, the political and
socio-cultural organization, and finally the economic organization.
1. Origin
It seems awkward to talk to the people
Tswa, but without knowing its origin. According to the Congolese
writer Futur Sacré-Cœur Waka (Sacré-Cœur, 2020). The pygmies,
along with the Bantu, were the same people who lived in ancient
Egypt. However, following foreign invasions due to the prosperity of
Pharaonic Egypt, a first segment of this population left the territory
to move south of the Sahara. D 'hence the name of "early
man". Several decades later, the Bantu who remained also
left Egypt, in turn, heading south of the Sahara to join their brothers.
These two peoples finded together and populating
the territory‘s. Faced with the difficulties of life, following
the desertification of the Sahara, the Bantu and the first men
clashed. The clash s is ended in the victory of
Bantu. The Tswa said first men, to avoid the brutality of
the Bantu neighbors, confined themselves to the depths of the equatorial
forest of West, Central and East Africa. It is the supremacy of the Bantu
over the so-called first human peoples. In Congo, the Tswa who are
nevertheless the first “Masters”, were driven back by the Bantu, more numerous
in the depths of the forests. It is therefore not surprising that
the pygmy finds refuge in the forest, the safest place of conservation of the
harvested products and the game, abandoning to the farmer Teke the savannah
which does not represent for him any economic interest (Dounias et al., n.d.).
Today they are men of the forest, a hunter
with a spear with a wooden handle and an iron frame which is their topical
weapon. But no legend, no tale, would prevent, quite the contrary, from
thinking that they simply changed their stone spear into a metal frame in
contact with the Bantu. According to Laurent
Ngoualali, the Twa would have come from Zanaga (Frederick & van Nederveen Meerkerk, 2022).
In the region of Ngo, the situation would
be almost the same. In other words, the Tswa would
be the first to inhabit the territory. They lived in the Yama
zone, located to the west of the Ngo district, to the east of Mbon and to the
southwest of the Gamboma district precisely on the Allion plateau, at
the source of the Nkié river from where them
has ppellation of Bana dzala nkie which means
the children of the river nkie that is to say,
the residents or nationals of the river Nkeni. This
river nkie gives drifts as town Otsouankié ,
hotel Otsouankié . It's just a water court and a
tributary of the Congo River, the Nkeni flowing Gamboma. If the Ndouo
River in the plateaus becomes the Niari in the Niari department and the Kouilou
in the Kouilou department, it is the same for the river called Nkié in
Djambala, Ngo and Mbon, changes hydronymy to give sound Nkeni in Ngangoulou.
This is to say that the natives of these localities
lived along this waterway after the Bantu migrations. However, it would be
difficult for us to speak with exactness of the periodicity of their
installation in these homes, as these are the oral sources and the information
collected. With the Boma presence in the region, the Tswa dispersed, they found
themselves all over the department. Over the past two decades,
the Tswa have regained consciousness of their origin, thus
renewing the Ayama and Ayo villages populated only by the natives assisted by
the State, the Evangelical Church of Congo and its partners.
2. Physical or morphological
characteristics
The scientific literature is abundant on
the physical features of the natives. The Tswa people are
a small population (1.50m on average). They have frizzy hair
due to the problem of hygiene, food and habitat. They have naturally round
eyes that express fear in the face of the stranger. Likewise, they are red
in color due to frequent visits to the forest. It is a people who often
travel in groups to better defend themselves against the Bantu. Their
knowledge of pharmacopoeia is well established. It is said that the Tswa are
animist peoples, very versed in fetishism says Bonganga.
C. Political, socio-cultural and economic
organization
1. Political organization
The traditional society Tswa is
a society without social class. The true union is organized around the
village chief or fetish chief. The power to govern is
transmitted from father to son, which means that it is the patriarchal
system (Schapera & Comaroff, 2015). However, the
child has more inclination towards the maternal side, hence the true
implication of the maternal uncle for his development. In addition, the
healer plays the role in the community. Indeed, by his magical powers, he
is the intermediary between the living and the invisible world. He is the
man most consulted by visitors and even the authorities. The reputation of
the village is closely linked to it.
2. Socio-cultural organizations Tswa
The Tswa, people condemned to live with
their Boma neighbors, practice almost the same socio-cultural activities, in
particular: dancing and games, marriage, religion and traditional
rites, commemoration of the dead, etc.
3. Dance and games
Dancing and games for the Tswa are
the only means of entertainment. Like other peoples in the world, they
sing and dance to the rhythm of drums in the
evening. The 're Tswa of years their villages
organize dance parties after a great hunt, a victory at the football game and also to the
arrival of political leaders. Thus, girls and boys alike, consider dance
as a privileged moment to express their emotion of joy. Dance
competitions are organized between the villages. However, no winner is
proclaimed, each locality proclaims itself victorious. This took place
during the dry season, every time a village registers a death; the vigil
is led by folk groups. The Tswa have dance groups like: Ngotôh, Muziki,
Ebodo … Nowadays, the Tswa do not only devote themselves to folk
dances, they have become excellent dancers of modern music.
Figure 1. Tswa
children playing Ndzango in their village
Source: Mviri
Gildas , photo of October 15, 2020 , Onianva village
The Tswa are also
interested in games. They have a variety. There are games that
are played during the day as well as at night. However, other games are
played, either day or night. Thus, they have games like: Olouori, tales,
stories, Riddle, Game lipato . Currently, they play
modern games such as : Football, Ndzango.
These traditional games of tales and
riddles are played in the evening around the fire. It is an
initiation of adults to young people, a traditional education that is passed on
from generation to generation. In the forest or at the river, they
practice the game of hide and seek or lipato. Here, adults teach young
people how to know the forest. Likewise, in the river they bathe with the
young people in order to initiate them to swimming.
4. Marriage among the Tswa
Men have always been interested
in marriage without distinction of ethnicity, race or religion. Also,
the Tswa although deprived of
everything, get married. They celebrate the marriage according to
their financial and material means. I s is not of marriage to
e marital status as in modern societies but marriage traditionally
said. Everyone agrees that the dow ryamong the Tswa is compulsory. Indeed,
since ancient times up to the present day, marriage Tswa al widely
abused evolved and tends to, s e CONFON dre marriage Bantu. But,
it is a long process which obeys certain stages as everywhere in the
other evolved societies. Note that the way they got married is
no longer remained a same as at present.
a) The old marriage
It
included the following steps:
1)
The distant preparation of
the man: the man, who sees himself mature and ready to
marry, should prepare himself accordingly before initiating any
procedure. This why, he should have his cassava field he will feed
his future wife, as he should have a house, money and beautiful clothes.
2)
The
search for the bride: After getting ready, the future groom goes shopping,
looking for a girl in the neighboring villages. When this is found, the
suitor or her parents come into contact with the girl's relatives, in
particular her mother, her brothers or sisters. Without however
announcing to the father, because with the latter, it is
the final stage.
3)
Asks
for the daughter's hand: Here, the land being already worn out, “the
parents of the suitor directly ask for the daughter's hand from her
father. The latter tends list their component objects dowry
including: the bo uteilles beer, whiskey, a few boxes of red
wine, a piece of cloth together e a ball 5000 xaf they say the cap of
the drink and a sum varying from 25,000 to 50,000 CFA francs depending on the
girl's families.
4)
Celebration of
marriage: The suitor or his family pays the dowry in kind and in cash: It
is the celebration of the marriage. Indeed, it is celebrated in the
evening in the presence of the two families of the girl, that is to say the
paternal and maternal side which divides the goods. The marriage is
consummated. But there is one detail, the newly married couple
does not bring his wife to his village, he will spend a long stay of at
least six months with the in-laws. This aspect often pushes the newlywed to
stay forever in the village of his in-laws.
b) The current marriage
Man being an evolutionary animal,
the Tswa has largely evolved in his habits as well as in
his way of life. These changes affect the area of marriage. Indeed, if
in the old days, to get married it was necessary to go through many
stages, now things are simple. The procedure is as follows:
1)
The
meeting of the spouses: As it is the man who takes the first steps, the young
Tswa in his adventures intelligently puts his traps in complicity with his
relatives convinces, the girl and the two get along. Some go as far as the
pregnant before the dowry.
2)
Presentation
of the pretender to the father of the girl: After convincing the girl behind
the scenes, the groom sends a sage among the father of the bride
for was the news. One evening, the young man comes to the
in-laws to ask for the daughter's hand. Generally, the latter do not
oppose because the girl has already given her position. The
future family gives him the list of the dowry: money, stuff, drinks…
Currently the Tswa marriage is as simple as
possible. The sum of the dowry varies from 10,000F to 50,000 XAF depending
on the parents of the girl".
D.
Divorce
1. The causes
The
woman being a rare bird, divorce is also rare in Tswa environment; there are
a few isolated cases of divorce. According to the field survey, there are
three main causes of divorce: The problem of witchcraft, misunderstandings
and repeated fights due to the effects of man's alcohol and infidelity or
adultery
2. Divorce proceedings
Strictly
speaking, there is no well-defined divorce procedure even in the Congolese
family code. The process varies from one family or from one village to another.
The field survey gives the following elements: if it is the woman who
refuses the man, she must repay the dowry doubly. In some families,
if it is the wife who decides to leave her husband, her next husband will repay
the dowry through his future in-laws. If it is the man who no longer wants
his wife, he must prove it by giving his wife the ticket as proof of leaving
the home, synonymous with separation. But her dowry will be
repaid without interest. For some men in the event of divorce, he does not
claim the dowry; he leaves it in the name or for the benefit of the children to
keep the love with the ex-in-laws for the safety of the
children.
3. Religion and traditional rites
The Tswa being
animists, believe in God creator of the universe. However,
superstition dominates the daily life of the Tswa, around procreation,
disease, luck, as well as bad luck. This belief in a religion,
or in a supernatural power. Among the Tswa , belief in
natural spirits is spontaneous. They have always had recourse to the
spirits to undertake a fruitful activity such as hunting, fishing, the fetish
... In the forest, they invoke a natural power " the Nkira ",
it is the benevolent genius who resides in the caves capable of blessing or
curse according to the observance of instructions or prohibitions. Mpion or
and by chewing the cola and pronouncing words thus intervenes the god of
nature who has power over the forest, the rivers, the rivers, the
earth. This belief allows them to face ferocious animals, large reptiles,
and dangerous snakes while hunting or fishing, so that some Atswa do not know
the God who created the world. For them “the Nkira ” is the
true god who represents all supernatural forces, because his proofs are
palpable. By cons, currently many have converted to
Christianity. In the c ontrée of Ngo, some prayer groups are led by
the natives in particular those of the evangelical church of
Congo. The belief in a single god is also the work of
colonization in the Congo, which did not spare the Tswa.
4. The commemoration of the dead
Death strikes the Tswa like
all other peoples of the world. Also, they fear it, to such an extent
that if one or more aboriginals die successively they abandon
the camp, it is said that the natives are nomads. Death is perceived
by them as an ultimate stage in life, the end of everything,
chaos. Death among the Tswa is a mysterious event, mourning among them
concerns all layers of ages. Generally, the body of an indigenous person
is not exposed for all to see as in the s bantu. The burial
takes place at night without the Bantu knowing it. Whenever they register
a case of death, a ritual is done to purge the Tswa community because of
whoever has just left them. Thus, it is difficult to find a grave in a
Tswa village. Until today the funeral remains a ritual. Death among
them is always a phenomenon due to witchcraft.
5. Tswa Economic Organization
It seems a good idea to give a brief
overview of the activities or the way of life of the Tswa. Tswa daily
life nowadays revolves around agriculture and animal husbandry as well as
their usual activities like: hunting, fishing, gathering and
gathering.
6. Agriculture and livestock
Although a predatory
civilization, their cohabitation with the Bantu for thousands of
years has made them accustomed to productive activities, especially
agriculture and animal husbandry. Indeed, this cohabitation with
their neighbors Boma made a very considerable breakthrough in
agriculture. Since they settled down in the villages of Ngo II,
Onianva, Ngo center… they have learned to cultivate the soil. At
the beginning, they made small fields in forest and savannah where
the production was always insufficient. Also to eat, they
practiced barter with their Boma neighbors. The Tswa supplied the boma
with the products of hunting, the gathering and collecting of meat,
edible leaves, the products of gathering including caterpillars, the
mushrooms which they exchanged for the foufou.Since the 1980s, several
factors have upset the eating habits of the Tswa : the
asphalting of the section of the national road n°2 Etsouali-Obouya, passing
through Ngo and the Ngo-Djambala-Lékana road, the execution of the project of
social integration of people pygmy in the company of Ngo district by
the Evangelical church of Congo which resulted in the
c onstruction eco the integration Ngo , launching the
slogan of the president to first five - year plan 1981-1986 namely
" return to the land for food self - sufficiency by the year 2000
which made the Congolese aware of the essential role of agriculture and
the evolution of mentalities both Boma and Tswa to
change the data. Thus, since then the tswa have also
become producers of cassava, peanuts, yams, vegetables ... not to mention the
presence of fruit trees around certain villages or camps with species
planted by the tswa and boma intended for
both consumptions than to as redialization. Thus,the t swa people of
Ngo have fully integrated the monetary economy.
7. Fishing and hunting
The Tswa people do not
have a vocation for fishing. This activity is not at the heart of his
life, he practices subsistence fishing. Fishing is often practiced by
a female population. But, men practice fishing with nets, dams or
traps, especially in the dry season. There is fishing by stocking the
waters. This form of fishing makes it possible to pour poison collected
from the grains of very poisonous trees called “ Mbô” ,
previously crushed, into a river. These crushed grains are poured upstream
of the stream, a few hours later, the fish are dying. This poison also
kills reptiles, crocodiles. This practice is currently prohibited by the
State because of its exterminating nature of species.
The tswa find it difficult
to eat only the gathering and gathering; they hunt game they are excellent
hunters. This activity allowed them to keep good contact with the
Bantu. Hunting also has a socio-cultural aspect among the tswa . Through
hunting, they demonstrate their courage in the face of danger. It is an
initiation into know-how. Hunting includes several techniques. We
therefore retain the most used:
a) Net hunting: this hunting party brings together
children, their parents, dogs and nets. Adults teach young people how to
use nets. Children and dogs are the beaters of game which is killed with
sticks or arrows after it is led to the net under pressure from the dogs.
b) Hunting by trap: we use the different cables, we tie
the cable to a flexible stick, we make a noose placed around the vertical
pieces of wood on the passage of the animals. We bend the stick and place
a trigger in the middle of the knot. As soon as the animal passes by there
and touches the trigger, the stick is raised; the animal thus immobilized is
finished by blows of arrow, machetes or rifle. Another trap technique involves
digging a deep hole, over which leaves and a layer of soil are placed
so that the animal does not suspect a thing. O n instead there
above bait. As soon as the animal passes through it, it collapses into the
hole.
c) Rifle hunting: modernism has come to bring such an easy
and rapid technique to hunting. Rifles of the 12-caliber,
fourteen-millimeter type and five-shot barrels often belong to the Bantu, which
entrusts them to locals in order to provide them with game.Hunting products
allow exchanges. There is a wide variety of game sold fresh or smoked:
monkeys, gazelles, wild boars, hinds, large snakes and woodpeckers hunting is
an activity reserved for men. We also note the hunting of rats
called 0koui, mpara, mbiené. But nowadays, hunting is becoming more
and more bequeathed to the second rank because of the rupture of the ecological
balance, in particular the exacerbated deforestation.
d) Picking and collecting: the tswa practice
harvesting all year round. Harvest products vary from season to
season. But, some products cover the whole year. In particular:
picking cassava packaging leaves, gnetum africanum (coconut or mfumou),
mushrooms, etc. At the same time as they collect, the tswa collect
products such as: mushrooms, termites, caterpillars, crickets, locusts,
grasshoppers etc.
The mushrooms are picked in the savannah
and in the forest, several varieties grow, either on the ground or on the
trunks of trees. The Tswa master all edible
species. Picking takes place during the rainy periods from October to May.
1) Eggs : the Atswa know the
difference between the egg of a bird and a reptile. This laying period is
from May to September. They collect the eggs of turtles, crocodiles, pythons,
guinea fowl, partridges.
2) Termites: they are collected during the months of
September and October, period of the first rains. They are obtained
after smoldering r t entire anthill without air enters the
evening at sunset. Yesterday, we used the cassava wrapping
sheets. This way of doing things has been abandoned. Nowadays, we use
tablecloths, a new technique used by young people. They are collected in
the morning generally before sunrise.
3) Crickets and locusts: crickets are obtained by digging the place
where the soil is loose, and thus indicating the hole where the cricket
hides. They have a period. They are easily obtained after
rain. Locusts are picked up by burning the savannah and
then digging holes. Locusts fall into these holes and are picked up
after a while. This activity takes place at night in the moonlight.
E.
Boma
people
We cannot approach the question of
the Boma people, in particular their origins, their
behavioral characteristics and their way of life without first talking
about the Bant u people in general and the Teké people in
particular. The Boma is only one element of this great
téké ensemble. This is as much to say that we are going to identify some
general characteristics of the teke
people
1. Origin
The B antu form a human group estimated at nearly 200
million black Africans disseminated in several ethics from the territories of
the upper Nile to the rocks of the cape, from north to south and from the
Atlantic Ocean to the Indian Ocean to ballast
(Obenga, 2004).
In the beginning there were only one
people who inhabited ancient Egypt. Indeed, 5000 years before our era,
this people dispersed following the degradation or climatic change which
engendered the desertification of the Sahara and
the Egyptian lands. Thus, the estrangement from one another has
created differentiation, physical traits, languages and religions. So ,
we will Bantu, Nilotic, Sudanese (Wolof, Malinke, Hausa), the Khoisan. The Bantu in turn populated central and
southern Africa and everywhere else.
Regarding the teke, historically
speaking, it is difficult that we can give the date of the appearance of the
teke kingdom, it would have been born in the first three century of the
Christian era The second age of the Christian era (between +1 and 1000) is
marked by the beginning of the “ Teke proto history ” which is
characterized by the founding of the kingdom. This period in Central
Africa was marked by the emergence of several kingdoms and empires. This
emergence was undoubtedly the consequence of a socio-technical revolution of
the Bantu following their expansion. We cannot confirm on the foundation
of the Téké kingdom; According to Professor Ndinga-Mbo :
The fact that the arrival of the Portuguese
in the 15th century echoed their recession on the Atlantic
coast , leads us to believe that certainly 2 to 3 centuries earlier,
it would have reached its peak (De Coster & O’Dubhghaill, 2016). The Téké group is the largest in southern
Congo. According to reliable sources, the word Téké is a deformation of
Europeans. The word is closer to Tio. The Téké group in central Congo
includes several sub-groups or tribes including the Boma. This is also a distortion
of the French language. The word is really close to "Mbon-on
or Abon-on " which means those whose environment is in the
middle of the savannah.
Table 1
Téké tribes and their geographical location
|
No.
|
Tribes
|
Department
|
Districts/ Countries
|
|
1
|
Boma and Ngouoni
|
Trays , Pool
|
Ngo, Mpouya, Ngabé, Mbon
|
|
2
|
Ngangoulou
|
Trays
|
Gamboma, Abala, Ongogni
|
|
3
|
Nzikou
|
Trays
|
Djambala , Ngo
|
|
4
|
Teke-alima
|
Cuvette-Ouest, Cuvette, Trays
|
Okoyo, Boundji, Abala, Allembé
|
|
5
|
Teke-ewo
|
Cuvette-Ouest
|
Ewo , Mbama
|
|
6
|
Lali
|
Lekoumou, Pool, Bouenza
|
Sibiti, Zanaga, Vindza, Kingoué, Kindamba, Mayama,
Komono,
|
|
7
|
Koukouya
|
Trays
|
Lékana, Zanaga
|
|
8
|
Nzabi-Mberé
|
Cuvette-Ouest, Lekoumou
|
Kélé, Mbomo, Bambama, Gabon
|
|
9
|
Wumu
|
Pool
|
Ngabé, Ignié
|
|
10
|
Smoke
|
Pool, Brazzaville
|
Kintelé, Brazzaville, Ignié, Loumou
|
|
11
|
Other Téké tribes
|
DRC, Gabon ...
|
Nanny, Tendé ...
|
Source: Oba Dominique, personal design, October 2020
2. Behavioral characteristics
In relation to the whole téké, we have
chosen to speak of behavioral characteristics by the fact
that the people of Central Africa present the same morphological
traits. However, each people present behavioral peculiarities. We
also know that the general behavior of a people is linked to its physical
environment. Whereas the Boma is a people of the savannah.
Table 2
Boma sub-groups or clans
|
No.
|
Sub-groups/ Clans
|
Location
|
|
1
|
Scé or Assisséh
|
The Nkoumou-Gamboma axis,
Ngo-Gamboma axis
|
|
2
|
Ngouoni or Angoungouoni
|
Mbon District
|
|
3
|
Adzidzouh
|
Djambala-Mbon axis (Olounou village)
|
|
4
|
Assi- Okéi
|
A xe Ngo-Mpouya
|
|
5
|
Assi- Mbéssala
|
A xe Ngo-Nsah
|
|
6
|
Assi- Abili-kono
|
A xe Ngo-Etsouali
|
|
7
|
Other sub-groups: Assi Adzi-Impé, Abana.
|
Etsouali zone, River zone (Village Ndolo)
|
Source: Oba
Dominique, personal survey,
November-December 2019
What characterizes the Boma people is the
savannah. This environment spares it from the natural danger
presented by ferocious animals, snakes, large reptiles etc. Thus, if
the man of the forest and the river feels in constant insecurity given the
opacity of his environment, that of the savannah has rather a distant and clear
view which reassures him. These environments influence the mentality of
the latter. In other words, if the forest man would be bellicose,
constantly armed, the savannah man would be more conciliatory. This
is to say that the téké in general would be a docile people, very allergic to
the flow of human blood. Some would say that they are a fearful people
when it comes to conflicts, battles, weapons.
According to certain information gathered,
the districts of Mindouli, Kinkala, Ngoma-tsétsé, were formerly Téké
territories. The latter to avoid bloody battles against their Kongo
brothers migrated north to occupy the central plateaus, known as the Batéké
plateaus. They thus traced in their retreat the imaginary line of demarcation
that their Kongo neighbors should not cross. Hence it is the name of
Akabandilou or Makabandilou which means the dividing line which has become a
district of Brazzaville in the 9 Djiri district (De Schryver, Grollemund, Branford,
& Bostoen, 2015). So, for the Teke, man is a neighbor and not a
distant or a wolf. Thus, saying that the boma is
a supporter of peace. It is perhaps in this sense that the Treaty of
Brazza-Makoko was simplified.
3. Political organization
According to Ngoïe-Ngalla, in the savannah
of the south and the center of Bas-Congo probably arose from the 11th-12th
century, political groups (Téké kingdom or Tio and Kongo). The role and
place of the lineage structure are decisive in these kingdoms. Lineage is
the natural framework of political power and the foundation of the kingdom, the
product of culture (De Schryver et al., 2015).
Society is life in a group
and together. The traditional Boma society is patriarchal; all the
authority of the family rests on the father who is the chief. But this
cannot exclude the role of the maternal uncle who was like the motor in the
resolution of the problems. They live in villages left by their
ancestors. The leaders of these villages follow one another from father to
son. Nowadays, village chiefs are appointed by the state. Some of
these villages benefit from some basic infrastructure provided by the State.
4. Boma socio-cultural organization
The socio-cultural activities being
very varied, it would be difficult for us to make a long list of
them. This is why we have retained some s -unes
in particular dance, games, and marriages.
a) Dance
The
Boma is an excellent dancer and singer. The villages were animated to the
rhythm of the drums. Between the villages, dance evenings were
organized. Indeed, these were the moments of good
atmosphere. Thus, there are groups of folk dances, initiatory healing
dances, griots etc.
b) Folk dance groups
We
note the following dances: Imbala-mbala, Otierako, Ngotô, Ebouka and Muziki,
Owaya, Obitan, Ebodo or Losseba.
c) The Imbala-mbala dance
Imbala-mbala is
the traditional rumba. According to Mr. Okia Léon, aged 57. This
in e is a Boma specificity. Imbala-mbala is danced as follows:
the man holds the woman at the hips with both hands and the woman, in turn,
grabs the man at the shoulders, both dance following the rhythm of the
tom-toms. The two dancers face to face only hold their hands a little
apart. However, as soon as the cadence stops, every dancer
must pay a certain amount to the lady. This stop allows the dancers to
change or continue with the same song if not to rest.
d) The Otierako dance
In
a funeral evening in Brazzaville in a district of Ouenzé, a national of the
district of Ngo who explains to us what the Imbala-mbala dance is 64-year-old
Mpiola Adolphe recounts the following:
It
is a dance often intended for the elderly. Here the tom-toms predominate the
song, the instrument permeating the rhythm is called Onkou. Unlike
Imabal-mbala, in Otierako everyone dances to the rhythm of the cadence without
a woman. Indeed, it is a dance similar to Matsiemé a Koukouya folklore
style. However, the pace is stopped by a person who requests it.
e) The Ngotô dance
It
is the modernized Imbala-mbala dance. It is danced by young people with or
without girls. Concerning the dancing evening with the girls, if in
Imbala-mbala the two dancers do not rub their bodies at the
Ngotô they do it. It's paid rumba. Here the man to dance
with a woman must pay her in advance an amount varying between 100f to 500f depending
on the agreement between the two dancers. Indeed, there are two ways
of dancing Ngotô : Ngotô only danced by men. Here the
dancers are placed in front of the agitated drummers of the maracas, the
animation is held by a single singer who thus becomes, like a griot, it is
like current shifted c oupé. And the special
Ngotô. This is a well organized event with the participation of
girls. It is an evening of rumba which is danced with the girls by rubbing
their bodies; the women demand a high price. Ngotô is
mostly danced by young adolescents. However, it has negative
consequences, including adultery, fights, and unwanted pregnancies.
f)
Ebouka
and Muziki dance
Ebouka
would be a dance of Bangala origin if not Moye . Indeed,
along the Congo River, from Mossaka to Ngabé, young people adore the Ebouka
dance. The Boma Ngo of the country’s been imported during the
street markets of Mpouya, Bouemba, Makotimpoko, and Lessanga-Ongogni
... and changed the rhythm. The young people dance in a circle
all around the drummers and move to the rhythm of
the drums. Ebouka is danced in the evening and very often after
sporting events. This dance lost its value in the 1990s and gave way to
the Muziki dance, which gradually went to several villages. The Muziki
would dance import ed Teke of Pangala and Brazzaville
including Fumu or Teke of stacked. Muziki is danced
while also forming the circle like Ebouka. It is danced by young
people. The peculiarity of this dance is that during the dance evening the
dancers dress in uniforms from top to bottom. Today these dances
have almost di sparu, giving way to Ibodo.
g) The Ibodo dance
Initially
it was considered a delinquent dance in terms of its jerky rhythm and manner of
being practiced, as it involves bodybuilding, bravery and the way girls flaunt
the private parts of their bodies. We do not know its origin. Some
say she is from the Democratic Republic of Congo. Ibodo is practiced
throughout central and northern Congo. However, the names change from one
country to another. Thus, there are appellations such as Izobolo,
Losseba, Bana ya zone, Odeyon, operdu etc. It is a dance that is of great
interest to young people today.
h) Owaya and Obitan
These
are two not very recent dances whose origin dates back to the 2000s. It is
practiced by forming a circle around the drummers and singers. Women and
men often show off their shoulders and hands with a more or less accelerated
rhythm, punctuated by body games and screams of joy. They are often danced
during funerals and political events: parliamentary descent, political
campaign etc.
F. Healing initiation dances
These are dances related to cult’s good
spirits for healing and deliverance to s specific diseases such
as:
1. Itchoua
In some Boma villages there
are initiated men and women called Nganga or Nga. However,
this Nganga class is different from the others who do consultations and hold
the fetishes or the gris-gris. The bonganga Itchou a consists of
welcoming the patient until interning for a given period. The latter is
subjected to a treatment which obliges him to dance every evening around a fire
to the rhythm of the tom-toms. The patient is supported by the entire
village community which supports him in his treatment by dancing
and singing throughout his treatment. The dances often start around
19 hours to complete beyond 21h. Thus, the duration of treatment
varies from 9 to 27 days depending on the severity of the patient's
disease. The last day of treatment is devoted to a large
ceremony in the open air, with the entire village community and
the family of the cured patient. This is when the healer should be
paid. He asks for a sum that varies between 50,000 and 100,000
francs. This amount is debatable; however, it can be paid by
deposit, since they have already familiarized themselves. We
celebrate the healing and the return to the fold of this denarius which will be
accompanied by the healer. Let us note that beyond the initiatory
character, Itchoua is a dance which marks the good moments of recreation of the
villagers. In other words, it is the right time for love and
children's games around Nganga's hut. It only concerns women.
The particularity of this dance is that it
is practiced sitting on the floor for all the participants in the box around
the fire. It often concerns women.
2. Ankira
Similar to Itchoua, Ankira affects the
person sometimes in the middle of the night, by surprise visited by
the spirits who will make them sing day and night in a more or less
unconscious way. The community always comes to her aid by singing and dancing
so that the spirits are appeased and free her as quickly as
possible. If in Itchoua the beginning and the end of the treatment
are known, for the Ankira it is the opposite. Thus, the spirits which came
suddenly leave in this way. Let us note that the non-respect or the bad
execution of the ceremonies by the healer or the patient himself could
generate serious consequences for the person possessed by the spirits
in particular: madness, loss of memory or death by
disappearance.
3. Ceremony of the birth of the twins
The birth of twins among the Boma gives
rise to ceremonies as in other ethnic groups in the Congo. It is an
initiation dance at the home of the parents of the twins for a period that
can last 6 to 8 days or a month. Indeed, it is organized by a specialist
initiate woman, the one who has already given birth to the twins on several
occasions. During all the ceremonies in the house where the twins
are. E lle put in the corner, a pile of trash that will be
added each day so long it will last, that is to say all the dirt we sweep the
house will be paid in the trash. The end of the ceremonies takes place
with a ritual that will bury this pile of trash including the prohibitions for
the protection of the life of the twins. This specialist is also paid at
the end of the treatment after this ritual. Indeed, the Boma consider the
arrival of the twins as the children sent by the spirits called
Ankira. Consequently, they have the right to a ritual if not they will
risk leaving again, in other words die. The Boma also believe that twins
bring good or bad luck to their parent depending on whether they are well or
badly received by the family. This is why when they are born; a dance is
organized every evening at the couple's home. This initiatory period is a
moment of jubilation and joy. The peculiarity of this dance is that one
should utter nonsense, profanity, in the songs to welcome the twins. Also,
in the plot is it placed a basket or a plate where each visitor will
put at will any gift he has planned for newcomers to meet their needs. It
can be: money, fruits, piece of game or fish, Clothes, Chicken, Foufou etc.
4. The Griots
In Congo the Téké in general and the Boma
in particular attach great importance to this musical genre. Indeed,
the g riot occupies a prominent place in the Téké tradition. He
is present alongside the kings, dignitaries, notables, and even
politico-administrative leaders: Sub-Prefect, Deputy, Prefect, Minister the
g riot animates the various ceremonies that take place in the
villages: funéra girls, bereavement retreat mariage, Parliamentary decent
of the éputé, authority olitico-administrative etc. The
g riot, in his song, praises and adores the ceremony host,
recites his family history, which gives him wings of the soul, immense
joy. The g riot is rewarded with money and valuable goods such
as clothes, objects of téké power, as a sign of recognition for the
recruitment of his children into the State services: Civil service, the
Congolese Armed Forces (FAC), the ent times… the g riot also animates
the festivals between the villages, snacks,
banquets.
5. Games
Games are par excellence the moments most
desired by children. In Boma society, as in other traditional Congolese
societies, games are played during the day and at nightfall. Thus, in the
Boma environment, there are several kinds of games, in which some participate
effectively in the physical growth of children. Others, on the other
hand, constitute an acquisition in traditional
education. Thus, we find games such as: Ebei, Ngola, riddle,
story, tales, played by adults and the game of hide and seek or
lipato, the bottle game, the game of the sea, are children's games.
Games like Ngola and Ibei are
the moments of entertainment for adults; they sometimes play them in the form
of competitions between themselves and between villages by playing
bets. Thus, they transform them in the form of a lottery to extract money
from others. Nowadays, these games are replaced by modern games played all
over the Congo. They are : Ludo, Card games, Queen's game.
G.
Boma
Economic Organization
The Boma way of life is not very different
from that of all Congolese. However, there are some peculiarities related
to the physical environment in which it inhabits. Here, we retain the
production activities: agriculture, breeding, fishing.
1. Agriculture
The Boma is a large
agricultural people favored by its physical environment of savannah and clear
forest, grove. In this savannah country, most of the production is
cassava, which the Boma transforms into foufou. It is its
staple food. The Boma has the secret of foufou, women by
preparing the mixture until it becomes softer, forming a
ball called olion-intô. Its diet consists mainly of edible
insects specifically grasshoppers, caterpillars, small game, rodents,
fruits and edible leaves. Agriculture remains the main economic activity
for the Boma. D years the country Ngo, the bant u
cultivates nt as food crops like yam, potato, banana, vegetable, etc.
2. Breeding and fishing
The
breeding of sheep, goats and oxen is favored in the region of Ngo by the absence
of tsetse flies and the existence of vast grassy areas, without forgetting
the contribution and support of the Ministry of agriculture and livestock
through its various projects.
Regarding the activity of fishing, Boma are no
fishing. However, they matter fish Mpouya, Gamboma and
Oyo. Regarding hunting, according to Ki-Zerbo, hunting is the
main activity of this community because, he declares to this
effect: These are remarkable hunters following a game in the
trace fliring the ground and sometimes tasting the earth
(KI-ZERBO, n.d.). Jean Marie Ganfoum in his work clearly
explains the tswa practice hunting. He says: C ette
hunting formerly practiced with sharp wood as a boom.
3. Predation activities
These
are mainly picking and collecting.
a) Gathering : inhabitant of the savannah and the clear
forest, the Boma benefits from the products of nature at a seasonal rhythm, for
example wild fruits : malombo, mbila ya essobé , bamboo,
Cia tondolo ... At the rhythm of the rains, nature offers them
mushrooms and the like. The other products are exploited on a permanent
basis and the picking is done all year round, both for local and
commercial consumption. These are: cassava packaging leaves, asparagus,
gnetum africanum (coconut or mfumou), lianas or roots ... these operations are
done in an artisanal way and have little impact on the environment compared to
the agropastoral activity.
b) Collection: As long as they collect certain products,
they also collect other products. Thus, the products collected are:
caterpillars, locusts, crickets, termites, fruits,
etc.
CONCLUSION
Fixing since time immemorial and
distant origins, Twa and Boma maintain relationships that date back many years.
These relations gave the link to a political, socio-cultural and economic
organization between the Twa and Teke (Boma) of the plateau department of the
present Republic of Congo. However, they suffer from several shortcomings which
need to be corrected, as recognition and significant consideration has been
given to the Tswa by the government of the Republic of Congo.
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