The Mongo are the most numerous ethnic group of the Democratic Republic of Congo. They are a diverse collection of peoples living in the equatorial forest, south of the main Congo River

Congo River

The Congo River is a river in Africa, and is the deepest river in the world, with measured depths in excess of . It is the second largest river in the world by volume of water discharged, though it has only one-fifth the volume of the world's largest river, the Amazon...

 bend and north of the Kasai

Kasai River

The Kasai River is a tributary of the Congo River, located in central Africa. The river begins in Angola and serves as the border between Angola and the Democratic Republic of the Congo , then flows into the DRC, where it joins the Congo northeast of Kinshasa. The Kasai's tributaries include the...

 and Sankuru Rivers

Sankuru River

Sankuru River is a major river in the Democratic Republic of the Congo. Its approximate length of 1,230 km makes it the longest tributary of Kasai River....

. This area is in the south of the province of Équateur

Équateur

Équateur is one of the ten provinces of the Democratic Republic of Congo. It is in the north of the country, and bordered the Republic of the Congo to the west, the Central African Republic to the north, to the east the Orientale province, and to the south the Kasai-Oriental, Kasai-Occidental, and...

 and the north of the province of Bandundu

Bandundu

Bandundu, formerly known as Banningville or Banningstad, is a city in Bandundu Province in the Democratic Republic of the Congo.Bandundu is the capital of Bandundu Province. It is located on the north bank of the Kwango River, just below the juncture of the Kwango and the Kwilu, 8 km upstream from...

.

The Mongo speak either the Mongo language

Mongo language

Mongo, also called Nkundo or Mongo-Nkundu, is a language spoken by several of the Mongo peoples in the Democratic Republic of the Congo. Mongo speakers reside in central DRC, mostly south of the Congo River. Mongo is a tonal language....

 (also called Nkundo) or one of the related languages in the Mongo family. The Lingala language

Lingala language

Lingala, or Ngala, is a Bantu language spoken throughout the northwestern part of the Democratic Republic of the Congo and a large part of the Republic of the Congo , as well as to some degree in Angola and the Central African Republic. It has over 10 million speakers...

, however, often replaces Mongo in urban centers. Along with the Luba

Luba people

The Luba are one of the Bantu peoples of Central Africa. They are indigenous to the Katanga, Kasai, and Maniema regions which were historic provinces of present-day Democratic Republic of the Congo...

 and the Kongo

Kongo people

The Bakongo or the Kongo people , also sometimes referred to as Kongolese or Congolese, is a Bantu ethnic group which lives along the Atlantic coast of Africa from Pointe-Noire to Luanda, Angola...

, they are among the largest Bantu populations in the country.

The Mongo ethnic group

Ethnic group

An ethnic group is a group of people whose members identify with each other, through a common heritage, often consisting of a common language, a common culture and/or an ideology that stresses common ancestry or endogamy...

 is divided into several tribes: Bolia, Bokote, Bongandu, Konda, Mbole, Nkutu

Nkutu

Nkutu is a Bantu language of northern Kasai-Oriental Province, Democratic Republic of the Congo. Local dialects include Elembe, Hamba, Lokalo , Kongola-Meno, Ngongo, and Saka . It is a member of the Tetela family of Bantu languages and is closely related to Tetela, Kela, Kusu, and Yela....

, Ntomba, Sengele, Songomeno, Dengese and Tetela-Kusu

Tetela language

Tetela , also Sungu, is a Bantu language of northern Kasai-Oriental Province, Democratic Republic of the Congo. It is a member of the Tetela family of Bantu languages and is closely related to Nkutu, Kusu, and Yela....

, Bakutu, Boyela.