Ngando people
Encyclopedia
The Ngando people are Bantu farmers who live in eastern part of Équateur
and the western part of Orientale province in the Democratic Republic of the Congo
.
cluster, with an estimated population in 1990 of 450,000-500,000.
They usually speak Longando, but sometimes use the Lingala language
.
Longando is related to the Lalia language.
Ethnologue
reports that the Ngando live in the Maringa River
area, north of Ikela
, and had a population of 220,000 in 1995.
The Joshua project
gives a population of 336,000.
.
Daily temperatures range from 20 °C (68 °F) to 30 °C (86 °F) and annual rainfall is about 2000 millimetres (78.7 in).
The Bongando's staple crop is cassava, and they also grow bananas. yams, maize, rice and some vegetables.
Their only cash crop is coffee, introduced in the 1960's.
They raise goats, pigs, chickens, and ducks, and supplement their diet through hunting, fishing, and gathering.
The Bongando have traditionally seen bonobo
s as human beings rather than animals.
However, due to economic stress from political disorders followed by civil wars in the 1992-2005 period and to social and cultural interchanges with other ethnic groups, this perception has changed.
The younger Bongando will now sometimes hunt bonobos as bushmeat.
The Bongando have a patrilineal lineage system, and wives come to live near their husband's family.
Usually close relatives live close together.
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 western part of Orientale province in the Democratic Republic of the Congo
Democratic Republic of the Congo
The Democratic Republic of the Congo is a state located in Central Africa. It is the second largest country in Africa by area and the eleventh largest in the world...
.
Population
The Bongado are a branch of the MongoMongo people
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 bend and north of the Kasai and Sankuru Rivers...
cluster, with an estimated population in 1990 of 450,000-500,000.
They usually speak Longando, but sometimes use 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...
.
Longando is related to the Lalia language.
Ethnologue
Ethnologue
Ethnologue: Languages of the World is a web and print publication of SIL International , a Christian linguistic service organization, which studies lesser-known languages, to provide the speakers with Bibles in their native language and support their efforts in language development.The Ethnologue...
reports that the Ngando live in the Maringa River
Maringa River
The Maringa river is a river in the Democratic Republic of the Congo. The Maringa, and the Lopori River to the north, join near Basankusu to form the Lulonga River, a tributary of the Congo River....
area, north of Ikela
Ikela
Ikela is a market town in Tshuapa District in the Democratic Republic of Congo, lying on the Tshuapa River east of Boende. Founded by Belgium in the early twentieth century as a trading post, it became an important local centre....
, and had a population of 220,000 in 1995.
The Joshua project
Joshua Project
The Joshua Project is a repository of ethnologic data to support Christian missions, based in Colorado Springs, USA, for sharing the Christian gospel all over the world. Joshua Project began in 1995 from within the former AD2000 and Beyond Movement...
gives a population of 336,000.
Location and economy
The Bongando live in the tropical rain forest of the Congo basinCongo Basin
The Congo Basin is the sedimentary basin that is the drainage of the Congo River of west equatorial Africa. The basin begins in the highlands of the East African Rift system with input from the Chambeshi River, the Uele and Ubangi Rivers in the upper reaches and the Lualaba River draining wetlands...
.
Daily temperatures range from 20 °C (68 °F) to 30 °C (86 °F) and annual rainfall is about 2000 millimetres (78.7 in).
The Bongando's staple crop is cassava, and they also grow bananas. yams, maize, rice and some vegetables.
Their only cash crop is coffee, introduced in the 1960's.
They raise goats, pigs, chickens, and ducks, and supplement their diet through hunting, fishing, and gathering.
The Bongando have traditionally seen bonobo
Bonobo
The bonobo , Pan paniscus, previously called the pygmy chimpanzee and less often, the dwarf or gracile chimpanzee, is a great ape and one of the two species making up the genus Pan. The other species in genus Pan is Pan troglodytes, or the common chimpanzee...
s as human beings rather than animals.
However, due to economic stress from political disorders followed by civil wars in the 1992-2005 period and to social and cultural interchanges with other ethnic groups, this perception has changed.
The younger Bongando will now sometimes hunt bonobos as bushmeat.
Settlements
Bongando settlements are typically scattered along the road in an open area 10 metres (32.8 ft) to 30 metres (98.4 ft) wide that contains the cassava and coffee fields. Behind the fields there is some secondary forest and then huge expanses of primary forest.The Bongando have a patrilineal lineage system, and wives come to live near their husband's family.
Usually close relatives live close together.