The Baboa people (singular Boa, also Ababua, Ababwa, Babua, Babwa, Bwa) are an ethnic group in the Democratic Republic of the Congo. They speak the Bwa language.
The Baboa live in the savanna region in the north of the Democratic Republic of the Congo. They are in close contact with the Mangbetu and Zande peoples. Most of the inhabitants of the Bas-Uele District, with a population of 900,000 in 2007, are Boa. They live mainly through subsistence farming and hunting, with some river commerce.
Each village is headed by a chief from the most prestigious clan. The Boa are mainly farmers and are in frequent contact with the Mangbetu and the Zande.
The Ababua (Babua, Babwa, Bobua) are a Bantu tribe linguistically closely akin to the Bangelima. With the western Bakongo (riverine fishermen), they had a population of about 16,000 in 1924. One source includes them with the Balika (Lika, Malika, Walika), Mabali, Mabinza, and Mobenge in a "Babwa group." Another source includes them with the Babali, Balika, Bandaka, Bangelima (Mongelima, Ngelima), Bobati (Mobati), Bobenge (Mobenge), Bombo, and Mangbele in a "Babwa ethnic group." Two other sources do not distinguish the Bangelima but map the Bagbe, Bakongo, Balwama, Bangazulu, Bangingita, Bawenza, and Bayew (Boyeu) with the Ababua.
Primarily agricultural, with brand tillage. Bananas are the staple crop, followed by maize and then manioc. Also grown are millet, sesame, eleusine, sweet potatoes, pumpkins, peanuts, and sorghum. Dogs, chickens, and a very few goats are kept. Hunting is important; fishing of lesser importance.
Men hunt and clear the fields. Women do all the remaining agricultural work and most of the fishing.
Movable property is privately owned; the most important items are slaves and iron knives (used as currency), Cultivated land is owned by lineage chiefs and distributed among the women to till.
Inheritance is patrilineal. The eldest son inherits his father's fields and other property and must provide for his younger brothers; in default of sons, the heirs, in order are eldest brother, nephew, grandson.
Slaves outnumber freemen and are acquired by war, settlement of debt, and crime. The children of two slaves are half free; those of a slave and a freeman or freewoman are free.
There are patrilocal extended families, which hold together until the last brother of the family head dies, when they break up into new patrifamilies headed by the eldest cousins.
The community is an aggregate of hamlets protected by thick hedges at the sides and palisades with gates at the ends. Each hamlet consists of 10 to 30 huts arranged on both sides of a broad street with a clubhouse at either end. Most of the huts are round with cylindrical walls and conical leaf-thatched roofs supported by central poles, but occasionally dwellings are rectangular and have gabled roofs thatched with leaves, a reflection of Mangbetu influence. One source says the latter type is more commom than the cone-cylinder type.
The hamlet is a localized lineage or patrilocal extended family. The aggregation of hamlets is a clan-community. Circumcision is practiced rarely and only under foreign influence.
Each lineage has a head, and the lineage heads of a community form a council under a local headman.
Communities are grouped into districts and tribes under chiefs with considerable authority, Succession is patrilineal by eldest son of favorite wife; if no son, by a brother or nephew (including resident sisters sons).
The Boa are known principally for their masks, believed to be used in war-related ceremonies, particularly to enhance a warrior’s courage or to celebrate victories. They have set-apart ears and are covered with white and black pigments. The Boa also carve statues with apotropaic functions. The Mangbetu influence can be seen in the Boa tendency to decorate knives, ceramics, harps and seats with human heads.
Sources: