The Mbala or Bambala with whom are included the Basorgo (Songo), Humbu (Bahaumbu, Bavumbu), and Ngongo (Bangongo), are a Bantu tribe between the middle Kwango and Kwilu Rivers region in the southwest of the Democratic Republic of the Congo.
One source places them in a large matrilineal ethnic stock also including the Babunda, Badinga, Balesa, Bashilele, Bayanzi, Boma, Teke, Wongo, Wumbu, and the (to date unidentified) Bangende, Batshobwa, and Pranga., Another source places them in a Congo cluster of languages.
The Mbala people migrated from Angola during the 17th century.
The region is a point of confluence for many ethnicities with whom the Mbala have become assimilated: the Pelende, Suku, Pende, and Yaka.
They are governed by a regional village chiefs who regulate the economy, hunting, fishing, and manioc farming.
Population is about 975.000 acording to Peoplegroups.org, 2024
Primarily agricultural, with manioc the staple crop. Also grown are bananas, peanuts> sweet potatoes, beans (also called small pea«), and a little maize. The domestic animals (all eaten) are goats, pigs, dogs, and chickens. Fishir.g is done with nets and wicker traps. Although communal game drives are conducted, hunting is urimportant Trade is important, and there are markets.
Men hunt, gather kola nuts, and clear land. Women gather wild fruits fi*h, and do most of the agricultural work.
Shells, slat (probably thin narrow strips of metal) iron hoe blades, ar-d iron blocks are used as currency. Among the Basongo, lineages own individual sections of forest, with hunting and gathering rights, and in cultivated land individuals hold only usufruct.
Inheritance is matrilineal. Among the Bambala the preferred heir is the eldest sister's eldest son, then the eldest son. Among the ftasongo, however, all property (including slaves) escheats to the lineage chief, who pays debts and may give away part as presents.
Formerly matrilineal, they are made up of clans headed by the maternal uncle. The chief was in charge of the ancestor cult, although it was quite limited. Following a retreat of a few days, royal insignia and charms were given to him, intended to combat powers opposing the hunt, social peace, and the crops.
The polygynous family is assumed to be the normal residential
unit.
There are settled villages without compounds. Huts are rectangular With thatched roofs; those of the Basongo, at least, have walls of wattle and daub.
The Bambala village is reported to be a clan-community, presumably of mixed patrilocal and avunculocal type but perhaps basically the latter. A Basongo village is said to contain different lineages, Bambala villages are said to tend to split: a rich man with his wives, slaves, and a few relatives may leave to found a new village.
Each Basongo and Bambala village has a headman, and each Basongo lineage has a head. The Basongo headman, or chef de terre, has the authority to give aliens the right to settle in the community. Succession to these offices is matrilineal among the Basongo and southern Bambala, with the younger brother taking precedence over the sister's son, but among the northern Bambala it is said to depend on wealth in women or slaves.
Each village is politically independent, but formerly the Bambala had paramount chiefs with matrilineal succession, by eldest sister's eldest son. Among the southern Bambala occasional war alliances bind several villages under a single paramount chief, but this is rare.
The Mbala produce a famous red pigment, called tukula, from which their name, "the red people", emanates.
The Mbala are famous for their maternity figures and their musician statues: drummers or players of the thumb piano (sanza) or xylophone. Statues appear in pairs - the male figure holds a musical instrument, the female holds a child. The figures come in three types: diamond-shaped, elongated, or trapezoidal. Some carry a figure on their shoulders.
The features (especially the forehead and chin) project forcefully, and the head is surmounted by a crest-like coiffure. Mbala standing and sitting mother-and-child figures are much more powerfully rigid in style than others in the Congo region. In the matrilinear society of the Mbala, maternity was celebrated very specifically.
A symbol of the chief’s authority and the capital part of ancestor worship, it inspired powerful evocationof the clan’s female founder, the true force of nature. Despite their sacred character these statues are very lifelike, often designed with a slight asymmetry which gives them particular spontaneity and personality. Fetish figures – used for hunting and divination purposes – are often covered with added paraphernalia, which is believed to enhance their powers.The masks resemble those of the neighboring Yaka. Helmet masks are rare and their function is unknown.There are also headrests supported on the arms of single and double figures. Some finely sculpted ivory objects are found: scepters, knives, cups, neckrests.
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