Abaka

Abaka

The Abaka are located in Reuplic of the Congo - 04º N-28º E

The Abaka are a part of the Mittu group. The shattered and depopulated tribes of the Mittu group are closely akin in language and culture to the Bongo and, like them, are of Central Sudanic linguistic stock. One source divides the Mittu group into the first three subgroups listed below.

The Abaka are added as a fourth subgroup:.

  1. The Beli (Behli) and Sofi.
  2. The : Gberi (Behri) and the Mittu proper.
  3. The Lori, Nyamusa (linguistically close to, if not identical with, the Lori), Moru Kodo (Moro Kodo), and Moru Wadi (Moro Wadi), The last two are not to be confused with the Madi, though the names Moru and Madi are often used interchangeably for both tribes, or with the Moru, with whom confusion is even commoner. They number in excess of 10,000.
  4. The Abaka (Baka), numbering about 15,000 in 1947.

Another source also places the Biti (Bite, Bitu) and Wira in the Mittu group, and a third source adds the Baluba and Lehssi, but the affiliations of these tribes are not specified.


Basic Economy

Primarily agricultural. The principal crops of the Mittu group, according to one source, are sorghum, millet, eleusine, peanuts, and lima beans. In addition to the above, the Mittu raise some maize, sesame, sweet potatoes, and yams. Goats, dogs (eaten), and chickens (both eggs and flesh eaten by Abaka) are common, but there are very few sheep and no cattle among the Mittu. According to one source, cattle were formerly numerous among the Abaka but are lacking today.


Settlement Pattern

The Beli formerly lived in sizable villages (50 to 100 inhabitants) surrounded by circular stockades, but today they occupy much smaller hamlets. The hamlets are usually miles apart, but sometimes several are clustered closely together.


Community Organization

A Beli village is "inhabited by close relatives." Each Beli tribe is divided into a number of sections, subdivided into clans. Circumcision is not practiced.


State

Hereditary chieftainship is reported among the Abaka. The Beli, like the Nuba tribes, have rainmakers with great political authority.

 

Warfare

All tribes of the Mittu group have been severely harassed by the Azande, who slew and ate or enslaved them by the hundreds. They have also suffered from Arab oppression.

 

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