Kela / Akela

Kela / Akela / Kela Lemba

The Akela nation is referred to as the Southeastern division of the Mongo nation by one authority.

The Kela are founf in the Democratic Republic of the Congo and are numbering 928,000 (Peoplegorups.org, 2024)

Kela People

The first authority includes four tribes, the first two definitely under the joint name of Bakutu (not to be confused with the Kutshu or with the Wankutshu group of Batetela); the letter two as speaking languages related to the first two:

  1. Akela (Bakela, Ekela, Ikela, Kela).
  2. Yela (Boiela, Boyela), reported by one source as related to the Bangandu.
  3. Balanga, with the Bakuti and the Ngombe of the Kindu, in the Lamami sector of the Kindu territory.
  4. Bambuli (sometimes called Bambole), late arrivals with a somewhat distinct dialect.

 

Basic Ecomomy

Primarily agricultural, with manioc the staple, followed by bananas and among the Akela also sweet potatoes. Dogs, goats, and chickens are kept by the Akela but are not used for food. Hunting is extremely important among the Akela, much less so among the Yela, for whom most of it is done by dependent Twa Pygmies. Fishing is done in the dry season but is of secondary importance except on the larger rivers.

 

Sex Division of Labor

Men hunt and clear land. Women do the rest of the agricultural work and all the fishing (at least among the Akela).

 

Property

Knives, copper rings, and spearheads are important forms of property. The Akela also use dogs for money. There are slaves.
Inheritance is patrilineal (specific data only for the Afcela). The preferred heir is eldest son, then brother, then brothers'
son; he gives some of his inheritance to other members of the family. Only males inherit property.


Social Stratification

Slaves are classed (by the Yela at least) as hereditary, captive, and purchased; the Akela also capture and purchase slaves, A freeman may marry a slave woman, but a freewoman (among the Yela at least) may not marry a slave man. The children of a freeman and a slave woman are free; those of two slaves are slaves among the Yela but apparently are free among the Akela.


Family

Among neither the Akela nor the Yela is it clear whether the polygynous or the patrilocal extended family is the norm. The latter is probable.

 

Settlement Pattern

The Akela community is a semipermanent village with dwellings built along one side of a street and the hut of the headman in the center; the huts are rectangular and have gabled roofs. The Yela community consists of a number of hamlets located close together, each hamlet occupied by a group of related families.


Community Organization

The Akela settlement is probably a patrilocal clan- community. The Akela practice circumcision. Among the Yela a clan is said to occupy a community, and subclans or groups of related families inhabit the constituent hamlets. The members of a clan reportedly have a common., presumably patrilineal, ancestor.


Local Government

Each community is ruled by a headman, honorific rather than despotic, and a council of elders. Among the Yela these are probably the patriarchal heads of the constituent hamlets; for both the Akela and the Yela a hierarchical patriarchal organization is reported. Succession is patrilineal. Among the Akela the eldest son succeeds a younger brother when the younger has no sons. Among the Yela succession is said to be by seniority, but there is no indication of whether a son or brother is preferred; in any event, a sister's son succeeds only in default of male patrilineal heirs.


State

Each Akela village is reported to be politically autonomous, though there were paramount chiefs before the tribe was forced to migrate to its present location. The Yela have two paramount chiefs, each descended from a traditional ancestor — one by a son of his first wife and the other by a son of his second wife, there are 15 subtribes; 9 ruled by the descendant in the senior line, 6 by that in the junior line. The rule of succession is the same for para­mount chiefs as for village headmen (see Local Government above).

 


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