The Teke people or Bateke, also known as the Tyo or Tio, are a Bantu Central African ethnic group that speak the Teke languages and that mainly inhabit the south, north, and center of the Republic of the Congo, the west of the Democratic Republic of the Congo, with a minority in the south-east of Gabon. Omar Bongo, who was President of Gabon in the late 20th century, was a Teke. [1]
As part of the Bantu expansion, the Teke established a powerful kingdom in what is now the Republic of Congo in the first millennium C.E. with religion as the basis of legitimacy. [2]
The Teke Kingdom flourished around the 12th and 13th centuries, but by the 15th had become a vassal of the Kingdom of Kongo and faced encroachment on their frontiers by numerous other peoples. Initially occupying the area between Manyanga and the Malebo Pool, the Teke were gradually pushed north by Kongolese raids and emigration, itself a product of the violence of the Atlantic slave trade, into the Batéké Plateau. [3]
The French first arrived in what is now the Republic of Congo in the 1880s, and occupied the Congo until 1960. During this colonial period, traditional Teke ceremonies were very few. Under the French, the Teke people suffered heavily from colonial exploitation. The French government was gathering land for its own use and damaging traditional economies, including massive displacement of people. The Teke Kingdom signed a treaty with the French in 1883 that gave the French land in return for protection. Pierre Savorgnan de Brazza oversaw French interests. A small settlement along the Congo River was renamed Brazzaville and eventually became the federal capital of French Equatorial Africa. In the 1960s the Teke people started to regain their independence and traditional life started to flourish once again.
The name of the tribe shows what the occupation of the tribe was: trading. The word teke means 'to sell'. The economy of the Teke is mainly based on farming maize, millet and tobacco, but the Teke are also hunters, skilled fishermen and traders. The Teke lived in an area across Republic of Congo, the Democratic Republic of the Congo and Gabon. The mfumu was the head of the family and his prestige grew as family members increased. The Teke sometimes chose blacksmiths as chiefs. The blacksmiths were important in the community and this occupation was passed down from father to son. In terms of life of the Teke, the village chief was chosen as religious leader, he was the most important tribal member and he would keep all the potions and spiritual bones that would be used in traditional ceremonies to speak to the spirits and rule safety over his people.
Teke masks are mainly used in traditional dancing ceremonies such as wedding, funeral and initiation ceremonies of young men entering adult hood. The mask is also used as a social and political identifier of social structure within a tribe or family. The Teke or Kidumu[ clarification needed ] people are well known for their Teke masks, which are round flat disk-like wooden masks that have abstract patterns and geometric motifs with horizontal lines that are painted in earthly colors, mainly dark blue, blacks, browns and clays. The traditional Teke masks all have triangle shaped noses. The masks have narrow eye slits to enable the masker to see without being seen. They have holes pierced along the edge for the attachment of a woven raffia dress with feathers and fibers. The mask is held in place with a bite bar at the back that the wearer holds in his teeth. The dress would add to the mask's costume and conceal the wearer. The masks originate from the upper Ogowe region.
The Teke historically breed dogs and cats for domestic purposes. The chien Bateke is a small lean hunting dog with a short, medium gray coat. The chat Bateke is large cat with nearly the same coloring as the dog. These animals constitute landraces, rather than formal breeds (they are not recognized by any major fancier and breeder organizations). A majority of domesticated cats and dogs in areas bordering the Congo River are of these breeds, though ownership of domesticated animals in general is rare in the region.
Gabon, officially the Gabonese Republic, is a country on the Atlantic coast of Central Africa, on the equator, bordered by Equatorial Guinea to the northwest, Cameroon to the north, the Republic of the Congo on the east and south, and the Gulf of Guinea to the west. It has an area of 270,000 square kilometres (100,000 sq mi) and a population of 2.3 million people. There are coastal plains, mountains, and a savanna in the east. Libreville is the country's capital and largest city.
The history of the Republic of the Congo has been marked by diverse civilisations: Indigenous, French and post-independence.
Omar Bongo Ondimba was a Gabonese politician who was the second president of Gabon from 1967 until his death in 2009. Bongo was promoted to key positions as a young official under Gabon's first President Léon M'ba in the 1960s, before being elected the second vice-president in his own right in 1966. In 1967, he succeeded M'ba to become the country's president, upon the latter's death.
Likouala is a department of the Republic of the Congo in the northern part of the country. It borders the departments of Cuvette and Sangha, and internationally, the Democratic Republic of the Congo and the Central African Republic. The region has an area of 66,044 km² and an estimated population of almost 360,000. The chief town is Impfondo. Principal cities and towns include Epena and Dongou.
Articles related to Gabon include:
French is the official language in Gabon, spoken natively in large metropolitan areas and in total by 320,000 people or 14% of the country. 32% of the people speak Fang as a mother tongue. French is the medium of instruction. Before World War II very few Gabonese learned French, nearly all of them working in either business or government administration. After the war, France worked for universal primary education in Gabon, and by the 1960-61 census, 47% of the Gabonese over the age of 14 spoke some French, while 13% were literate in the language. By the 1990s, the literacy rate had risen to about 60%.
Patience Marie Josephine Kama Dabany, also known by the names Marie Joséphine Kama and Josephine Bongo, is a Gabonese singer and musician. Dabany served as the First Lady of Gabon from 1967 to 1987. For 28 years, she was married to Omar Bongo Ondimba, who was President of Gabon from 1967 to 2009. After their divorce, she successfully pursued a career in music. She is the mother of the former President of Gabon, Ali Bongo Ondimba.
The Centre International des Civilisations Bantu (CICIBA) is a cultural organization based in Libreville, Gabon. Established at the initiative of Gabonese president Omar Bongo on January 8, 1983, it is dedicated to the study of the Bantu peoples.
The Anziku Kingdom, also called the Teke Kingdom, Tyo Kingdom,Tio Kingdom, or Great Makoko, was a West Central African state of modern Republic of Congo, Gabon and Democratic Republic of Congo.
Kako is a Bantu language spoken mainly in Cameroon, with some speakers in the Central African Republic and the Republic of the Congo. The main population centres of Kako speakers are Batouri and Ndélélé in the East Region of Cameroon.
The Bongo people, also called Babongo or Bazimba, are an agricultural people of Gabon in equatorial Africa who are known as "forest people" due to their recent foraging economy.
Christianity is the predominant religion in Gabon, with significant minorities of the adherents of Islam and traditional faiths.
The Republic of the Congo, also known as Congo-Brazzaville, the Congo Republic or simply either Congo or the Congo, is a country located on the western coast of Central Africa to the west of the Congo River. It is bordered to the west by Gabon, to the northwest by Cameroon, to the northeast by the Central African Republic, to the southeast by the Democratic Republic of the Congo, to the south by the Angolan exclave of Cabinda, and to the southwest by the Atlantic Ocean.
Édith Lucie Bongo Ondimba was the First Lady of Gabon as the wife of President Omar Bongo from 1989 to 2009. She was part of the Bongo family.
The official language of the Republic of Congo is French. Other languages are mainly Bantu languages, and the two national languages in the country are Kituba and Lingala, followed by Kongo languages, Téké languages, and more than forty other languages, including languages spoken by Pygmies, which are not Bantu languages.
Kele is a Bantu language of Gabon. Dialects of the Kele language are scattered throughout Gabon.
Charles David Ganao was a Congolese politician who served as Prime Minister of the Republic of the Congo from 27 August 1996 to 8 September 1997.
Ngalifourou was a queen of the Mbé region in what is today the Republic of Congo (Congo-Brazzaville). As a ruler she was close to French colonial authorities and was the first ruler in her region to sign a treaty with them.
The Bongo family is a Gabonese and Congolese political family of Teke ethnicity. Three Bongo family members have been presidents of Gabon, ruling the country from 1967 until the present. Denis Sassou Nguesso is President of the Republic of the Congo and is related to the Bongo family through the marriage of his daughter Edith Lucie Bongo to Omar Bongo. Omar ruled until death and was succeeded in the presidency by his son Ali Bongo. Ali Bongo ruled from 2009 until 2023 when he was overthrown by his cousin Brice Oligui Nguema in a coup.
The Western DR Congo clashes are a series of attacks by Mobondo militia on armed forces and Teke civilians which started in June 2022. The conflict has an ethnic component, as the Mobondo is mainly recruited from Yaka and other ethnic groups that are migrating into territories traditionally inhabited by Teke.
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