Also known as
Bobes, Boobes, Adijas, Ediyas, Eris, Fernando Poans, Fernandians, as well as the Bantu SpeakingBube is a Bantu, Bube-Benga, language spoken by the Bubi people, a Bantu stock ethnic tribe native to, and once the majority of Bioko Island, Equatorial Guinea-Alternative names for the Bube Language:*Bubé*eVoové*eBubée*Bhubhi*Bubi*Ibubi*Ibhubhi...
Bubi, the
Bubi People are an African
ethnic groupAn ethnic group is a group of humans whose members identify with each other, through a common heritage that is real or presumed.Ethnic identity is further marked by the researcher Seng Yang in the recognition from others of a group's distinctiveness and the recognition of common cultural,...
, members of the Bantu group, who are indigenous to Bioko Island,
Equatorial GuineaEquatorial Guinea, officially the Republic of Equatorial Guinea is a country located in Central Africa. With an area of 28,000 km
2 it is one of the smallest countries in continental Africa. It has a population estimated at half a million...
. Once the majority group in the region, the Bubi have, since the end of Spanish rule over Bioko, been diminished in number due to
genocideFrancisco Macías Nguema was the first President of Equatorial Guinea, from 1968 until his overthrow in 1979.-Rise to Power:...
which eliminated 75% of the ethnic group; and mass exodus as they fled, what was initially, tribal/
clanA clan is a group of people united by kinship and descent, which is defined by actual or perceived descent from a common ancestor. Even if actual lineage patterns are unknown, clan members may nonetheless recognize a founding member or apical ancestor...
rooted political unrest. The indigenous Bubi of Bioko Island have now been outnumbered - first by non-indigenous Fernandinos (the descendants of liberated slaves who mixed with settlers of British West Africa); and then by members of the Fang ethnic group, who have immigrated in large numbers from mainland
Equatorial GuineaEquatorial Guinea, officially the Republic of Equatorial Guinea is a country located in Central Africa. With an area of 28,000 km
2 it is one of the smallest countries in continental Africa. It has a population estimated at half a million...
.
The Bubi People have long held little political power. However a recently appointed government official like the former Prime Minister
Miguel Abia Biteo BoricoMiguel Abia Biteo Boricó is a former Prime Minister of Equatorial Guinea having served from June 14, 2004 to August 14, 2006. He is a member of the Bubi ethnic group.Biteo lived and studied in the Soviet Union, where he became a mining engineer...
and several other members of the current Equatorial Guinea government are Bubi. Despite this, the majority of Bubi descendants both living in
Equatorial GuineaEquatorial Guinea, officially the Republic of Equatorial Guinea is a country located in Central Africa. With an area of 28,000 km
2 it is one of the smallest countries in continental Africa. It has a population estimated at half a million...
and exiles abroad hold little political and economic stake in their native land.
Most Bubi People that remain on Bioko Island speak the Bube language, with many speaking
SpanishSpanish or Castilian is a Romance language in the Ibero-Romance group that originated in northern Spain and gradually spread in the Kingdom of Castile, evolving into the principal language of government and trade in the Iberian peninsula...
as a secondary language.
History
The Bubi people are subdivided into a number of tribes and subtribes that go back centuries. Indigenous Bubi folklore indicate that the tribe immigrated to Bioko Island some 3,000 years ago as a means of escaping servitude. However according to
"archaeological evidence", the Bubi immigrated to Bioko Island some time during the 13th century, some 200 years before it was discovered and claimed by the
PortuguesePortugal , officially the Portuguese Republic , is a country located in southwestern Europe on the Iberian Peninsula. Portugal is the westernmost country of mainland Europe and is bordered by the Atlantic Ocean to the west and south and by Spain to the north and east...
. Other reports suggest that the tribe arrived between V and XVIII centuries from southern
CameroonThe Republic of Cameroon is a unitary republic of central and western Africa. It is bordered by Nigeria to the west; Chad to the northeast; the Central African Republic to the east; and Equatorial Guinea, Gabon, and the Republic of the Congo to the south. Cameroon's coastline lies on the Bight of...
and the mainland area of the
Rio MuniRío Muni is the Continental Region of Equatorial Guinea, and comprises the mainland geographical region, covering 26,000 km²....
.
The Bubi were once enslaved by a continental African tribe,
likely another Bantu ethnic group that once occupied areas along the shores of West Africa. The tribe is a result of an amalgamation of small tribal groups who immigrated to Bioko Island in several waves, and each group established its own enclave upon the island. Throughout their history, these groups engaged in brutal battles for supremacy, though the fighting was not relegated strictly to inter-clan rivalries. The Bubi were known to have had long battles against one another on an individual, family, district, city, and tribal level - this led to a near constant state of warfare on the island.
With the arrival of Portuguese explorer
Fernando PoFernando Po may mean:*Fernando Po in Equatorial Guinea, now called Bioko*Fernão do Pó, Portuguese explorer*Fernando Pó, Portugal, village*Fernando Po, Sierra Leone, village...
, life changed drastically for the native Bubi. Some sources claim that a full eight of ten tribesmen were killed by foreign plagues and fever, brought along with the Europeans aboard their ships. For several centuries, Europeans avoided the island of Bioko because of the purported savagery of the Bubi - a
GermanGermany , officially the Federal Republic of Germany , is a country in Central Europe. It is bordered to the north by the North Sea, Denmark, and the Baltic Sea; to the east by Poland and the Czech Republic; to the south by Austria and Switzerland; and to the west by France, Luxembourg, Belgium,...
Gold CoastThe Brandenburger Gold Coast, later Prussian Gold Coast, was a part of the Gold Coast that was colonised by Germans before the German unification of 1871.- Brandenburger Gold Coast :...
merchant wrote
"The island of Fernando Po is inhabited by a savage and cruel sort of people," and that Europeans did not dare to dock upon their beaches, for fear of surprise attacks from natives with dart-weapons. Surprise attacks on explorers and colonists were a common phenomenon during this period - in fact, the Bubi had a system of social rank that depended largely on how many rivals a man had killed through stealth or subterfuge. Because of this, the Bubi remained unconquered by European imperialism until the start of the twentieth century.
Gradually, European influence on the island increased. Portugal laid claim to it, and then traded it to Spain - and by the early 19th century, Bioko was an integral point in the transfer of slaves from mainland Africa to the Americas. Over time, the influence of the Bubi has greatly diminished, and some sources claim that they are now a minority upon the island, as well as in the nation of Equatorial Guinea itself.
Genocide
Francisco Macias NguemaFrancisco Macías Nguema was the first President of Equatorial Guinea, from 1968 until his overthrow in 1979.-Rise to Power:...
was the first President of
Equatorial GuineaEquatorial Guinea, officially the Republic of Equatorial Guinea is a country located in Central Africa. With an area of 28,000 km
2 it is one of the smallest countries in continental Africa. It has a population estimated at half a million...
, from 1968 until his overthrow in 1979. During his presidency, his country was nicknamed "the
AuschwitzAuschwitz-Birkenau was the largest of Nazi Germany's concentration camps and extermination camps, operational during World War II.The camp took its German name from the hosting town of Oświęcim. Following the German invasion of Poland in September 1939, Oświęcim was annexed by Nazi Germany and...
of Africa". Nguema’s regime was characterized by its abandonment of all government functions except internal security, which was accomplished by terror; he acted as chief judge and sentenced thousands to death. This led to the death or exile of up to 1/3 of the country's population. Out of a population of 300,000, an estimated 80,000 had been killed, in particular those of the
BubiAlso known as Bobes, Boobes, Adijas, Ediyas, Eris, Fernando Poans, Fernandians, as well as the Bantu Speaking Bubi, the Bubi People are an African ethnic group, members of the Bantu group, who are indigenous to Bioko Island, Equatorial Guinea...
ethnic minority on
BiokoBioko is an island off the west coast of Africa in the Gulf of Guinea, part of Equatorial Guinea. In colonial times it was known as Fernando Pó or Fernando Poo. There are two explanations for the current name of the island. One suggests that it is named after an ancient tribal leader of the Bubi...
associated with relative wealth and intellectualism. Uneasy around educated people, he had killed everyone who wore spectacles. All schools were ordered closed in 1975. The economy collapsed, and skilled citizens and foreigners left.
On August 3, 1979, he was overthrown by
Teodoro Obiang Nguema MbasogoTeodoro Obiang Nguema Mbasogo is the President of Equatorial Guinea, having served since 1979.Born into the Esangui clan in Acoacán, Obiang joined the military during the colonial period, and attended the Military Academy in Zaragoza, Spain...
. Macias Nguema was captured, tried for
genocideGenocide is the deliberate and systematic destruction, in whole or in part, of an ethnic, racial, religious, or national group.While precise definition varies among genocide scholars, a legal definition is found in the 1948 United Nations Convention on the Prevention and Punishment of the Crime of...
and other crimes along with 10 others. All of them were found guilty, four received terms of imprisonment, while Nguema and the other six were executed a few weeks later on September 29.
John B. Quigley in
The Genocide Convention: An International Law Analysis points out that at Macias Nguema's trial for genocide that Equatorial Guinea had not ratified the Genocide convention and that records of the court proceedings show that there was some confusion over whether Nguema and his co-defendants were tried under the laws of Spain (the former colonial power), or whether the trial was justified on the claim that the Genocide Convention was part of customary international law. Quigley states that "The Macias case stands out as the most confusing of domestic genocide prosecutions from the standpoint of the applicable law. The Macias conviction is also problematic from the standpoint of the identity of the protected group."
Amalgamated Ancestries
Many modern Bubi have inherited bloodlines from:
- Slaves who escaped from Sao Tome in the 1800s;
- Sierra Leone Creole people
The Sierra Leone Creole are an ethnic group in Sierra Leone, they are descendants of West Indian slaves from the Caribbean, primarily and freed African American slaves from the United States, which landed in Freetown between 1787 and 1855 ....
, also known as 'Krumanes' or 'Fernandinos';
- Cuban indentured servants brought to the region during the 1600;
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Spanairds and/or Portuguese;
Other ethnic groups indigenous to Equatorial Guinea and West/Central Africa. |
Furthermore, a part of the population may have bloodlines inherited from North African slaves traded into the region over centuries. Studies have shown considerable evidence of North African genetic makers among the region's indigenous population. As a result, the former city of Santa Isabel (Malabo) features a
CreoleThe term Creole and its cognates in other languages — such as crioulo, criollo, créole, kriolu, criol, kreyol, kriulo, kriol, krio, kreol, etc. — have been applied to people in different countries and epochs, with rather different meanings...
cocktail of natives.
Origin of the Bubi name
The name applied to the tribe,
"Bubi", did not originate from within the tribe. It was given to them by pre-colonial visitors to the island of
BiokoBioko is an island off the west coast of Africa in the Gulf of Guinea, part of Equatorial Guinea. In colonial times it was known as Fernando Pó or Fernando Poo. There are two explanations for the current name of the island. One suggests that it is named after an ancient tribal leader of the Bubi...
. It has been suggested that the term
"bubi" was derived from
booby which means
"unlearned, senseless, and clumsy". However the term was taken from the manner in which the indigenous people of Bioko Island greeted one another.
"A boobe, oipodi" translates into
"good morning". From the word
"boobe", meaning male, the term Bubi was derived by foreigners. Subsequently, the term
"bubi" was adopted by the indigenous people, who began referring to themselves as
"mobube" and
"babube".
Other forms of
"A boobe, oipodi" include
"A moome, oipodi" which means
"good evening"; and
"A moamecho, oibori" which means
"good afternoon". A literal translation in English would be: 'Man, you have arisen already?'
What the Bubi named themselves
Originally the Bubi referred to themselves as
"people of the land who are among the living". In the Bubi language, the translation of this phrased varied per region within the Bubi Kingdom:
- North - "bochoboche"; plural "bechoboche"
- Northeast - "bosoboiso"; plural "besoboiso"
- East - "boschosboricho"; plural "bachosboricho"
- South - "mochomorischo"; plural "bachoboricho"
- Southwest - "menchomoboncho"; plural "bandiobaboncho"
Culture
The Bubis are known for a particular type of tattooing that extends from the times of slave-trading and persists, though not as commonly, to the current day. Elder tribesmen carve grooves or lines into the faces of Bubi children - the original purpose of these markings was for self-identification among slave groups in the
New WorldThe New World is one of the names used for the non-Afro-Eurasian parts of the Earth, specifically the Americas and possibly Australia. When the term originated in the late 15th century, the Americas were new to the Europeans, who previously thought of the world as consisting only of Europe, Asia,...
, and possibly to dissuade slavers from taking them in the first place, as the grooves look disfiguring to Western eyes.
Bubi women are very important in gathering crops and other chores, but they are given a status below that of the men in the village. To the Bubi, there are two types of marriage: marriage by buying
virginityA virgin is, originally, a woman who has never had sexual intercourse. Virginity is the state of being a virgin. It is derived from the Latin virgo, which means "sexually inexperienced woman", used typically of adolescents, but also of older women, and even goddesses.As in Latin, the English word...
, or
ribala r'eotó, and marriage by mutual love, or
ribala re rijole. The former is seen to be more legitimate than the latter, and all property of the wife passes to the husband upon marriage.
PolygamyThe term polygamy is used in related ways in social anthropology, sociobiology, sociology, as well as in popular speech. Polygamy can be defined as any "form of marriage in which a person [has] more than one spouse."In social anthropology, polygamy is the practice of marriage to more than one...
is practiced, particularly in the case of widows who remarry to men who already have wives, though her children remain the property and kin of the deceased husband's family. The majority of traditional Bubi marriages are based on principles of
monogamyMonogamy is the state of having only one sexual partner at any one time. The word monogamy comes from the Greek word monos "μονός", which means one or alone, and the Greek word gamos "γάμος", which means marriage or union...
.
The Bubi have never practised slavery, but there is a form of indentured servitude among the people called
botaki - there are nobles who earn that status by virtue of birth, and lesser peoples are expected to serve and protect them. In fact, people from separate social classes are not permitted to eat together by Bubi law.
Ancient Bubi Kingdom
The Bubi Kingdom was divided into five regions: North, Northeast, East, South and Southwest. Each region had its own distinct Bubi vernacular and were further divided into various subgroups, perhaps states.
Dynasties and Rulers
Bamöumá Dynasty
- King Mölambo (1700-1760)
- King Loríité (1760-1810)
- King Löpóa (1810-1842?)
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Bahítáari Dynasty
- King Möadyabitá (1842-1860)
- King Sëpaókó (1860-1874 or 1875)
- King Möókáta, or King Moka, (1875-1899)
- King Esáasi Eweera, or King Sás-Ebuera, (1899-1904)
- King Malabo Löpèlo Mëlaka, or King Malabo (I), (1904-1937)
- King A Löbari (1937-1943)
- King Òríityé, aka King Orityi (1943-1952)
- King Francisco Malabo Beosá, or King Malabo (II), (1952-2001)
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Factions
Modern
- Bubi of Luba (Sur)
- Bubi of Malabo (Norte)
- Bubi of Annabon
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Ancient Tribes and Kingdoms
faction name is anciently synonymous with tribal, village and dialect name.
- Babiaoma - people of Ombori
- Baho
- Bahu - a Batete subgroup. Once occupied the region between the Eputu and the Boopebilo Rivers.
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Bahu Subgroups: Rebolanos, Basapos of Rebola, Basilés, and Banapás.
- Bakake - Formed a subtribe with Bareka.
Bakake Subgroups: - later made up of Urekanos, Babiaoma, Balacha (of San Carlos), and the original Batete.
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Balombe
Balveris
Banapá |
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Baney
Bareka - south Bioko
Barépara |
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Bariaobe
Bariarebola
Bariobatta - (Once occupied the areas around the Boopebilo and Ope Rivers) |
Bariobatta Subgroups: Basupús, Basapos (of Basupú), Balveris, and Batoikoppos.
Basakato Subgroups
- Rebola of Basakato
- Basupú of Basakato (later merging to form the 'Basakato of the East
- Basinoka
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Barépara (later merging to form 'Bososo', or Basakato or the West)
Basapo (later merged with Rebola)
Basinoka |
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Basuala
Basilé
Basupú |
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Batete (along with the Bokoko, are among the last arrivals to the island Bioko. There were two prominent Batete factions. Although each fused with various subgroups over time, the overall identities of these groups remained Batete) |
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Batete Subgroup 1
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Bariarebola
Bariobatta
Basapo |
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Basilé
Basupú
Batoikoppo |
Batete Subgroup 2
This group divided in to 3 subgroups: Ríobanda, Ríokoritcho, and Ratcha or Ruitche
- Batoikoppo
- Bazakate
- Bokoko (along with the Bokoko, are among the last arrivals to the island of Bioko)
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Bososo - (consisted of merged Baskato subgroups Basinoka and Barépara)
Ratcha or Ruitche
Rebolanos |
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Riaba
Ríobanda
Ríokoritcho |
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Ruiché (some members later merged with Balacha - Ruiché of Balacha)
Ureka (of the Bubi People Also known as the Urekanos, this Bubi faction once occupied areas in and around the Urekano Mountains) |
Indigenous Villages
Existing - some locations are now well populated cities or towns
Bareso
Basakato
Batete
Luba
Musola |
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Former
- Baneba of Baney
- Riringó - disappeared around the turn of the 20th century.
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Politics
Traditionally, the Bube people had their own monarchy that emerged long before seventeenth century. At the beginning of nineteenth century, the island was divided into territories called cantons ruled by 'Botukus' or counts. The king ruled through 'Lojuá', recruiting a militia armed with spears.
In the post-colonial society the Bubi hold little political power even thought the Prime Minister of Equatorial GuineaEquatorial Guinea, officially the Republic of Equatorial Guinea is a country located in Central Africa. With an area of 28,000 km
2 it is one of the smallest countries in continental Africa. It has a population estimated at half a million...
Miguel Abia Biteo BoricóMiguel Abia Biteo Boricó is a former Prime Minister of Equatorial Guinea having served from June 14, 2004 to August 14, 2006. He is a member of the Bubi ethnic group.Biteo lived and studied in the Soviet Union, where he became a mining engineer...
and other Cabinet members are Bubi, as the tribe has become politically dominated by the ethnic majority faFa or FA may refer to:- Government and law :* Federal agent * Felonious assault* Fixed assets- Medicine and science :* Fractional anisotropy* Fanconi anemia* Fatty acid* Formamide...
or FangFang is a mammal's canine tooth.Fang may also refer to:* A snake's poison-injecting tooth: see snake venom* The Fang people of Central Africa* The Fang language spoken by these people...
.
During the colonial period several nationalists initiatives were developed under the 'Bubi Union' or the 'Grupo Nacionalista Bubi'. The Movement for the Self-Determination of Bioko IslandThe Movement for the Self-Determination of Bioko Island is a proscribed political organization in Equatorial Guinea. It has its roots in the pre-independence Unión Bubi, which sought independence from the mainland half of Spanish Guinea...
, (MAIB), led by Weja Chicampo Puye, is currently the main political force that unites the people's aspirations for Bubi self-identification.
Modern Day Population Distribution
Currently there remains around 85,000 ethnic Bubi throughout the world:
Equatorial Guinea
- Bioko: 45,000
- Continental Provinces: 5,000
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The Rest of Africa
- Nigeria: 3,000
- Gabon: 1,000
- Cameroon: 1,000
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The Rest of the World
- Spain: 35,000
- The United States: 2,000
- Other Countries: 3,000
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See also
- Bubi language
Bube is a Bantu, Bube-Benga, language spoken by the Bubi people, a Bantu stock ethnic tribe native to, and once the majority of Bioko Island, Equatorial Guinea-Alternative names for the Bube Language:*Bubé*eVoové*eBubée*Bhubhi*Bubi*Ibubi*Ibhubhi...
- Emancipados
Emancipado was a term used for an African descended social-political demographic within the population of Spanish Guinea that existed in the early to mid 1900's...
- Movement for the Self-Determination of Bioko Island
The Movement for the Self-Determination of Bioko Island is a proscribed political organization in Equatorial Guinea. It has its roots in the pre-independence Unión Bubi, which sought independence from the mainland half of Spanish Guinea...
- Francisco Macías Nguema
Francisco Macías Nguema was the first President of Equatorial Guinea, from 1968 until his overthrow in 1979.-Rise to Power:...
- Genocide
Genocide is the deliberate and systematic destruction, in whole or in part, of an ethnic, racial, religious, or national group.While precise definition varies among genocide scholars, a legal definition is found in the 1948 United Nations Convention on the Prevention and Punishment of the Crime of...
Notable People of Bubi Descent
- Concha Buika
Concha Buika is a Spanish singer. Her album Niña de Fuego is currently nominated for the Latin Grammy Award for Album of the Year....
- Cristino Seriche Bioko
Cristino Seriche Bioko was the prime minister of Equatorial Guinea from August 15 1982 to March 4 1992....
- Emilio Buale
Emilio Buale Coka is an Equatorial Guinean-Spanish actor of Bubi descent.-Early Life & Career:Born in Equatorial Guinea, he moved to Spain, with his parents and brothers, when he was six years old. He had no intention of becoming an actor until one day, in 1995, when casting director Paco Pino...
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- Gus Envela, Jr.
Gustavo Bodjedi Envela-Mahua Jr. is an Equato-Guinean-American former sprinter, actor and political hopeful.-Background and early life:...
- Hijas del Sol
Hijas del Sol, respectively Piruchi Apo Botupá and Paloma Loribo Apo, are an aunt and niece duo from the island of Bioko in Equatorial Guinea who write, sing and perform songs in both Bubi and Spanish....
- Juan Balboa Boneke
Juan Balboa Boneke is an Equatorial Guinean politician and writer.
He studied at the Escuela Superior de Santa Isabel and at La Escuela social de Granada...
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- Miguel Abia Biteo Boricó
Miguel Abia Biteo Boricó is a former Prime Minister of Equatorial Guinea having served from June 14, 2004 to August 14, 2006. He is a member of the Bubi ethnic group.Biteo lived and studied in the Soviet Union, where he became a mining engineer...
- Severo Moto Nsá
Severo Matías Moto Nsá , known as Severo Moto, is the most notable opposition politician in Equatorial Guinea, and leader of the Progress Party of Equatorial Guinea. He lives in Spain where he has established a government in exile, to the annoyance of Teodoro Obiang...
- Virginia Buika
Virginia Buika is an Afro-Spanish musician, producer and actress of Spanish and Equatorial Guinean descent.-External links:* * * *
...
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External links