Bolomba Territory is an administrative area in

Équateur Province Équateur, French for equator, may refer to: Places * Province of Équateur, a province of the Democratic Republic of the Congo since 2015 * Équateur (former province), a former province of the Democratic Republic of the Congo, 1966–2015 * � ...

in the

Democratic Republic of the Congo The Democratic Republic of the Congo (DRC), also known as the DR Congo, Congo-Kinshasa, or simply the Congo (the last ambiguously also referring to the neighbouring Republic of the Congo), is a country in Central Africa. By land area, it is t ...

. The headquarters is the town of Bolomba. It is located northeast of the provincial capital of

Mbandaka Mbandaka (, formerly known as Coquilhatville in French, or Coquilhatstad in Dutch) is a city in the Democratic Republic of Congo located near the confluence of the Congo and Ruki rivers. It is the capital of Équateur Province. The city was f ...

. Its main waterway is the Ikelemba River which is navigable down to the

Congo River The Congo River, formerly also known as the Zaire River, is the second-longest river in Africa, shorter only than the Nile, as well as the third-largest river in the world list of rivers by discharge, by discharge volume, following the Amazon Ri ...

History

The territory of Bolomba was included in the

Équateur District Équateur District was a former district of the Congo Free State, Belgian Congo and Democratic Republic of the Congo. In 1914, it became part of former Équateur Province. The district went through various changes of extent and name over the year ...

when the

Congo Free State The Congo Free State, also known as the Independent State of the Congo (), was a large Sovereign state, state and absolute monarchy in Central Africa from 1885 to 1908. It was privately owned by Leopold II of Belgium, King Leopold II, the const ...

was established, annexed by Belgium in 1908,Britannica: and passed into

in 1917. In the reorganizations of 1962, 1966 and 2015 it remained in the core Équateur area.

Administrative subdivisions

Bolomba Territory is divided into five administrative divisions or "sectors": :Dianga, with 4 sub-groupings (''groupements'') and 46 villages ; :Mampoko, with 3 sub-groupings (''groupements'') and 43 villages ; :Bolomba, with 7 sub-groupings (''groupements'') and 112 villages ; :Busira, with 6 sub-groupings (''groupements'') and 78 villages ; and :Losanganya, with 4 sub-groupings (''groupements'') and 113 villages.

Geography and climate

The Bolomba Territory is mainly evergreen deciduous forest, except where it has been clear-cut. The area is low-lying with respect to the Ikelemba River and is subject to either regular annual inundation or flooding in wet years.

Ethnology

Bolomba is primarily inhabited by Bantu tribes of the Mongo and the western branch of the Ngombe (''water-people''), with some dependent

pygmy In anthropology, pygmy peoples are ethnic groups whose average height is unusually short. The term pygmyism is used to describe the phenotype of endemic short stature (as opposed to disproportionate dwarfism occurring in isolated cases in a po ...

communities known as "Balumbe". The Mongo there are divided into the Eleku and the Baenga. The predominant languages are

Lomongo Mongo, also called Nkundo or Mongo-Nkundu (''Lomongo, Lonkundu''), is a Bantu language spoken by several of the Mongo peoples in the Democratic Republic of the Congo. Mongo speakers reside in the north-west of the country over a large area insid ...

and Lingombe. The primary occupation is fishing.

Notes and references

{{Clear Territories of Équateur Province