The Adouma (or Duma) are an

ethnic group An ethnicity or ethnic group is a group of people with shared attributes, which they collectively believe to have, and long-term endogamy. Ethnicities share attributes like language, culture, common sets of ancestry, traditions, society, re ...

Gabon 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 to the east and south, and ...

, in central Africa. They primarily live on the South bank of the upper

Ogooué River The Ogooué (or Ogowe), also known as the Nazareth River, some long, is the principal river of Gabon in west-central Africa and the fourth largest river in Africa by volume of discharge, trailing only the Congo, Kasai and Niger. Its watershed ...

, in the vicinity of

Lastoursville Lastoursville or Mandji is a city in east-central Gabon, lying on the Ogooué River, the Trans-Gabon Railway and the N3 road (Gabon), N3 road. It was founded as a slavery, slave depot named ''Mandji'', renamed ''Maadiville'' in 1883 before bein ...

(originally an Adouma village), and are known as expert

canoe A canoe is a lightweight, narrow watercraft, water vessel, typically pointed at both ends and open on top, propelled by one or more seated or kneeling paddlers facing the direction of travel and using paddles. In British English, the term ' ...

ists or the boatmen. They speak

Duma A duma () is a Russian assembly with advisory or legislative functions. The term ''boyar duma'' is used to refer to advisory councils in Russia from the 10th to 17th centuries. Starting in the 18th century, city dumas were formed across Russia ...

, a

Nzebi language Njebi (or Nzebi, Njabi, Ndzabi, Yinjebi, etc.) is a Bantu language spoken in Gabon and the Republic of Congo. Phonology Consonants * /z/ is heard as �when before /i/. * /ɡ/ can be pronounced as �or in free variation. * /b/ can be hear ...

of the Bantu family. Their traditions hold that they arrived from the East or Southeast, coming down the

Sebe River The Sébé (or Sebe) River (French: ''Rivière Sébé'') is a river which flows in Gabon. It is a tributary A tributary, or an ''affluent'', is a stream or river that flows into a larger stream (''main stem'' or ''"parent"''), river, or a lake. ...

to the Ogowe, and thence to the Doumé rapids. They made canoes of Aucoumea wood, and sold

slave Slavery is the ownership of a person as property, especially in regards to their labour. Slavery typically involves compulsory work, with the slave's location of work and residence dictated by the party that holds them in bondage. Enslavemen ...

s to the

Okandé The Okandé are a people of north-eastern Gabon who belong to the Mèmbè language group (Okandè, Apindzi, Simba, Vové, Tsogho, Evia and Kotakota). Their language overlaps that of the Apindzi and the Simba about 80/86% according to professor Va ...

, receiving European products such as guns and cloth in exchange. The

Société du Haut-Ogooué Groupe Lactalis S.A. (doing business as Lactalis) is a French multinational dairy products corporation, owned by the Besnier family and based in Laval, Mayenne, France. The company's former name was Besnier S.A. Lactalis is the largest dairy pr ...

(SHO) established a post at Lastoursville and engaged the Adouma in trade for

rubber Rubber, also called India rubber, latex, Amazonian rubber, ''caucho'', or ''caoutchouc'', as initially produced, consists of polymers of the organic compound isoprene, with minor impurities of other organic compounds. Types of polyisoprene ...

ivory Ivory is a hard, white material from the tusks (traditionally from elephants) and Tooth, teeth of animals, that consists mainly of dentine, one of the physical structures of teeth and tusks. The chemical structure of the teeth and tusks of mamm ...

, and

ebony Ebony is a dense black/brown hardwood, coming from several species in the genus '' Diospyros'', which also includes the persimmon tree. A few ''Diospyros'' species, such as macassar and mun ebony, are dense enough to sink in water. Ebony is fin ...

. During the 1970s and 1980s, many Adouma moved down the Ogowe, towards

Port-Gentil Port-Gentil () or Mandji is the second-largest city of Gabon, and it is a leading seaport. It is the center of Gabon's petroleum and timber industries. The city is located on a delta island in the Ogooue delta. Nearby Cape Lopez is Gabon's weste ...

References

* David E. Gardinier, ''Historical Dictionary of Gabon'', 2nd ed. (The Scarecrow Press, 1994) pp. 34–35 Ethnic groups in Gabon {{Africa-ethno-group-stub