Bubi

Also known as the Bantu Speaking Bube, the Bubi People are an African ethnic group, members of the Bantu group, who are indigenous to Bioko Island, Equatorial Guinea. Once the majority group in the region, the Bubi have, since the end of Spanish rule over Bioko, been diminished in number due to genocide and mass exodus as they fled, what was initially, tribal/clan 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 Guinea.

The Bubi People have long held little political power. However a recently appointed government official like the former Prime Minister Miguel Abia Biteo Borico and several other members of the current Equatorial Guinea government are Bubi. Despite this, the majority of Bubi descendants both living in Equatorial Guinean and exiles abroad hold little political and economic stake in their native land.

Most Bubi People that remain on Bioko Island speak the Bubi language, with many speaking Spanish 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 Portuguese.

The Bubi were once enslaved by a continental African tribe, [cite book
last = Aymemí
first = R.P Antonio
translator = Colleen Truelsen
title = "The History of the Bubis on Fernando Po"
publisher = Imprenta de Galo Saez
date = 1942
pages = Chapter 1 ] likely another Bantu ethnic group that once occupied areas along the shores of West Africa. They immigrated in small tribal groups, 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 Po, 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 German 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.

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.

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 Bioko. 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" [cite book
last = Aymemí
first = Antonio
translator = Colleen Truelsen
title = "The History of the Bubis on Fernando Po"
publisher = Imprenta de Galo Saez
date = 1942
pages = Chapter 9 ]

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 World, 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 virginity, 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. Polygamy 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 monogamy.

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?)

Bahítáari Dynasty

* King Möadyabitá (1842-1860)
* King Sëpaókó (1860-1874 or 1875)
* King Möókáta, aka King Moka (1875-1899)
* King Esáasi Eweera, aka King Sás-Ebuera (1899-1904)
* King Malabo Löpèlo Mëlaka, aka King Malabo (1904-1937)
* King A Löbari (1937-1943)
* King Òríityé, aka King Orityi (1943-1952)
* King Francisco Malabo Beosá, (1952-2001)- The last recognized King of the Bubi people.
#Article: [http://www.elmundo.es/elmundo/2001/11/16/internacional/1005945247.html 'The Death of Francisco Malabo Beosa, son of King Malabo'] in Spanish, 2001

Factions

Modern

*Bubi of Luba (Sur)
*Bubi of Malabo (Norte)
*Bubi of Annabon

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. 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.
*"Balacha"
*"Baloeri"
*"Baloketo"
*"Balombe"
*"Balveris"
*"Banapá"
*"Baney"
*"Bareka" - south Bioko
*"Barépara"
*"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, and Barépara, later merging to form 'Bososo', or Basakato or the West.
*"Basapo" - later merged with Rebola
*"Basinoka"
*"Basuala"
*"Basilé"
*"Basupú"
*"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. Batete Subgroup 1: Bahu, Baloeri, Banapá, Bariarebola, Bariobatta, Basapo, Basilé, Basupú, and 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
*"Bososo" - consisted of merged Baskato subgroups Basinoka and Barépara.
*"Ratcha or Ruitche"
*"Rebolanos"
*"Riaba"
*"Ríobanda"
*"Ríokoritcho"
*"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" Former
* "Baneba of Baney"
* "Riringó" - disappeared around the turn of the 20th century.

ee also

*Bubi language
*Emancipados
*Movement for the Self-Determination of Bioko Island
*Francisco Macías Nguema
*Genocide

References

External links

* [http://www.culturabubi.org/ "Cultura Bubi"]
* [http://www.unescocat.org/cultmon/en/dossiers/bubis.html"Cultures de Mon: Los Bubis"]