The tradition for a woman's first birth supports the child's survival. The husband is sent home for up to a year - younger sisters carry the baby and a stool for the mother. The mother visits family members and eats a lot.
Ngombe, or Lingombe, is a Bantu language spoken by about 150,000 people in the Democratic Republic of the Congo. In general, native speakers live on either side of the Congo river, and its many tributaries; more specifically, Équateur Province, Mongala District and in areas neighboring it (Sud Ubangi and Équateur districts). Ngombe is written in Latin script.[3]
The deities of the Ngombe include the supreme creator Akongo and the ancestor goddess Mbokomu.[4]
Ngombe includes several dialects in addition to Ngombe proper (Ŋgɔmbɛ). These are Wiindza-Baali, Doko (Dɔkɔ), and Binja (also rendered Binza, Libindja, or Libinja). The latter is not the same as the Binja/Binza language. Binja dialect is primarily spoken in Orientale Province and Aketi Territory, and shares about three-quarters of its linguistic characteristics with standard Ngombe.[3] Maho (2009) lists Doko as a distinct language in a separate group.
^ Jump up to: abLewis, M. Paul (ed.) (2009). "Ngombe". Ethnologue: Languages of the World, Sixteenth edition (online). Dallas, Tex.: SIL International. Retrieved September 3, 2010.CS1 maint: extra text: authors list (link)