Mangbetu in Uganda
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Map Source:
Anonymous
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| People Name: | Mangbetu |
| Country: | Uganda |
| 10/40 Window: | No |
| Population: | 10,000 |
| World Population: | 2,217,000 |
| Primary Language: | Mangbetu |
| Primary Religion: | Christianity |
| Christian Adherents: | 70.00 % |
| Evangelicals: | 18.00 % |
| Scripture: | Portions |
| Ministry Resources: | No |
| Jesus Film: | Yes |
| Audio Recordings: | Yes |
| People Cluster: | Sudanic |
| Affinity Bloc: | Sub-Saharan Peoples |
| Progress Level: |
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Introduction / History
The name Mangbetu refers to a large people group of the northeastern Democratic Republic of Congo (DRC). The major subgroups are the Mangbetu, Meegye, Makere, Malele, Popoi, and Abelu. The Mangbetu homeland is both a forest and a savannah. A small number are in Uganda.
What Are Their Lives Like?
The economy is a mixture of agriculture, small animal husbandry, hunting, fishing, and gathering. Cash crops have included palm oil, coffee, peanuts, rice, bananas, and maize.
Until very recently, the Mangbetu were one of a small number of Congolese peoples who paid death compensation. A person who died was considered to have done so "in the hands of" his father's family group. This meant that the father's group had to compensate the mother's group, regardless of the circumstances of death. Their traditional belief system includes a complex of ideas about witchcraft and sorcery. One such idea is that the power of witchcraft resides in an appendage of the small intestine, which is inherited by girls from their mother and by boys from their father.
What Are Their Beliefs?
Mangbetus are primarily Christian, and they have a strong, Bible-believing Church that can reach the lost in East Africa.
What Are Their Needs?
The Mangbetu kingdom was already highly developed at the time of first contact with Europeans. However, compared to some of their neighbors, the group has advanced little in the areas of education and economics.
A Bible translation project in Mangbetu was started in 1980, and three booklets of New Testament selections have been published. Although literacy rather than translation was emphasized in the 1990s, translation work has begun again.
Prayer Points
Pray for the Holy Spirit to move powerfully in Mangbetu families and churches, giving them the willingness to take Christ to the nations.
Pray for the Lord to bless them physically and spiritually as a testimony of his power and goodness.
Pray for Mangbetu husbands to love their wives as Christ loves the Church.