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The Seba (Kunda) People of the Democratic Republic of Congo


Religion:        Roman Catholic, Traditional
Population:     249,000 ((PeopleGroups.org), 1999)
Registry of Peoples code (Registry of Languages code): Seba  105411  (kdg)

NARRATIVE PROFILE

Location:
The Seba people are found in northwest Democratic Republic of Congo.  The Ethnologue) locates the Seba in Katanga Province, Kasenga Territory.  The Seba people live along the border of Zambia's Northwestern Province.

History:
Like most ethnic groups in DRC, the Seba are a Bantu people, a term deriving from linguistic classification terms.  The Bantu-speaking peoples migrated east, west and south out of Central Africa sometime around the time of Christ, or a little before.  No information was found about the specific history of the Seba people.

Identity:
PeopleGroups.org reports a Seba population of 249,000.  The The Ethnologue reported a population of 167,000 speakers of the language in 2002.  The Seba people are a Bantu group with a language related to those classified in the Yaka group.  They are also called Kunda.  There are several peoples named Kunda in Africa.  Other names for the Seba or their language are Sewa and Shishi.

Language:
The Ethnologue lists the language under the name Seba, but notes it is also called Kunda.  The language is a member of the Bantu family of languages and is classified as a member of the group called Bisa.  The Seba language is also known by the following names: Sewa, Shishi, Kunda, Konts and Kots.  The Ethnologue comments further that the speech of the Seba people is distinct from Kunda dialect of Lusengo, the Kunda of Zimbabwe and Mozambique in the Senga-Sena group, the Kunda dialect of Nyanja, and the Konda dialect or language in Mongo group

Religion:
PeopleGroups.org reports the religion of the Seba people as Roman Catholic, with no evangelical believers.  No further details could be found from sources on the status of religion or Christian faith related to the Seba people of DRC.

Christianity:
PeopleGroups.org reports that there are no evangelical Christians or churches among the Seba people of DRC.  I have found no information about any audio-visual resources in the Seba (Kunda) language.  No oral or printed Bible portions are reported in the language.

Sources
Bisa Language Cluster - Seba Classification Group
Seba (PeopleGroups.org)
Seba (Kunda) language (Ethnologue)

Dr. Orville Boyd Jenkins
Originally prepared 25 February 2006
First posted on OJTR 23 November 2007
Last edited 4 April 2013

Copyright © 2007, 2013 Orville Boyd Jenkins
Permission granted for free download and transmission for personal or educational use.  Please give credit and link back.  Other rights reserved.
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