Nguba
A Nguba is a basket shield of the peoples of the Oubangui region in the Republic of Congo.
![](http://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/thumb/9/9b/Bouclier_Nguba_Congo_Ngombe.jpg/220px-Bouclier_Nguba_Congo_Ngombe.jpg)
Uses
[edit]This type of shield is found in many african ethnic groups, whether Bantu or not.[1] It is called nguba, guba, wara or gele according to these tribes.[2] It is made up of several layers of braided fibers and an oval piece of wood serves as a handle. This basketry work was traditionally reserved for men, except in the Ngiri and Poto where women could exercise it.[3] The name Nguba comes from the proto-bantu gùbà word which means «shield». The Obambas sometimes used animal skin to make them.[4]
![](http://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/thumb/2/2b/Bouclier_Nguba_congo_poign%C3%A9e.jpg/220px-Bouclier_Nguba_congo_poign%C3%A9e.jpg)
References
[edit]- ^ Benitez et Barbier, Boucliers d'Afrique, d'Asie du Sud-est et d'Océanie, Barbier-Mueller Museum, p.58-59
- ^ Frederick Starr, Ethnographic Notes from the Congo Free State, 1909
- ^ Benitez et Barbier, Boucliers d'Afrique, d'Asie du Sud-est et d'Océanie, Musée Barbier-Mueller, p.58
- ^ Jean-François Owaye, Guerre, histoire et mythologie africaine, p.93