A town in the

Republic of the Congo The Republic of the Congo, also known as Congo-Brazzaville, the Congo Republic or simply the Congo (the last ambiguously also referring to the neighbouring Democratic Republic of the Congo), is a country located on the western coast of Central ...

, Mbé is located in the Ngabe District of the Department of Pool, approximately 200 km northeast of

Brazzaville Brazzaville () is the capital (political), capital and largest city of the Republic of the Congo. Administratively, it is a Departments of the Republic of the Congo, department and a Communes of the Republic of the Congo, commune. Constituting t ...

. A village in Cameroon, Adamoua region, Vina North

Site Description

The royal domain of Mbé was composed of various sites related to the culture and the history of the

Bateke The Teke people or Bateke, also known as the Tyo or Tio, are a Bantu Central African ethnic group that speak the Teke languages and that mainly inhabit the south, north, and center of the Republic of the Congo, the west of the Democratic Repub ...

people. The capital and residence of the Makoko (king) was also referred to as Mbé. The Kingdom knew ceaseless displacements throughout its history. The precolonial Bateke cultural tradition, indeed, required the displacement of the capital “Mbé” whenever a king died suddenly.

World Heritage Status

This site was added to the

UNESCO The United Nations Educational, Scientific and Cultural Organization (UNESCO ) is a List of specialized agencies of the United Nations, specialized agency of the United Nations (UN) with the aim of promoting world peace and International secur ...

World Heritage World Heritage Sites are landmarks and areas with legal protection under an treaty, international treaty administered by UNESCO for having cultural, historical, or scientific significance. The sites are judged to contain "cultural and natural ...

Tentative List on June 12, 2008, in the Cultural category.

Notable people

* Ngalifourou, Queen Mother of the Teke and ally of the French colonisers.

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Mbe Populated places in the Republic of the Congo