Bouar is a
market town in the western
Central African Republic, lying on the main road from
Bangui (437 km) to the frontier with
Cameroon (210 km). The city is the capital of
Nana-Mambéré prefecture, has a population of 40,353, while the whole sous-préfecture has a population of 96,595 (2003 census). Bouar lies on a
plateau almost 1000m above
sea level and is known as the site of Camp Leclerc, a
French
French (french: français(e), link=no) may refer to:
* Something of, from, or related to France
** French language, which originated in France, and its various dialects and accents
** French people, a nation and ethnic group identified with Franc ...
military base.
About seventy groups of
megaliths lie in the town and to its north and east. The Bouar Megaliths, dating back to the very late
Neolithic Era (c. 3500–2700 BC) were added to the
UNESCO World Heritage Tentative List on April 11, 2006 in the Cultural category.
The town's name comes from the Gbaya word for
bean
A bean is the seed of several plants in the family Fabaceae, which are used as vegetables for human or animal food. They can be cooked in many different ways, including boiling, frying, and baking, and are used in many traditional dishes th ...
, ''hbouar''.
History
Hundreds of granite megaliths around Bouar were erected during the
Late Stone Age
The Later Stone Age (LSA) is a period in African prehistory that follows the Middle Stone Age.
The Later Stone Age is associated with the advent of modern human behavior in Africa, although definitions of this concept and means of studying it ar ...
by an ancient farming society. These stone megaliths are nowadays known as ''tanzunu'' in Gbaya.
The
Gbaya people settled in the region around the 1500s.
The settlement of Bouar itself was founded circa 1840 by chief Bogbafeï on the site of a bean field. His grandson, Mbarta, served as the chief between 1904 and 1916 and nowadays is remembered as a local hero.
In 1882,
France invaded Central Africa and 1894, the borders of
French Congo encompassed Bouar. In 1911, the area around Bouar was ceded by France to
Germany under the terms of the
Morocco-Congo Treaty, becoming part of the German colony of
Neukamerun
Neukamerun was the name of Central African territories ceded by the Third French Republic to the German Empire in 1911. Upon taking office in 1907, Theodor Seitz, governor of Kamerun, advocated the acquisition of territories from the French Con ...
until it was reconquered by the French during
World War I.
The Germans eventually settled in the town around Christmas of 1913, where they constructed a military post and a road.
In 1928, the town became part of the French colony of
Ubangi-Shari.
The colonial town centre was occupied and burned down in the late 1920s by
Gbaya rebels during the
Kongo-Wara rebellion. This was the most significant period in which the Gbaya population and others resisted French colonial rule in Ubangi-Shari.
In 1948, the administrative centre of
Ouham-Pendé prefecture was moved from
Bozoum to Bouar. Later, the western part of the prefecture would become
Nana-Mambéré prefecture with Bouar as its capital, while
Bozoum would become the capital of the remaining Ouham-Pendé prefecture.
In 1960 the colony became independent as the
Central African Republic.
File:Bouar Megaliths stamp.jpg , The ancient stone megaliths of Bouar depicted on a 1967 stamp.
File:Mbarta (28602311794).jpg , A portrait of chief Mbarta as a "Hero of Bouar" in the town's museum.
File:Bouar (28936991490).jpg , A view of Bouar in 2015.
File:Fillettes (28604153443).jpg , Children celebrating International Women's Day
International Women's Day (IWD) is a global holiday celebrated annually on March 8 as a focal point in the women's rights movement, bringing attention to issues such as gender equality, reproductive rights, and violence and abuse against wom ...
in 2016.
Civil war
On 28 March 2013 Bouar was captured by
Séléka rebels. On 26 October 2013 Bouar was attacked and captured by Anti-balaka militias resulting in more than 20 deaths. As of February 2014 the town and region around Bouar were experiencing
ethnic cleansing
Ethnic cleansing is the systematic forced removal of ethnic, racial, and religious groups from a given area, with the intent of making a region ethnically homogeneous. Along with direct removal, extermination, deportation or population transfer ...
, principally against
Muslim
Muslims ( ar, المسلمون, , ) are people who adhere to Islam, a monotheistic religion belonging to the Abrahamic tradition. They consider the Quran, the foundational religious text of Islam, to be the verbatim word of the God of Abrah ...
civilians. A French journalist,
Camille Lepage, was also killed and her body found in the car of
Anti-balaka troops in the Bouar region in May, 2014.
On 18 September 2017 city was recaptured by
FACA from Anti-balaka. On 20 December 2020 parts of city were captured by rebels from
Coalition of Patriots for Change. On 27 December entire city was captured by rebels. After many clashes it was recaptured by government forces on 8 February 2021.
Places of worship
Among the
places of worship, they are predominantly
Christian
Christians () are people who follow or adhere to Christianity, a monotheistic Abrahamic religion based on the life and teachings of Jesus Christ. The words ''Christ'' and ''Christian'' derive from the Koine Greek title ''Christós'' (Χρι ...
churches and temples :
Evangelical Lutheran Church of the Central African Republic
Evangelicalism (), also called evangelical Christianity or evangelical Protestantism, is a worldwide interdenominational movement within Protestant Christianity that affirms the centrality of being "born again", in which an individual experi ...
(
Lutheran World Federation),
Evangelical Baptist Church of the Central African Republic (
Baptist World Alliance),
Roman Catholic Diocese of Bouar (
Catholic Church).
[J. Gordon Melton, Martin Baumann, ‘‘Religions of the World: A Comprehensive Encyclopedia of Beliefs and Practices’’, ABC-CLIO, USA, 2010, p. 531-532] There are also
Muslim
Muslims ( ar, المسلمون, , ) are people who adhere to Islam, a monotheistic religion belonging to the Abrahamic tradition. They consider the Quran, the foundational religious text of Islam, to be the verbatim word of the God of Abrah ...
mosques.
Climate
Köppen-Geiger climate classification system classifies Bouar’s climate as
tropical wet and dry (''Aw'').
See also
*
List of cities in the Central African Republic
A ''list'' is any set of items in a row. List or lists may also refer to:
People
* List (surname)
Organizations
* List College, an undergraduate division of the Jewish Theological Seminary of America
* SC Germania List, German rugby union ...
*
Prefectures of the Central African Republic
References
{{Authority control
Populated places in the Central African Republic
Populated places in Nana-Mambéré
Sub-prefectures of the Central African Republic
