Gbaya, Mbadomo in Cameroon

Gbaya, Mbadomo
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People Name: Gbaya, Mbadomo
Country: Cameroon
10/40 Window: No
Population: 37,000
World Population: 37,000
Primary Language: Gbaya-Mbodomo
Primary Religion: Christianity
Christian Adherents: 62.00 %
Evangelicals: 1.00 %
Scripture: Portions
Online Audio NT: No
Jesus Film: No
Audio Recordings: Yes
People Cluster: Adamawa-Ubangi
Affinity Bloc: Sub-Saharan Peoples
Progress Level:

Introduction / History

The Gbaya people have been living in Cameroon since the 1500s. In the 1800s they had violent confrontations with Fulani slave raiders. They suffered from contact with colonizers from Germany and France. When the Germans colonized their homeland in the early 1900s, they tried to force the Gbaya people into urban settings, which led to resistance. Their rebellion was stopped, and by 1912 the Gbaya people were working for German rubber companies. During WWI, Belgian, French and British forces pushed back the Germans, who burned Gbaya villages as they retreated. Rather than submit to other Europeans, the Gbaya lived in the jungles where they re-established their old practices of cannibalism and slavery. The Gbaya were used as force laborers by the French in 1928. Their job was to build the Congo-Ocean Railway. Even after Cameroon gained her independence from the French, the Gbaya people felt like they faced discrimination in regard to opportunities in government and higher education.

What Are Their Lives Like?

Most farm rice, yams, cassava, peanuts, tobacco and coffee. There are also diamond mines where the Gbaya people work.
They drink an alcoholic beverage made from honey and eat a cassava-based porridge.

What Are Their Beliefs?

Though most have a Christian background, many participate in witchcraft.

What Are Their Needs?

The Gbaya people need to put all their trust in Jesus Christ rather than in the power of witchcraft.

Prayer Points

Pray for the Gbaya people who love the Lord to teach others his ways.
Pray for them to turn their backs on witchcraft and put their trust in Jesus Christ.
Pray for the Lord to give the Gbaya people an abundant harvest this year as a testimony of his power and love.

Text Source:   Joshua Project