Bubi People - Culture

Culture

The Bubis are known for a particular type of tattooing that extends from the times of slave-trading and persists, though not as commonly, to the current day. Elder tribesmen carve grooves or lines into the faces of Bubi children - the original purpose of these markings was for self-identification among slave groups in the New World, and possibly to dissuade slavers from taking them in the first place, as the grooves look disfiguring to Western eyes.

Bubi women are very important in gathering crops and other chores, but they are given a status below that of the men in the village. To the Bubi, there are two types of marriage: marriage by buying virginity, or ribala r'eotó, and marriage by mutual love, or ribala re rijole. The former is seen to be more legitimate than the latter, and all property of the wife passes to the husband upon marriage. Polygamy is practiced, particularly in the case of widows who remarry to men who already have wives, though her children remain the property and kin of the deceased husband's family. The majority of traditional Bubi marriages are based on principles of monogamy.

The Bubi have never practised slavery, but there is a form of indentured servitude among the people called botaki - there are nobles who earn that status by virtue of birth, and lesser peoples are expected to serve and protect them. In fact, people from separate social classes are not permitted to eat together by Bubi law.