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The first region is centered on the town of Bili, as shown in Figure 1.1. Taking
data from a 1984 census, Fultz & Morgan list the population for this region as 33,180. A
map in Van Bulck & Hackett (1956) shows Kpagua (their “Pagwa”) being spoken in the
northeastern part of the Bili region, but Fultz & Morgan (p. 9) point out that all of these
Kpagua villages have since adopted Mono, so that Kpagua is now “une langue morte à
cette côté de l’Ubangi.”
Figure 1.1: The languages of northwestern Democratic Republic of Congo.
The Bili region is bordered by Gobu and Langbasi (Banda) to the northwest, Furu
(West Central Sudanic, cf. Maes 1983) to the east, and an enclave of Ngombe speakers
(Bantu C) to the south. The Furu region is not homogenous, as there are villages which
speak other languages (e.g. Mbandja, Langbasi, Yakpa, Gbanziri, Kpala, and Ngombe)
interspersed amongst the Furu villages.
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