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the influence of the traditional religion has diminished, but is by no means extinct. For
example, today, the circumcision rites have for the most part died out in the Bili and
Bubanda regions, but are still practiced in the Mpaka and Galaba regions.
There are sparse sources available on the history of the Mono people, so a
detailed historical account is not possible. When asked about their origins, the Mono
people respond that they came from Sudan. However, if we accept the hypothesis that
Banda is a part of the Niger-Congo family, then the following sketch of Mono history
emerges.
The Ubangian people, being of Niger-Congo stock, originated to the west of the
present-day distribution. Newman (1995: 141) places the Ubangian core near the source
of the Sanaga River in Cameroon (see Figure 1.2). This would have been their location at
about 3000 B.C.
Figure 1.2: The locations of the Mono people and their ancestors.
Then, Ubangian expansion occurred in an easterly direction following the
northern fringes of the tropical rain forest, which at the time covered at least the southern
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