Bubi people

The Bubi people (also known as Bobe, Voove, Ewota and Bantu Bubi) are a Bantu ethnic group indigenous to Bioko Island, Equatorial Guinea. Once the majority group in the region, the population experienced a sharp decline due to war and disease during Portuguese expeditions. By the end of Spanish colonial rule in the mid 20th century, and after substantial intermarriage with newly introduced populations, such as Afro-Cubans, Krio people, Portuguese people and Spaniards, the Bubi people, again, experienced a great decline in number. Seventy-five percent were killed during tribal/clan rooted political genocide during a civil war that led to Spanish Guinea's independence from Spain. This, too, sparked mass exodus from their homeland with most of the exiles and refugees immigrating into Spain. The indigenous Bubi of Bioko Island have since co-existed with non-indigenous Krio Fernandinos; and members of the Fang ethnic group, who have immigrated in large numbers from Río Muni. Once numbering approximately 3 million, the Bubi currently number around 100,000 worldwide.

The Bubi people, both in Equatorial Guinea and throughout the diaspora, have long held limited political power and economic stake in their ancestral homeland. While appointed officials such as former Prime Minister Miguel Abia Biteo Boricó and several members of the current government are of ethnic Bubi descent, much of the community’s influence has remained understated. Among the wider Bubi diaspora is Sömó Batapa Noha, regarded within his lineage as heir to the historic Bubi throne - a legacy maintained discreetly across generations.

Most Bubi people that remain on Bioko Island, as well as those native to Gabon, speak the Bube language. Many of the islanders also speak Spanish, French and Portuguese as a secondary language.