A Nguba is a basket shield of the peoples of the Oubangui region in the Republic of Congo.
Uses This type of shield is found in many african ethnic groups, whether Bantu or not.Benitez et Barbier, Boucliers d'Afrique, d'Asie du Sud-est et d'Océanie, Barbier-Mueller Museum, p.58-59 It is called nguba, guba, wara or gele according to these tribes.Frederick Starr, Ethnographic Notes from the Congo Free State, 1909 It is made up of several layers of braided fibers and an oval piece of wood serves as a handle. This basketry work was traditionally reserved for men, except in the Ngiri and Poto where women could exercise it.Benitez et Barbier, Boucliers d'Afrique, d'Asie du Sud-est et d'Océanie, Musée Barbier-Mueller, p.58 The name Nguba comes from the proto-bantu gùbà word which means «shield». The Obambas sometimes used animal skin to make them.Jean-François Owaye, Guerre, histoire et mythologie africaine, p.93
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