Mongo, any of several peoples living in the African equatorial forest, south of the main Congo River bend and north of the Kasai and Sankuru rivers in Congo (Kinshasa). They include such ethnic groups as the Bokote, Ekonda, Bolia, Sengele, Ntomba, Ndengese, Songomeno, Mbole, Bongandu, Boyela, Nkutu, and Tetela-Kusu. They speak dialects of a common language, Mongo or Nkundo, a member of the Benue-Congo branch of the Niger-Congo languages. Many groups are disappearing because of falling birth rate.
