Bateke

The Bateke were a Bantu people of central Africa, among whom the eastern Teke formed the Tio Kingdom around the fourteenth century. Its capital lay on the Mbe plains, and Pool Malebo was its commercial centre.

In 1491 the king of Kongo sought Portuguese help against the Tio, and warfare continued in the sixteenth century. During the eighteenth century, sacred boxes called nkobi strengthened regional lords; in the early nineteenth century King Opontaba seized them, provoking a conflict with northern lords.