Lontomba — Ntomba Scripture Portions (DR Congo)
Overview
Lontomba is a 3-book scripture portions edition in the Ntomba (Bolia) language of the Democratic Republic of Congo, published by The Seed Company in partnership with the Communauté des Eglises Travaillistes (CET — Workers' Church Community, a Protestant denomination active in DRC) and available via YouVersion/Bible.com (ID 4528; copyright ©2025 CET). The three books are Ruth, Jonah, and Mark. The vernacular title Lontomba is the language's own name for itself. This is a modern translation; Bible portions in Ntomba date back to at least 1916, reflecting over a century of partial Scripture work in the language.
Language and People
Ntomba (ISO 639-3: nto; autonym: Bolia — reflecting the Lia-Ntomba dialect cluster identity) is a Bantu language of the Niger-Congo family, classified in the Guthrie Zone C (Équateur Province languages), specifically the Bangi-Ntomba group (C.30) within the broader Mongo language complex (C.35). Closely related Lia and Ntomba are considered dialects of a single Lia-Ntomba language. Seven dialects of Ntomba proper are documented: Imona, Lolowodji, Mpongo, Ntomba, Sakanyi, Saw, and Soko.
The Ntomba-speaking community lives around Lake Ntomba (Lake Tumba) and Lake Mai-Ndombe in the Bikoro Territory of Équateur Province, northwestern Democratic Republic of Congo (provincial capital: Mbandaka). The lake region is characterized by equatorial rainforest and riverine communities practicing fishing (Twa/Pygmy communities) and farming (Oto communities) — reflecting the Mongo complex's traditional social division.
Estimated speakers: approximately 100,000–400,000 depending on how the broader Lia-Ntomba dialect cluster is counted (earlier estimates ~100,000; Joshua Project figure for the Ntomba-Bolia people group: ~404,000). The Ntomba-Bolia are classified at Joshua Project Progress Scale 5 — Significantly Reached, with Evangelicals exceeding 10% of the population — a significantly more Christian community than many other Seed Company projects.
Historical Context
Bible portions in the Ntomba language date to 1916, indicating over a century of missionary linguistic work. The Équateur Province rainforest region, centered on the Congo River basin, was the territory of Belgian colonial administration and of early Catholic and Protestant mission activity (American Baptist Foreign Mission Society, British Baptist Missionary Society, and others operated extensively in the Mongo region from the late 19th century). The modern CET/Seed Company portions (Ruth, Jonah, Mark) represent a contemporary translation effort building on this long history.
Lake Ntomba (from which the language takes its name) is a freshwater lake in the Congo Basin known for its endemic fish species and its role as a traditional resource base for the Ntomba people.
Publishing and Organizations
Published by The Seed Company in partnership with Communauté des Eglises Travaillistes (CET), a Protestant denomination with a presence in the DRC. The Seed Company provides translation consulting and distribution; CET is the local ecclesiastical partner and copyright holder. The 2025 copyright date indicates this is among the most recently uploaded YouVersion editions in the collection.