The Mangbetu are a Central Sudanic ethnic group in the Democratic Republic of the Congo, living in the northeastern province of Haut-Uele.

Traditionally, babies' heads were wrapped tightly with cloth in order to give them this distinctive appearance.

It is likely that their knowledge of iron and copper forging, by which they made weapons and fine ornaments, gave them a military and economic advantage over their neighbors.

However, because his sons sought to extend their own power and influence of their maternal clans they ruled, they became resistant to Nabiembali, and in 1859, they revolted and killed him, establishing their own independent kingdoms.

[6] These kingdoms would later be subject to Egyptian rule in the late 19th century, regaining independence briefly after the Mahdist takeover of Sudan until their colonization in 1892 by the Congo Free State.