Democratic Republic of the Congo Research

Lukasa?

AFCP
http://photos.state.gov/libraries/congo/76240/cultural-preservation-grant-natioal-museum-11222011/










WHAT IS CONGO? WHERE IS SOUKOUS?

2011: Congo (DRC): Conservation of the Ethnological Collection at the National Museum of

the Democratic Republic of Congo

$24,500
2010: Congo (Democratic Republic of)
: Documentation of Traditional Pygmy Music $30,466

MOFA
The Polyphonic Singing of the Aka Pygmies od Central Africa
http://www.mofa.go.jp/policy/culture/coop/unesco/c_heritage/i_heritage/preservation/index.html

There are two countries that can properly be called Congo. Adjacent to one another in equatorial Africa, their borders were drawn by European explorers and colonialists in the late 19th century. North of the Congo River was the French Congo, and to the south lay the Congo Free State, which became the Belgian Congo in 1 908 . The French colonial capital was Brazzaville, and directly across the river from it was Leopoldville, the seat of the Belgian administration. Both countries won their independence in 1960. The former French colony named itself the People's Republic of Congo while the other became the Democratic Republic of Congo, at the same time changing the name of its capital to Kinshasa. In common parlance around the world, the two independent countries were called Congo-Brazzaville and Congo-Kinshasa,

In 1971, President Mobutu Sese Sefco of Congo-Kinshasa renamed his country the Republic of Zaire. Many opponents to Mobutu rejected the new name (secretly, if they lived under his regime), but it was recognized by most other governments, and Zaire it has been until now. In July, however, a constitutional convention challenging Mobutu's dictatorship voted to change the name, once more, to the Republic of Congo. So it seems appropriate again, as it was until 20 years ago, to refer to both countries as Congo.

When it comes to music, there's hardly any reason to demarcate the region. Musicians, music businessmen and audiences of both nationalities have always mixed; Together, Brazzaville and Kinshasa have been the entire vast area's center of modem music for more than 40 years; Although Kinshasa (by far the larger of the twin cities) boasts more nightclubs, theaters, record businesses and studios than Brazzaville, many prominent bands have based themselves, at least for a time, on the north bank. In view of this history, the title of Original Music's survey of early modern Congolese music, The Sound of Kinshasa, is something of a misnomer. The subtitle that Sonodisc/African affixes to its anthologies, Musique Congolo-Zairoise, is properly inclusive, but it's soon likely to be anachronistic. In the early ? 960s, when the music on these sets was current and its popularity was spreading to other African countries, it was called, simply, "Congo music." This still seems as good an appellation as any.

Is there a generic term used by the Congolese themselves? No, not really. People speak oimiziki na biso (our music) to distinguish it from imported goods, but even that phrase relies on a French word, musique, rendered into Ungala. Most African languages have numerous words for different dances and song forms, even rhythms, but no single, general word for music. Similarly, various styles of modem Congolese music have been known, over the years, as Congo rhumba, mambeita, boucher, kiri-kiri, sotikouma, kas'acha, zekete-zekete, kwassa-bvassa mamutuashi. And there have been myriad others- more, probably, than all the patrons of á Kinshasa orBrazzavilledancehall on a Saturday night could recount. But none of these or any other term applies to the whole, expansive genre.

American and European record publicists and concert promoters cannot abide this kind of thing. They seem unable to function without a brand name (as it were) by which they can label their product, Their first attempt at a catchy moniker for Congo music was rumba rock. I can see what they were getting at: Congolese music in the 1950s was intentionally reminiscent of rumbas and other Latin American dances, but one of its many distinctions was the prominent part that electric guitars played- and, true enough, electric guitars have always been associated with rock. Combining a Cuban word with an American word to identify something Congolese, though, strikes me as a doubly inapt interpolation. 1 don't believe it's a term that any Congolese musician or fan has ever used.

The tag that's become best known in Europe and America in recent years is soukous. In the Congos, however, soukous refers to a particular dance style popular in the late 1960s, and in cunent usage it's a soccer term, exclaimed when a player feints and dribbles the ball around an opponent. Using the word to describe music as different as Joseph Kabasele' s classics andTshala Muana's latest is like referring to everything from "Why Do Fools Fall in Love?" to "Cop Killer" as twist.

from:

http://search.proquest.com/ethnicnewswatch/docview/217507352/135EA4852067A96FFD1/5?accountid=14698

Atalaku

http://www.atalaku.net/about/

http://www.youtube.com/watch?gl=UG&feature=relmfu&hl=en-GB&v=H8DvEzsbYuI

Dancing for God or the Devil: Pentecostal Discourse on Popular Dance in Kinshasa

http://kuleuven.academia.edu/KatrienPype/Papers/121650/Dancing_for_God_or_the_Devil_Pentecostal_Discourse_on_Popular_Dance_in_Kinshasa

Francophone

http://books.google.com/books?id=LwzFF2FnbzMC&pg=PA189&dq=Kinshasa+second+largest+francophone+city&lr=&ei=T-0iSpzsEYOIzQTSl_XRBw#v=onepage&q=Kinshasa%20second%20largest%20francophone%20city&f=false

migration levels as satisfactory.

ETHNIC GROUPS

There are over 200 African ethnic groups, of which the majority are Bantu. Bantu-speaking peoples form about 80% of the population. Most of the rest are Sudanic-speaking groups in the north and northeast. In the cuvette are found about 80,000–100,000 Pygmies. Among the Bantu-speaking peoples, the major groups are the Kongo, or Bakongo, in Lower Zaire; the Luba, or Baluba, in East Kasai and Shaba; the Mongo and related groups in the cuvette area; and the Lunda and Chokwe in Bandundu and West Kasai; the Bemba and Hemba in Shaba; and the Kwango and Kasai in Bandundu. The four largest tribes—Mongo, Luba, Kongo (all Bantu), and the Mangbetu-Azande (Hamitic)—make up about 45% of the total population. Non-Africans include Belgians, Greeks, Lebanese, and Asian Indians.

LANGUAGES

As many as 700 languages and dialects are spoken in the DROC. Serving as regional linguae francae are four African languages: Lingala is used in the north from Kisangani to Kinshasa, as well as in the armed forces; Swahili, in the Kingwana dialect, is used in the east; Kikongo in Lower Zaire; and Tshiluba in the south-central area. In addition, Lomongo is widely spoken in the cuvette. French is the official language and is widely used in government and commerce.

from:
http://www.encyclopedia.com/topic/Democratic_Republic_of_the_Congo.aspx

Congolese Culture: http://friendsofthecongo.org/resource-center/congolese-culture.html

TED talks
http://www.ted.com/themes/africa_the_next_chapter.html

Pagne 
http://csinburkinafaso.com/reflec.htm

The Democratic Republic of Congo: A brief history http://www.cbc.ca/news/world/story/2008/11/20/f-congo-timeline.html

http://www.factmonster.com/ipka/A0198161.html

http://www.state.gov/r/pa/ei/bgn/2823.htm#history

http://www.historyworld.net/wrldhis/PlainTextHistories.asp?historyid=ad34

http://www.infoplease.com/ce6/world/A0935005.html