NATIONAL INTELLIGENCE SURVEY 60A; ZAIRE; THE SOCIETY

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CONFIDENTIAL
60A/GS /3
Zaire
April 1973
CONFIDENTIAL
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This chapter was prepared for the NIS by the
Central Intelligence Agency. ,Research was sub.
stantially completed by January 1973.
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CONTENTS
This General Survey sum-rsedes the one dated Sep.
tember 1970, copies of which should be destroyed.
A. Introduction 1
Effects of diversity; colonial hangovers; present
conditions.
B. Structure and characteristics of the society. Z
Population 80% Bant 1, but tribal differences
wide; no group dominates; considerable tribal
resentments.
I. Tribal groups 3
Location; size of major tribes.
a Kongo 4
History; tribal unity; refugee problem.
b. Lunda 5
Major groups; history; organization.
c. Luba 6
Character of the peor le; frictions with
other tribes; Westernization; refugees;
effects of independence.
CONMENTIAL
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d. Mongo 7
Largest single group; cultural unity a
national unifying factor.
e. Minor Bantu tribes 7
Yaka, Kuba, and Warega; Kuba political
ofprizatlon strong; Waregs social organi-
zation.
f. Non -Bantu groups 8
Mangbetu- Azande political organization.
g Pygmies 8
Size and location.
2. Non- Africans 9
Size of different groups; historical effects
of Flemish attitude toward Belgian Govern-
ment.
3. Traditional and modern society 10
Progress toward modernization uneven; tra-
ditional society; marriage; place of worr :n;
modernizing factors; social classes; problems
and attitudes of youth.
4. Languages 12
About 700 vernaculars; French the common
language; Lingala, Swahili, Kikongo, and
Tshiluba fostered by Belgians and now con-
sidered official languages along with French:
and English; problems with use of brijua
francas; French language of instruction in
schools.
C. Population
Population statistics poor; official and popular
attitudes toward family planning; po1 ?ulation den-
sity and distribution; migration and urban growth;
refugee problem; European community; govern-
ment attitude toward poli refugees, toward
other aliens.
D. The role of labor
Regularly employed wage earners only 12% of
labor force; caustt and effect of rural underem.
ployment; tensions and pressures created by lack
of employment opportunity; government policy;
wages; officiai corruption; labor unions� govern-
ment control, size, effectiveness, orb anization, and
affiliations; labor legislation; labor relations.
Page
F. Health 23
Climatic conditions; itiongerous wildlife; animal
diseases; water supply, food handling, and sew-
age disposal; uornmunica ble diseases, diet; ad-
ministration of health programs poor; medical
care standards low; medical facilities and per-
sonnel; training; government programs.
G. Religion 28
Religious groups -size and distribution; indige-
nous beliefs, Roman Catholicism; church -state
relations; Catholic social servioes; Protestant ac-
tivities, the Church of Christ in Zaire, and gov-
ernment intervention; social service work; Syn-
credsm-- Kimbanguism and Kitawals; Llam.
H Education 30
Effects of colonial educational policy; postinde.
pendenee efforts; educational system and admin-
istration; enrolln+ent; urban -rural differences;
problems of primary schools; secondary educa-
tion; imbalances in the system; personnel prob-
lems; reform of higher education; student unrest
and organizations, policy conceming foreign
study.
1. Artists.; and cultural expression 35
High level of expression; Kongo, Luba, and Kubs
especially noted for artwork; music highly rhyth.
mic; Western influence on art; rich tradition of
oral literature; little modem literature of im-
portance.
J. Public Information 39
14 Rapidly acquiring modem communication syritems.
1. Radio 39
Most important medium; radio facilities and
programing.
2. Television 40
Facilities and programing; reception of for.
eign broadcasts.
18 3. Press 40
Publications, qur and problems; govem-
ment control; news sources and foreign rep
resentat �an.
4. Other r edia 43
Book publishing and distribution; libraries;
motion picture theaters; attempts to develop
film industry.
E. Living conditions and social problems 21
Effect of independence on welfare services; social
insurance programs; crime, drugs, and alcohol.
ii
K. Suggestions for further reading 43
Glossary 45
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Fig. 1
Arab and Portuguese domination
(map)
Fig. 2
Zairian technicians photo)
Fig. 3
Azande blowing magic whistle
1
Fig. 4
Tribal groups (snap)
Fig. 5
Major ethnic groupings map)
Fig. 8
Kongo woman sorting cassava
(photo)
Fig. 7
Lunda chieftain in Dilolo photo)
Fig. 8
Luba smoking a pipe photo)
Fig. 9
Mongo housewife photo)
Fig. 10
Yak& tribesmen photo)
Fig. 11
Kuba man photo)
Fig. 12
M�ngbetu and Azande (photos)
Fig. 13
Bambuti pygmies photo)
Fig. 14
Asian shopkeeper photo)
Fig. 16
A skilled worker inside his home
3
(phut
Fig. 18
Typical village photo)
FIGURF.B
Page
page
Fig. 17
Population density (nap)
15
1
Fig. 18
Vendors selling fish (photo)
24
2
Fig, 19
Health center in Ndjili photo)
25
Fig. 20
Dispensary at a mission hospital
3
(photo)
25
4
Fig. 21
Mongo woman photo)
28
b
Fig. 22
Female witch doctor photo)
28
Fig. 23
Cardinal Malula photo)
29
3
Fig. 24
Educational system chart)
31
6
Fig. 25
Freach class for women photo)
32
6
Fig. 26
Carvings showing harvesting photo)
38
7
Fig. 27
Statue of King Bom Bosh photo)
36
8
Fig, 28
Luba helmet mask photo)
37
8
Fig. 29
Female caryatid figure photo)
37
9
Fig. 30
Mask of a Tshokwe dancer photo)
38
10
Fig. 31
Figure of a woman with child
10
photo)
38
Fig. 32
Bapende mask photo)
39
13
Fig, 33
Native xylophone photo)
39
13
Fig. 34
List of ncwsnapers table)
41
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The Society
A. Introduction (U /OU)
Zaire is ihcr third largest cotmlry on tit(- African
cc mtinent (after Sudan a ii(I Algeria) and its must
diverse.. More that 2W trib many divided into
'quifican! suhtrihal groupirtKs, inhabit the voiiii1rv's
widely vur; geographic regions, which include
steaning jungles and cool rrto(rntiiin highlands.
Moreover, Zaire's ;,.uple Itave beta sufject to
dissitnilar influences� those in the east to Arab and in
OW west to Portug(iese (Figure I Finally, there are
itstonishiugly wide differences to modernization
(F igures 2 ;end 1), Because of this kulvidos(1011 W
diversity and because the- 11c- Igiars chd little to draw
the various regions and peoples together, the shaping
of u nation bus been extraordinarily diffictilt.
Zaire's society coniinucs tit feel the effects of over 50
years' experience as a Belgian i-olcne, li'c- Igiaui colonial
policy was thoroughly paternalistic, and colonial
authorities e ncouraged Belgian C: jtholi(- missions and
large Belgian corporations to collaborate in proviclilig
more conprOwnsive social services thou existed ill env
other African colony, The paternalistic systett,
ttaintaillvd until the eve of independence, fostered it
pervasive sense of psyc-ltol dependency among
Zairians, and most ordinary citizens still retain
dependent attitudes. They still look to the
authorities--- Zairituc officials, foreign employers, or
missionaries.�to meet their everyday needs, and they
are still inclined to n
hlau- the authorities for the many
privations suffered since independence. Such tttitiidcs
appear to be as prevalent in urban areas as to remote
villages, although the impact of the colonial
administration differed widely front one area to
aw
Until just before independence, the continuance of
the Belgians in elite positions was a linivd. and no
preparation was made for urea idtigful political
activity by the (;ungolese or for their assutrrption of
sen ior administrative positions. lodepen(leuce curer so
'Areb'do*lnorton, 1009
AraJr denrta8ilM I01
Morfugu e 1400 -1700
FIGURE 1, Arab and Portuguese domination (U /OU)
ciuickly that there was nut line to replace the policy of
paiernalisr with one of self whence. In fuel,
outhreaks of violence within the first weeks of
independence resulted in a sudden exocfus of
experienced Belgi persenuel and it collapse of the
colonial achiiinistnitive structiae throughout inost of
the country, In retrospect, some observers helieve that
it would have been possible for the Belgians to promise
independence but &+A%. granting it for several years so
that the C011901ese could have been at least partially
prepared for their new responsibilities, Others believe
that tliv nnslake rtiade (lecades i arlier and that by
the Idle 1950's the Belgians no longer had a choice. In
auy Gwent, the society's major prc,hlem has been more
urre of restoring order and creating new institutions
thin, rtaintaining those inheritmi at the time of
indvix-ndertce, a task which faced itlrnost no other
independent black African country,
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FIGURE 2. Zairian technicians using a solar radiation
measuring device at the Meteorological Institute at
binza (C)
2
T%%vive years o iud4.ltvldrnce have hrotiglt ur�ly
lialtinK '1111 Iragil4. a dv;ne4.. loxvacrd 11116on fir .ucial
unity. 'Tile lint K sear. were nutrked by it ri+ (of urn%
nt111ini4.s. .4.tti sionist ntoventent�. �tod hitratrilml,
inlert Him I, or unlixvlilr outlreuks attended Iry
disorder and c�h:us. 'The rv%iih a wholesale flight
nf' FitroI it it% sliortIs after ind+q4.l1de u�4. and
coilIirt Ili log dislocations and disniplitm% for the
Ixpolace. 'I'1e most disruptive of all tLe lapses from
orderly goverrntnertl %%is Ili +v su c tilled Sirrthit ,wvit,
wltich invcIvrd rnuc�h of the easlerii part of the
c(midrs from raid -IH(if to ntid- IfNii. It is signific�artl
that the area overrun by the atavistic fiimbit guerrillas
aP{rrxintales the area where Arah shave dealers liar)
held and msi.t4.d Iv :oropvmi penetration unlit the
close of 11v lath cetitnry.
Presidmi Molttto ties+� Seko, the army come katider
svho look votitru! of Ili+� governnr4.tit in Novenher
has brought more slability to Zaire than it Itan
enjoyed "I've lilt- coloiihd period, bill has clone so by
relying Primitrily on the ill- discip lir+cd and widely
feared army. '1 stahility Prevailing sioc�e 1911 has
permitted bads, i ceded Furolwan Iec littieians to
return. but in itself Ibis dov> tint c�onlrihule to 11ih, (11
effect, the fighting a m(mg various peoples ;ti1d gnutps
lilts hc�en stopped, often heca11se of sliver exhaltstioti.
hill the deep- rooter! Ierrsiotis behind 1111101 of 111�
fighting remain, and Ihere is no tnslit11tion whirl is
able to draw mI jgoni%tic� groups together in it 'L.tirian
nation. Mobut,t's governrnertl is hawd on pvrsolul
loyalty rather than on institutions which would encltire
apart front lint. The 0 11c 4 extensive administrative
striwf ore lilt. delerioraled, ;titd despite corm success in
rebuilding government servic +s in the cities, ntticl of
the countryside has no nimlern administration at all
and is eilh unstnic0irecl or lilt. de� !-loped whu ;evi -r
structure the traditiomil societies arc able to improvise.
Although 1'resident Mobidii's virtual otie mire role
hats suppressed the divisive hrevs that riot rltrnpant
(!tiring Zaire first 5 years (if independence, these
forces contiu11e to exist, and others have emerged.
Twelve years wafter Be19 ;ti tit 's abrupt gratit of
independence, ilt( huik of the rural p tiptililtioll still
appear to I, more stro:tgly infhwnced by their various
tribal traditions 11;, by any of the 11ew r:ltional
institutions. liy 1072, however� tribal and regional
dissitnilarities were overshadowed by contrasts
between Ilse tiutjor urban areas, where inodent
institutions wcrcv more firmly established, utd much of
the countryside, where iocad inhahitaurts had ofteti
reverted to precolonial patterns of existence. More
important socially flan :any political tninsforrrtadoti
since 1960 was the extremely uneven recovery of lltc�
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FIGURE 3. Azande man blowing a magir, whistle
to ward off evil spirits (U /OU)

e�crn(my, While mineral indnstrie% in Sha {tu Itle�giou
have flillirishe d, agricultural llrJuclicn ill m(st
loculitl(-s has lagg (-d far lehind Ixpulution g"Iwtii.
Underlying rural stugnution is the voltineling
deteriorution (of Is cnce- extensive, trun%lxrtctiou
network and severe reductions in husic� wciul servic
in outlying arras.
Clilturul contrasts within major urban areas appear
to k- even more Wth %(vial "fill lxIHical
tensions than the rural- etrbun gaP%. Six�e�tacttlur
material progress in %onie urban areas 1111% attructe>d
massive nitgru(ians fain the countryside, Iul
relatively few of the new urban residents find regular
employment or adcquute� housing. The conspicuous
affluence of the new Zairian elite-- mostiv senior
government officials deepens feelings of llrivuti(nl
and alienation among the maiority of urban residents
who huve abandoned trii,11 homelands without
finding a f(xthold in the "astern sector of sfcivty.
B. Structure and characteristics of the
society (U /OU)
Most Congolese are loyal to their tribal com-
munities, Those who are awitre of the national .old
regional governments often regard them as ;.alien
institutions, and in any case, these governments are so
remote they seem unreal to the rural resident and ill
many cases even to the city dweller.
Although alou( NO% of the Zairian lxpulation is
Iiuntu, these are will(- differences among the Bunt"
groups, wider indeed than among tiantu in any other
African country. No tribal group dominates the
country as u whole. Some tribes, such as tilt Kongo,
Lubu, and Lunda, however. dominate in the areas in
which they live, have controlled considerubl(� territory
in the past, and ure: very much aware of this heritage.
The Kongo, I >tiha, and hinda arc also the most
modernized of Zaire's tribes. With independence and
the end of the effective Belgian secun(y aplaratus,
long-smoldering animosities among tribes erup (-.d into
extensive warfare.
Tribal resentments are often hased oil modern
ruther (hurt on traditional differences, For example,
the success of the modernized Luba had long gulled
the tribes into whose art-us they had migrated, and
when the. Belgians left, the Lelia who) vnere living
outside their own trihul ureas were viciously attacked
by local tribes which hull nut beeti us sucxxCssftll in
adjusting to the modern world. Another factor making
for disunity is that not all tribes have benefited e(lually
from independence. The Luba :and, t� suere extent,
tit(- Kongo feel they have been shortchanged will,
re�slx�et to lxsitkms i a and inf{ut-ne�(� with the central
government, and there is it clirtlute> of nautuul distrust.
At the same lilne, some of tilt- less aggressive tribes
ms(-nt the many I >ubu aml Kongo who hold civil
V -wilt. jobs requiring eKlucaticn and training. l''inally,
there aw strong uulugonigns >xistirig within is tribe,
"Host recently among the I,ulu in Kusai- Oriental
(legion.
I. Tribal groups
It is extremely difficcJ1 to give a priend description
of hi(ligenools Zairian societ becuus.� of the roam
differences ruling the tribal gr ups. Figure 4 shows
the approximate locati of ul(,ul 65 of the 200 triles.
Also, Puueity of data has trade it difficult to formulate
a simple statement allow the existing relationships of
the main tribal grimps and even informed observers
regard their findings as tentulive. It is unknown to
what extent precolonial tribal traditions are still valid,
for example, and this prhlcm has been further
(�(unlx it] ide�d by IIW social disorder which ufflicted the
country following ind(TVIldence, Most trilml group,,
however, are still set apart 1 )y differences in their
Iradition;al social orguttizations and their slxken
lunguuges. ;and there are also wide variations in the
r(-slxnses of particular tribal groups to modernization,
No single tribal group dominates the entire country,
but there are several large groups which dominate
particular sections of the coinitry, Available data are
loo searcve to culetllale their exact Illinterical strengths.
The uatiolal census of 1970 wvas intended t( establish
the iluniber of Zairian citizens in each luc�ali(y; it (lid
not tahulale the�ni b trital affiliation. {fence,
eslilli ates of the present size of the tribal groupings arc
rough approximations. based primarily on ,"triple
surveys of the whole lxpulution conducted bY Belgian
demographers (falling 1055 -58 tilt] on various studies
of particular tribal groups, mos0v dating from before
1960. As of 19.3h, the strengths of tilt pig {tt largest
tribal groups inhabiting the former Belgian Congo
were as follows;
The four most important tribes are the Kongo,
Lundu. Luba. and Mongo, By a very rough estimate,
:3
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PERCENTAGE Or
TOTAL POPULATION
Mangbetu�Azandr
14
Momgo
12
Luba
10
Kongo
9
Warega
3
Lund"
2
Ynka
I
Kuba
1
The four most important tribes are the Kongo,
Lundu. Luba. and Mongo, By a very rough estimate,
:3
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1
Ou
Q Bantu
Non -Bantu
Tribal boundary
coati Selected tribe
0 100 200 300 Wes
i I I
0 100 200 300 Kilometers
78149 8.70
FIGURE 4. Tribal groups (U /OU)
i
they probably account for about one -third of Zaire's
total population. All are Bantu. Three are numerically
large, with between 2 million and 3 million members
each, while one, the L.unda, has less than half a
million members. Three �the Mongo excepted �have
strong traditions of past political unity and political
domination and are more or less concentrated in a core
area (Figure 5). Despite this concentration, however,
there are other ethnic groups living in the areas in
which these tribes are dominant, and only the Kongo
have a territory pretty much inhabited only by
themselves. In Kinshasa, however, they are challenged
by other ethnic groups. The Mongo, in contrast, i� the
only tribe that is di-= persed throughout most of the
country, Each of these four tribes has benefited
significantly more than its neighbors from the
4
r 1
economic development of the past 70 years, and this
fact more than any other may explain their dominant
role.
a. Kongo
The ancestors of the Kongo cluster of peoples are
thought to have migrated to what is now Zaire from
the Lake Chad area about A.D. 500. They first lived to
the east of their present location but were slowly
pushed westward over the centuries by the Yaka tribe.
A number of internal migrations led to the formation
of various tribes within a fully functioning kingdom
called the Kingdom of Kongo, which was at its height
between 1500 and 1650. The memory of the past
greatness of this ancient kingdom still exerts a
powerful force among the Kongo peoples. Their most
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f
4
Major Ethnic Groupings in the Congo
FIGURE 5. Major ethnic groupings (U /OU)
prominent postinclependence leader, the late President
Joseph Kasavvbu, consciously invoked the old
kingdom in Suilding political support, and i,is ideas cf
political separatism stemmed from his app;e iation of
the earlier kingdom. A number of t.-bes make up the
Kongo tribal cluhter; the five major ones ,ire the
Basundi, Bampangu, Kongo, Bayou be, and Ba-
zombe. t
In the early 1960's, the largest pr Aon of the Kongo
group, about 1.2 million, inhab:ced Zaire, but there
were about 400,000 in Angola and 340,000 in Congo
(Brazzaville). By 1969, however, almost all of the
400,000 Kongo in Angola had come to Congo
(Kinshasa) as refugees, and as many as 2 million
Kongo tribesmen may now be living in Zaire. Until the
Belgians made Kinshasa a bustling city during this
century, there were few Kongo villages within 20 miles
of it; now Kongo tribesmen probably make up about
half of the city's population.
The Kongo (Figure 6) re'ain a strong sense of
cultural unity based on their belief in a common
origin, on the continuity of their historic traditions,
and on sharing the same type of social organization,
'There are differences of opinion about the rendering of African
names in English. In this chapter the prefix "Ba" (the plural form)
has been dropped when referring to some of the larger and better
known tribes.
based on matrilineal, exogamous clans (kanda). While
all of these integrative factors distinguish them from
neighboring groups, the most powerful unifier is their
common memory of the past splendor of their
kingdom. Even to this day the words Kongo Dia
Ntotila (Kongo Kingdom) serve as a sort of cultural
rallying cry for most Kongo.
The Kongo refugees from Angola have been
successfully integrated into Zairian life, and in 1972
almo.;t none of them remained in refugee centers.
Various international and foreign groups, both la,v and
religious, have contributed to their successful
integration by providing health and educational aid.
Most of the refugees have become successful farmers
who produce enough to feed themselves and a surplus
to sell to markets in Kinshasa. Their success, however.
has aroused jealousy within the communities in which
they have settled, and friction with non- Angolan
Kongo peoples over ownership of land and squatters'
rights is increasing.
b. Lunda
Roughly 400,000 Lunda reside in Zaire. Most
Lunda live in eastern Angola k Figure 5), and a few are
in Zambia. The three major groups are the Northern
Lunda in Kasai Occidental Region and about whom
little is known; the Eastern Lunda. who live in Zambia
and who founded the now extinct Bemba Empire; and
the Southern Lunda in Shaba Region astd in Angola.
'fhe Lunda apparently arrived in their present areas in
the 15.h century. They were politically and socially
organized under an emperor in small independent
chiefdoms which combined or fragmented according
to an individual leader's personal strength (Figure 7).
When the Lunda invaded a new area, they confirmed
the conquered hereditary rulers in office and reserved
5
..r..a;o in Nigeria by the northerners arr,ong whore
they migrated aril by the local non -lbo peoples with
swam they shared territory. Luba friction with the
Batetela stems from the late 19th century. when :he
Batetela were allies of the Arabs in destroying I.ufla
chiefdoms and forcing the Luba farther Westward.
When the Europeans arrived, tle Luba, unlike most
other tribes, volunteered to work in European mines
an:! railroads. This response arose bVCause there %%as
overcrowding in Luba territory, because some Luba
Chiefs had established p rsonal friendships %yith
individual Europeans, and because the suspicious
Lila and other neighboring tribes preferred giving
their Luba slaves to the white man for his scfonls
rather th.nn their own sons. Rapid assimilation of
European techniques brought the Luba considerable
wealth and with it the resentment (if' local u(
peoples among "yhonn the lived. Evan before
independ n
ec was as granted, these longstanding
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FIGURE 7. Lunda chieftain in Nola (C)
FIGURE 8. Luba smoking a Philo (U /OU)

resentments of Luba dominance caused many
flareups. The Lulua tribe was particulariv anti -Luba,
and in 1959 and 1960 fierce and !toady fighting
between the two peoples broke out around
Luluabourg (now Kananga). Many of the Luba
returned to the traditional tribal territory around
Mbuji -Maui, but in the absence 6f any preparation for
tfe influx, widespread famine resulted; the I.uha
refugee population still outstrips the areas capacity to
provide for it.
In 1969 the most serious tribal conflict in the Kasai
area occ urred within the Luba tribe, between the
Tchibanda and the Mutt- Wa- Mukana. The
Tchib are lovdand Luba people who are Poorer
than the M utu NVa Iv1 ukana, a highland Luba
People. The conflict provably has man historic roots
but was also aggravitted by thz influx of Lab: refugees
from Kasai Occidental Region. The dispute has spilt
the congregations of the Presby Church in the
area, and one tribal faction, the Mute- Wa- Mukana,
has formed a breakaway church which the
government refuses to recognize.
Since independence the Lliba have not fared well,
largely because the�v have not found a political
solution to fit their social and economic characteris-
tics. 'Their dispersal thi-wighont several provinces was a
strong argument for joining a nationally based
Political Part, but the only such party was one
headed by a Batetela, Patrice Lumumba, ,who clashed
with the Luba leader, Kalonji. Another political
alternative for the Luba, a locally based political
party, was thwarted by the fact that the onl issue
writing non -Luba tribes in Kasai was their common
hatred of the Luba. The political solution the Luba
favor is one of patiently infiltrating the ciw:l service,
the military, and other institutions while awaiting
their eventual takeover.
d. Mongo
The Mongo (Figure 9) form the largest single
culture ('�luster in "Zaire (with perhaps as many as 2.7
million members) and are found in all regions except
Shaba. They have little or no tradition of political
unity or large kingdoms, it major feature distinguish-
ing there from the Kongo, Luba, and Lunda tribes.
N wertheless, the different tribes in the Mongo cluster
have a strong sense of it common culture identity,
stemming from the fact that all tribes trace their
ancestry to a mystical figure called Mongo; many refer
to themselves with pride as the children of Mongo.
Inexplicably, in view of their diversity, the Mongo
consistently backed a single party in 1960 (that of
Lumurnba) while the far more united tribes (Kongo,
Luba, and Linda) divided their support among many
political parties. The fact that Lumumba organized
an efficient campaign among tLo N�Ingo was a
contributing factor buc probably was not decisive.
Two related tribal groups, the Kusu and the Batetela,
also voted to support Lumumba� The existence of
unified o:.,��king for ime political party irk five 011E of
the then six provinces w one of the few factors that
made a single state even remotely feasible.
cultural unity is one of the few unifying factors in the
country.
e. Minor Bantu tribes
Of the many remaining Bantu tribes, three �the
Yaka, Kuba, and Warega (Rega) �are of particular
intere The Yaka (Figure 10), a tribe with roughly
200,000 members, inhabit the area between the
Kwango and Kwilu rivers along with a number of
other minor tribes. They have been influenced to a
major degree by the Lunda to the east and only
slightly by the Kongo to their west.
The Kuba. (also known as Bushongo) inhabit the
area between the Sankuru and Kasai rivers in Kasai
Occidental Region. Originally of Luba origin, they
now have a distinct culture which appears to be more
('()triplex and stronger than man\" other indigenous
cultures. Their political organization includes a king
(nyind), court dignitaries, and officials, who reside in
Mushenge, it town that is regarded its the Kuba
capital The Kuba (Figure 11) have preserved an
accurate genealogy of more than 120 Kuba kings and
still observe the ancient ritual at the king's court. A
new king, Boke- Sharga, was installed in January
1970. The Kuba Political organization also developed
a council of elders (kolomo) in which the practitioners
of various arts are represented. The council's function
is to advise the king, and its existence has insured that
d
I
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FIGURE 9. Mongo housewife (U /OU)

FIGURE 10. Yaka tribesmen; the man on th left is a
chief, and the feather cap he wears is a symbol of
his rank (C)
Kuba artistic traditions have beeni carefully preserved.
Kuba art, for exumplc, is still trade and used chiefly to
express the� cultntr( In brief, the Kuhn are
conservatives who are very much atlaclivd to their
own culture and preserve it with an unusual degree of
strength. This strong attachment to what is III i(lneI\�
their own hits made them less interested in Western
ideas.
The W'aregct, who number roughly 100.000, nnh:,:
the dense, hilly ruin forest in Kivu Region and parts of
1.9
Orientale Region. The Warega an� short people �only
slight!\ over 5 feet tall �and are also rather shin. "Their
ancestors "t-re purl of it major rnigatury wave of
Bantu from the northeast. "I'hev live in \cell -built lug
houses which (usually have five to seven rooms.
'\tiarvgva woinen huge� tnon� aelv,uttages than \\otnen in
mane other :lfriean tribes. distinctive feature ol'
1Varega society is the htcume organization, au age
grade association with soc�i:cl and political ftnu�tions.
'I'll(- Warega put great emphasis on their social grading
system and ou the importance of social relationships.
I'hc\ are consequently clttite uninterested iu the-
.,it world: this lu into of rest
s utu is
c�hartc�teristic.� of many east African but cut of %airiau
tribes. The \Varega have not produced any \%vII-
known leaders, in part because their society accords
status to the group of elders, not the individual person.
Westerners kno them best for their octlst: ending ivory
sculpture.
"I'he WVurc ga differ from one area of Zaire to
another. Those near the (()\\n of Shabunda in central
Kivu Region are the most advanced, as the\ have had
the longest exposure to Western education. Because
thcv have bceter jobs than Witrog:t in other areas, the\
are often envied for .heir sUCCeos.
f. Non -Bantu groups
The Mantgbel(t- Azandt (Figure 12) are it cluster of
peoples straddling the Zaire -Sudan border: at least :3
million are settled in 'Zaire. The\ have developer! a
(�011111101) social pattern despite diverse origins. "11u�ir
political organiz,:tion includes it rev al clan whose
members rule quasi- independent states, often
corn posed of concluem(' groups of different origins.
Under this strongl\ centralized systei n. it large nu11ux�r
of foruterl\ separate tribcr. adopted :1.Zondc cultural
patterns and devt -loped :c strung cultural unit\. The
Xlanghetu are politicitily cruel linguistie�all\ distinct
front the :\zandc but because their soc�ioluclitical
organizations arc so similar. the two peoples are
usually (Iiscttsscd together. Oilier non -Bantu people.
such as the I,ugImru mid Tot ,i, ulsu inhabit Ilaut-
Zmre and Kip it Regions.
g. Pygmies
The arca's earliest inhabitants. the pygtnies. arc
thought to have arrived during the Slone Agc. 'They
are regarded as one of the oldest peoples in the world,
and no one knows for certain wFtere they cane front.
They call themselves Mbuti but arc known b\ various
tames in Africa. Europeans or European -ed icated
Africans cull them pygmics after tEv Greek pt. riiaio.s
meaning it cubit (about Iii inches), a name referring to
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FIGURE 11. Kuba man (U /OU)

I
FIGURE 12. Aithough the Mongbetu are a Central Sudanic people and the Azande are
Adamawa- Eastern, the two are quite similar in organization (Ictt) Mangbetu men (right)
Azande woman (U /OU)
their shorter than average stature (Figare 13).
Pygmies, however, have unmistakable features other
than height set them off from Negroid peoples.
Their legs are short in proportion to their bodies, then
are unusually muscilar and powerful. and their eves
are set %vide apart.
Over the centuries the pygmies interbred with
Negroid peoples who first entered the area as invaders.
They form small part of the population, roughly
100,00 persons; the largest group, and least affected
by racial mixing, are those who live in the northeast,
primarily along the 1hri river. They are basically
hunters and gatherers but have modified this primeval
pattern by trading with neighboring Band tribes.
'Their society bas been very effectively deseri bed by un
anthropologist who lived among them, Colin
Turnbull, in The Forest People.
2. Non- Africans
The non- African population. which numbered
about 80,000 in 1972, is culturally, occupationally,
and linguistically heterogeneous. Even the Belgian
majority, about 40,000, is much Tess homogeneous
than one would suspect. 'I'll( roughly 13,0M
Portuguese and 15.000 Asians (lndiars and Pakistanis)
are distinct minorities among those nun- Africans who
are longtime residents of Zaire. The ;%sians in
particular stand apart; their social and economic
positions are inferior to the Belgians, who look clown
on thud, and Afric -mis dislike them because they often
hold jobs African..; want (Figure 1.4).
'I'll(- Belgian population has a nurrber of cultural
and linguistic cleavages. For example, in the late
1950's, over 'If of the civil servants, over four- fifths
of he missionaries, and :.pout half of the settlers %sere
of Flernish extraction. This ncant that most of thc
Bclgiaus belonged to it group which had received
minority treatment in their own country and, perhaps
even more important, was identified with the
controversial issue of full cultural autonomy for
Flanders and Flemish speaking areas. Thus, even
though many settlers in the former Belgian Congo
desired autonomy hcm Brussels and the maintenance
of white supremacy, they disagreed as to whether an
autonomous should remain united. 'I'll( settlers
in former Katanga Province (now Shaba Region) were
9
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especially anxious to set up their own separate regime,
:and their hostility toward the central government was
adopted by some African politicians in Shaba as
independence for the whole Congo became imminent.
Finally, the Belgian settler conurtunity also was
occupationally divided, ss;th about ,W(. of employed
Belgians in commerce, about Wi in agriculture, and
about 16 /i in industry. r1 high percentage of the
Belgian farmers, who felt more strongly than other
Belgians that the Congo was their home, lived in
Haut -Zaire and Kivu Regions, two areas of high
population density and consectnent scareity of land.
These conditions made for exceptionally strong racial
antagonism between the Belgian and the African
communities in the two regions and for disagreements
with Belgians in other areas. Thus, the Belgians failed
by their own example to demonstrate the advantages
Of unity or compromise to the Zairians and, indeed,
seemed hardly more able than the Africans to handle
dissent.
3. Traditional and modern society
Zairian society consists of a rnaltitude of tribes in
flux bchveen traditional and modern social
10
organization. Altbongh there are far too little data
available to measure each tribe's movement in this
respect, it is clear that some have progressed much
more than others. 'I'll( Kongo, Luba, I.urtda, a.tci
Mongo are in both absolute and proportional terms far
more modernized than other Zairian tribes.
Nevertheless, all Zairians have been affected by
modern influences to some degree. In comparison to
other black African cunntries, a large proportion of the
population �abort 2M;- -lives in urban :areas. Zaire's
high rata of urbanization. however. obscures the fact
that many Zairians who have gone to the cities,
particniarlv since independence, live in the limited
world of the tribal ghet Which does not prepare
them to participate in modern society, although it
makes them aware of the artifacts associated with
modern society. In brief, Zaire's urban population is
nIppl ciahly larger than its modern population.
In the traditional scciet which remains the way of
life for the majority of Zairians, the extended family is
the basic unit, even though there are wide differences
ill social organization. The extended fancily generally
takes in three generations, ineltuling uny unmarried :r
widowed relatives, second or third syives. and the
children of divorced or deceased mothers. Units larger
than an extended family maN consist of lineages,
clans, snbtribes, and triies, depending on tilt- tribe.
The rule each unit plays in 11 systen of tribal
organization varies among the different tribes, but in
all tribal system, the needs of all members are
provided for, including justice, government, social
order, and often religion. Each traditional tribal
sYstent is a complex integrated whole which
adec i.t:g:>^si, ?L+EYeya9' 1k` "Se:fi !c+...: z; .rpt, :,aVay.�aswwox.=uizea tar.rwu,,,._.....,.,
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I
Such pressures were intensified by the sharp decline in
private enterprise resulting from insecure conditions in
the early 1960's. Consequently, the ranks of
government employees increased by roughly 75% from
1960 to 1970. The net result is that almost as many
Zairians are now employed in government agencies as
in the private sector. The incompetence of many
government employees seriously impedes essential
operations, but severe pruning would sharply intensify
latent social and political tensions.
Because of chronic job scarcity, the distribution of
wage and salary rlnting positions among ethnic
groups has been one of the focal points for serious
tension since independence. For example, under the
colonial regime the Luba had a disproportionate share
of white collar positions in government and business
offices in Kananga. This dominance was so resented
by the more numerous Lulua that the Luba were
forced to relocate to the east after independence.
These ethnic rivalries eventually resulted in the
division of Kasai into two regions, Kasai Occidental
and Kasai- Oriental, dominated respectively by the
Lulua and Luba tribes. The Luba were also resented
by the Lunda of Shaba Region for their prepon-
derance in wage and salary earning positions there and
were forced to flee this province in the early 1960's,
although some have returned to Shaba and dominate
the city of Lubumbashi.
The unsatisfied desire for employment or
advancement also intensifies popular aversions toward
foreign residents, particularly the Belgians and other
Europeans, who hold most of the managerial and
technical positions in private enterprise and the state
owned corporations. in response to such concern, an
official policy was announced in January 1968 that
Congolese have priority over foreigners for all jobs
requiring a labor contract, provided an applicant is
qualified to perform a particular job. Furthermore,
President Mobutu issued an order in August 1970
excluding foreigners from employment within
government ministries. The effects of this order have
not been as sweeping as official announcements
implied, since it does not apply to foreigners assigned
to ministries under bilateral technical assistance
programs, and the state -owned corporations which
employ a large portion of the foreign managerial and
technical personnal have been temporarily exempted.
President Mobutu apparently recognizes that most
high -level foreign employees can be replaced only
gradually, as long -term programs for training Zairians
are implemented. The major concentration of
European technicians is in the Shaban copper
industry, and in fact they are being gradually replaced
through an effective training program conducted by
the Belgian company which hclds a management
contract with the Zairian state -owned mining
corporation. Nevertheless, President Mobutu or his
aides have occasionally resorted to propaganda ploys
which stimulate popular jealousy of foreign jobholders
and raise unrealistic expectations that they are to be
replaced soon, The actual targets of highly publicized
crackdowns on foreign residents in 1969 and again in
1971 turned out to be mostly African aliens engaged in
petty trade. Such campaigns, however, at least
temporarily demoralize many Europeans who are
performing functions that are essential for the
development of the Zairian economy.
Although regularly employed wage earners
constitute a fortunate minority of the Zairian
population, inadequate. compensation has been a
chronic demoralizing factor within this group. All
have been more or less deprived by the trend since
independence for wages to lag behind the rising cost of
living in urban areas This trend was temporarily
reversed during 1971 by increases in the legal
minimum wage accruing to 30 but prospects for
holding the line appeared poor in early 1972. The bulk
of low -level wage earners who are hit hardest by
inflation also feel aggrieved by the contrast between
their standard of living and that of high -level
government officials who flaunt luxuries derived from
legal perquisites or transparently prevalent graft.
Furthermore, many government employees have
repeatedly suffered privations due to prolonged arrears
in pay as a result of malfeasance or chronic
administrative snarls. Pay arrears have been the most
common single cause of wildcat strikes among
schoolteachers and other government employees.
President Mobutu is aware of this corruption and has
been trying to crack down on the most obvious
culprits.
Labor unions for Zairian workers developed later
and were less important than those in most of the
British or French colonies. Because there were no
unions, worker dissatisfaction tended to erupt
spontaneously in riots or other violent outbreaks.
Many labor organizations were formed in the late
1940'x, including the forerunners of today's unions,
but all were under strict government control. Not only
did the colonial government regulate their size and
organization but, more significantly, insisted that any
action a union wished to take had to be channeled
through an intricate system of work councils and
workers committees, in which Europeans held all top
positions. The Africans did not understand how the
complex system worked, and spokesmen for the
19
4 2" C .nz'r.,
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African workers were often reluctant to challenge the
government for fear they would be punished. As a
result, few workers were interested in unions or
understood what a labor movement was all about. In
addition, and perhaps because of its lack of economic
muscle, the labor movement never became a major
channel of nationalism as it did in other African
countries.
In 1967, President Mobutu successfully pressured
the three existing labor federations to form a single
organization, designed to support his political party,
the Popular Movement of the Revolution (MPR). This
unitary labor organization immediately supplanted
the former federations and then gradually absorbed all
the former trade unions. Meanwhile, labor leaders
became increasingly oriented toward the MPR, which
served to link them at least indirectly to the
government. Consequently, most ordinary work-
ingmen have come to rely on the government rather
than labor union action to meet their basic needs, and
their personal participation in local union activities
has tended to decline.
The unitary organization formed in 1967 was the
National Union of Congolese Workers of Congo
(UNTO, now UNTZA. Its declared purpose is to
promote the welfare of all workers, regardless of
whether they are regular wage earners, casual urban
workers, or peasants working on family farms. Its
organizational structure reflects this all- inclusive
purpose. The basic local units are supposed to include
all employees in a particular small business or in a
local branch of a large company or government
agency. Linking these local units with the national
headquarters are two parallel structures, each having
local, regional, and provincial echelons. In the first
structural category are the professional committees,
each of which comprises a particular industry or
government ministry. In fact, the professional
committees, which constitute a pyramidal structure
for each industry, are the vestiges of former trade
unions. The second structural category comprises the
interprofessional committees, which conduct par-
ticular aspects of union affairs, such as finances or
cadre training.
At the national level, the UNTZA executive board
comprises a secretary for each of the industrial or
functional chains of command, a secretary general,
and several assistant secretarys general. The executive
board in effect controls the UNTZA, in accordance
with guidance from ranking MPR officials, although
the nominally supreme organ of the UNTZA is a
national congress convened every 5 years. Nationwide
elections of some 10,000 shop stewards in 1968 and
20
again in 1971 have maintained a vestige of the rank
and file influence which prevailed in some of the
former trade unions, although most of the present shop
stewards were virtually nominated by higher echelons.
Although the UNTZA claims to represent at least
1.3 million wage earners, only a small minority
actually paid dues before a dues check off system_
deducting union dues from workers' salaries�.was
instituted for employees of private companies in 1968
and for government employees in 1970. By late 1971
roughly 900,000 workers reportedly were paying dues
regularly through the checkoff system. Many,
however, resisted dues payments as long as possible
while the checkoff system was being gradually
enforced. Their opposition to compulsory payments
apparently reflected their awareness that UNTZA
received substantial government subsidies until 1970
and their belief that union officials were expending
funds in ways that did not actually benefit ordinary
workmen. Independent observers tend to concur in
this belief. In fact, substantial thefts of union funds at
national headquarters were publicized in 1969 and
again in 1971.
The UNTZA has made only limited progress toward
its declared objectives of supplementing the
government's social services for all workers as well as
sponsoring producer and consumer cooperatives. In
December 1969 the UNTZA inaugurated the Workers
and Peasants Solidarity Fund (CASOP), which aims to
provide low -cost health insurance and other welfare
services to casual workers, farmers, and others who are
not covered by the government operated social
insurance system. As of late 1971, however, CASOP
was operating health clinics and other services in only
three major cities, and only a few producer
cooperatives had been started. The UNTZA
conducted its first seminar for rural community leaders
in September 1971 with support from the African
American Labor Center (AALC).
The UNTZA is not formally affiliated with any
international labor organization except the African
Trade Union Confederation (ATUC). The three
Congolese labor federations which joined to form the
UNTZA in 1967 had already been affiliated with the
ATUC. The UNTZA has maintained the affiliation
while its leaders have expressed hopes that the ATUC,
a U.S.- supported and influenced group, could
eventually merge with its Soviet- supported rival, the
All- African Trade Union Federation (AATUF).
Despite a declared policy of independence from all
non African labor organizations, UNTZA does
cooperate with the AALC, with Histadrut, the Israeli
labor organization, and with Swiss, West German, and
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t
other European labor groups, including those with
which its three predecessor unions were affiliated. For
the most part it accepts training and technical
assistance from them but steers clear of receiving direct
subsidies. The major amount of assistance comes from
the AALC, which has managed to build a good
relationship, enabling it to begin providing the
leadership training Zairian labor so badly needs. The
European organizations, on the other hand, have
become discouraged by the amount of corruption in
the Zairian unions and in consequence have chosen to
play only a minor assistance role.
The General Confederation of Congolese Workers
(CGTC), the only Communist- oriented union, was
outlawed in 1966 and its leadership imprisoned. At its
height, the union probably had a membership of one
or two dozen militants, although a membership of 300
was sometimes claimed. Some of the leaders have been
released from jail, and they occasionally distribute
anti Mobutu tracts in Kinshasa, but they have had
little impact and are only a minor nuisance to the
government.
The Federation of Businesses of Zaire (FEZ), which
is affiliated with Belgian industry, is the most
important management organization. In 1969 it had
270 affiliates covering about 95% of all private
businesses.
Relations among management, labor, and
government are prescribed in a comprehensive labor
code, issued by presidential decree in August 1967.
The labor code calls for a National Labor Council,
comprising seven representatives each for government,
management, and labor, which proposes revisions in
the code and makes other recommendations on labor
problems. Its recommendations, however, are not
binding, and President Mobutu has been the ultimate
arbiter of important issues between labor and
management.
The labor code covers working conditions in the
broadest sense, including maximum working hours,
annual leave, and such fringe benefits as family and
housing allowances. It also stipulates the procedures
for collective bargaining and arbitration of disputes
between workers and employers. Strikes are illegal
unless the protracted arbitration procedures are
exhausted. Subsequent regulations in effect make the
UNTZA the only permissible bargaining agent for all
wage earners and prohibit workers from going on strike
without authorization of the UNTZA's secretary
general.
The FEZ and tie UNTZA signed their first
collective bargaining agreement in March 1.968.
Among other things, it provided a scale for the dues
checkoff system. Dues ranged from the equivalent of
$.20 to $.80 a month for salaries ranging from less than
$12 to over $100 a month. Unfortunately, union
representatives rarely know anything about the
specific workers or factories they represent, a condition
which has made management reluctant to negotiate
specific agreements with individual unions as was
envisaged under the March 1968 collective bargaining
agreement. However, in 1969 the first such national
agreement (covering banks) wa: signed, and in
February 1970, a second agreement (covering
plantation and forestry workers) was signed. In July
1970 three agreements� covering mineworkers,
railroad workers, and tobacco workers�were signed.
These and subsequent agreements have extended
increasingly precise rules for each kind of work to most
employees of private companies and of the state
owned corporations.
Relations between private industry and labor have
been fairly stable since 1967 with a minimum of
strikes. Since private companies usually have
maintained wage scales well above the legal
minimum, the prime issue has been the aspiration of
Zairians for upgrading to managerial and technical
positions held by Europeans. This issue has seldom
become disruptive, as most of the larger companies
have initiated their own programs for training and
upgrading Zairians. Also, government authorities
usually have exercised restraint in enforcing legal
quotas and other restrictions on employment of
foreigners. The upgrading issue, however, remains
potentially stressful, because few Zairians yet have the
educational credentials or technical training for the
more desirable positions.
By contrast with employees in the private sector,
Zairian schoolteachers and other employees of
government agencies have been prone to go out on
sporadic local strikes in defintce of union discipline
and legal prohibitions. Mi*41 wildcat strikes have been
caused by prolonged lapses in pay or fringe benefits as
a result of administrative breakdowns. Also, the hand
in -glove relationship between higher union and party
officials has provoked cynical attitudes among
ordinary workers regarding the efforts of union
officials to redress their grievances.
E. Living conditions and social problems
(U /OU)
As a result of Belgian efforts, health and social
services and the standard of living at the time of
independence in 1960 were probably superior to those
anywhere else in tropical Africa. Independence,
21
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i
i
t
i
however, was followed by an almost immediate
breakdown ir, order, with tribal warfare and rebellion
throughout much of the country, rising unemploy-
ment in tire cities, and occasional attacks on whites. As
chaos and confusion spread, the Belgians who
performed the social and medical services fled. Most
social and health services came to an abrupt halt just
when they were most needed because of the difficult
problems created by the disorders. Sortie services have
been reinstated, and the situation has improved since
the early 1960's, but it will be. many years before Zaire
recovers the standards it knew prior to independence.
Independence brought not only a coilapse in most
welfare services, but a sharp decline in the typical
wage earner's purchasing power as a result of the
increases in the cost of consumer goods. Successive
government leaders sought to offset rising prices with
statutory wage increases, but legal minimum wage
scales lagged far behind prices until mid -1968, when
the typical urban wage earner's purchasing power was
roughly half of the preindependence norm. Since 1968
the Mobutu government has made substantial
progress toward closing the gap between prices and
wages. In fact, three statutory wage increases during
1970 -71 accrued to 50% for most regular wage earners,
while inflationary pressures were checked sufficiently
to yield a slight gain in actual purchasing power over
the 1964 level. Nevertheless, by December 1971 the
real value of legal minimum wages averaged only 69%
of the preindependence norm.
Most Zairians have suffered a net deterioration in
their material welfare since independence. Peasants
remaining on their tribal lands usually have fared
better than a large portion of the urban dwellers. Even
the more advanced farmers, who before 1960 had
become accustomed to raising cash crops and buying
some amenities with their profits, have tended to
revert to traditional subsistence agriculture without
undergoing an intense sense of deprivation, since they
still have basic necessities according to traditional
standards. On the other hand, few of those who have
migrated to urban areas have found regular
employment, and an even smaller number have found
adequate housing.
Extreme variations in urban living conditions reflect
the postindependence breakdown in orderly urban
growth. During the Belgian era, rural urban migration
was limited by the requirement that a house with
water and electricity be available before a family
could move to a town, a policy which entailed
considerable waiting but prevented the growth of
slums. At independence, however, housing restrictions
were abolished, and urbanization has since occurred
22
dr5 .,t- "'F ".8.iw+3kt5.`;s.,_. r' -i;, i .i..a:r�,:, w., ta.,.,.,...- ...�..,a....
haphazardly. People have freely crowded into the
cities, or from one part of the city to another, and
created problem environments. The dismaying
conditions reported in Bukavu in 1967 are probably
typical for most urban areas. The city was surrounded
by acres of rat- infested hovels and was overrun with
thieves, beggars, and pickpockets. People working for
the government demanded bribes before they would
perform the dirties for which they were drawing
salaries, and there was a high incidence of
housebreaking, even though windows in most
buildings were barred.
During the 1950's the Belgian colonial administra-
tion, Christian missions, and various Belgian
sponsored charities made such substantial contribu-
tions to social welfare that Congolese were far ahead
of other Africans in terms of primary education,
housing, medical care, and worker benefits. Since
independence, however, the government has had to
concentrate so much effort on maintaining public
order that administrative personnel have usually
neglected welfare programs. The practical result is
that the comprehensive system set up by the Belgains
for the most part has ceased to exist, although much of
the legislation setting up these programs remains in
existence. Although the United Nations arranged for
technicians to replace many of the Belgians who fled
when order broke down, these persons usually were on
contract, and many stayed only 2 years. Insofar as
government services are concerned, rural areas have
been virtually ignored since independence. A 1968
visitor to a remote rural area of Shaba characterized it
as "forsaken the area seemed untouched by
education and the modern world, there was no
government presence, and the people existed entirely
on an easily acquired subsistence diet.
Social insurance programs for the small minority of
Zairians who are regularly employed are administered
by the National Institute of Social Security (INSS), a
part of the Department of for Social Affairs. These
programs include workmen's compensation and old
age, survivor, and disability insurance. In January
1970, retirement benefits were increased 45 survivor
benefits were increased 30 and disability pensions
were increased 20 The INSS is governed by a 10-
member administrative council consisting of four
government representatives, three employer repre-
sentatives, and three employee representatives. In
early 1966, about half a million workers were
registered with the INSS, but it was not clear how
many actually were covered by benefits. A major
problern is that persons outside Kinshasa almost never
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1
Y
y
j
z
t
3
i
f
e
receive the benefits to which they are entitled because
Provincial officials pocket the payments.
In December 1969 the national labor union, the
UNTZA, inaugurated the Workers and Peasants
Solidarity Fund CASOP). The fund's purpose is to
provide benefits in addition to those provided by the
INSS in times of particular need, such as illness or
death in the family. Fund benefits are intended for all
workers and not just those who are union members.
Financing has come from several sources but chiefly
from the mutual assistance associations sponsored by
the Roman Catholic Church which had provided
similar services until 1969, when the UNTC took over.
By December 1971 CASOP centers were operating
only four cities Kinshasa, Mbuji -Magi, Luburnbas-
hi, and Kisangani. The Kinshasa center consisted of a
dispensary with two ambulances, two hearses,
facilities for funeral services, and a casket workshop.
The center is also to include a sewing center, a baby
layette service, and a mobile health clinic to serve
nearby rural areas.
Although there are no statistics on the incidence of
crime, it seems to occur primarily in the ei`ies rather
than in rural areas. Armed robbery, banditry, and
physical assault are commonplace. Robberies and
assaults were particularly high in Lubumbashi in the
winter of 1969. It was determined that police, army,
and the highest judicial officials in that city were
deeply involved in protecting the criminals and that
much of the crime problem resulted from the dire
economic situation. Prostitution is a problem, but little
is known about its dimensions and effects. The taking
of drugs such as marijuana, called chanvre in Zaire, is
a centuries -old custom in much of Africa and is not a
serious problem. Chanvre grows in the forest on 7-foot
stalks, and apparently a shoebox full may be bought in
Kinshasa for $1. About the only people who seem
alarmed about drug use are the young. They assert
their independence from their parents by not taking
drugs, which to them are hallmarks of the ignorant old
ways. The use of alcohol, on the other hand, is a
growing problem among the young and the old and
appears to be a major contributing factor to a high
automobile accident rate and to a high rate of
absenteeism.
F. Health (U /OU)
As public health statistics have not been
systematically collected since 1.959, the full
dimensions of present health problems are unknown.
It is apparent, however, that many diseases and also
malnutrition are prevalent among the indigenous
:.tai. YV .:dcR. F4 .zk '4�Fx dtyP'' i^,
population. The most serious health hazards,
especially for foreigners who travel outside the major
cities, are the communicable diseases caused by
unsanitary conditions. Organic and degenerative
diseases are also important elements of a generally
poor public health situation.
The climate of Zaire varies markecay. The low -lying
plains of the central Congo Basin are hot, humid, and
rainy most of the year. Consequently the basin, which
is covered by dense rain forest, is an unhealthful area
and is only sparsely populated. The environment is
much healthier in the higher elevations of northern,
eastern, and southern Zaire, and some sectors of these
higher, cooler regions are densely populated.
Foreigners accustomed to temperate climates find the
conditions in the central basin enervating.
Many species of indigenous wildlife as well as the
common livestock are health hazards for humans in
rural areas. There are various poisonous snakes,
including one of the world's deadliest, the black
mamba, and wild animals such as crocodiles, hyenas,
jackals and others are sometimes a threat to man. A
person who falls ill or injures himself while alone in
certain parts of 'Zaire is in considerable danger of being
killed and eaten by an animal.
Livestock are subject to numerous diseases,
including trypanosomiasis, East Coast fever,
babesiasis, rinderpest, rabies, and anthrax. Indigenous
cattle, however, have developed a strong resistance to
many of the diseases. Some animal diseases are
transmissible to humans; in fact, the incidence of
rabies is especially high in Kinshasa and other urban
areas. Animals also transmit diseases which affect only
humans� rodents for example carry bubonic plague.
The lack of clean water and the almost total
absence of sanitation contribute significantly to the
spread of disease. Even a healthy person cannot
remain free of sickness for long unless he takes
extraordinary precautions. Except in some urban
areas, facilities for food storage and distribution are
inadequate. Most food is sold in open markets, where
it is exposed to dust, insects, rodents, and unsanitary
handling (Figure 18). There is legislation which sets
standards for the inspection of food, but Zaire lacks
the resources to enforce the rules. Thus.:: government
inspection stamp may be seen on meat that has not
been inspected and is hanging in the dirtiest of open
markets. There is an adequate supply of water
throughout most of Zaire, and drought is almost never
a problem, but systems for the distribution of water
exist only in the larger cities, where piped water is not
usually potable, since urban treatment facilities are
inadequate. In 1962 about half of the houses in urban
23
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areas had running water, but only a few had modem
plumbing facilities. In rural areas women obtain water
from streams or rivers. Sewage disposal is totally
lacking in rural areas and inadequate in urban areas.
Garbage collection is sporadic even in the cities and
nonexistent in rural areas.
Communicable diseases are the most serious health
hazards. Organic and degenerative diseases no doubt
add to health problems, but no statistics are available
om their relative importance. The principal
communicable diWar*, include amebiasis, shigellosis,
malaria, tubercQhw,Is, schistosomiasis, infectious
hepatitis, helrninthiasis, leprosy, the childhood
diseases, typhoid and paratyphoid fevers, smallpox,
trypanosomiasis, and respiratory infections: The
government reported 2,064 cases of smallpox in
December 1969 alone. At that time incidence was
heaviest in Shaba and Bandundu Regions. Malaria is
endemic and occasionally epidemic; nearly all African
children in the lowlands acquire the infection before
they are 10 years old. Malaria- control compaigns,
extensive prior to 1960, have become sporadic. This
situation allowed the incidence of malaria to surpass
that of 1958, when there were about 945,000 cases,
with over 2,300 deaths. Tuberculosis, once found
primarily in cities, har penetrated extensively into
24
rural areas. In Shaba Region and the two K.1sai
regions, schistosomiasis, an infection acquired lw
drinking or bathing in water contaminated F flukes
of the genus schistosoma, the host being snails, is
endemic. In 1972 about 400,000 Zairians were
affected by leprosy; permanent cures are rare largely
because people do 'not understand that they must
continue treatment after the lesions disappear. There
are frequent epidemics of measles, whooping cough,
and mumps, which in Zaire often result in death.
There has been an alarming rise in the incidence of
trypanosomiasis, and there is also a high incidence of
venereal disease. There is bubonic plague in the north
of Kivu Region. Onchocerciasis is widespread in the
regions of Kasai Occidental and Kasai Oriental, and
yellow fever has been found in Haut -Zaire north of
Kisangani.
The average Zair'an diet, although sufficient in
calories, lacks the vitamins, minerals, and proteins
necessary for good health. Malnutrition thus
characterizes the health of more than 90% of the
Population, those whose diet consists of cassava and
plantains, supplemented in some areas by corn,
peanuts, rice, and palm oil. Protein deficiencies have
particularly serious effects on children between the
ages of 1 and 4; many die and others are retarded for
life because of the lack of protein. In I972 there
appeared to be none of the outright starvation once
widespread in the many arfw disrupted by t ribal
warfare and rebellion and more recently appearing in
Haut -Zaire and Kivu Regions as a result of the 1964
rebellion. There remain, however, people who while
not starving are hungry. Civil disorders, inadequate
distribution systems, poor storage facilities, and
insufficient production cause occasional food
shortages in the cities.
Despite the efforts of the World Health Organiza-
tion, other international organizations, and foreign
governments, the administration of health programs is
totally inadequate. Most of the budget of the
Department of Public Health goes for salaries, and
many of its personnel are incompetent.
Medical care standards are below those of
neighboring countries, having deteriorated sharply
since independence, when facilities were among the
most extensive on the continent. Hospitals and
dispensaries are seriously understaffed �som have no
staff at all �and lack drugs in the quantities and
varieties needed (Figure 19). As an indication, in 1956
there were 2,173 medical care facilities (including 339
hospitals, 1,642 dispensaries, and 192 special units
including leprosariums and tuberculosis sanitariums)
with some 65,000 beds. In 1970, despite a large
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FIGURE 18. Vendors selling fresh and smoked
fish in Kinshasa market (U /OU)

increase in population, there were only 305 hospitals
with a reported 48,900 :eds. The statistics are not
really comparable, however, because in 1968 many
facilities operated only partially and were dirty and
rundown, while in 1956 they were fully functioning
entities.
In 1957 there was a doctor for every 20,000 persons,
while in 1972 there was one for about every 30,000
persons, a ratio far below the goal of one doctor per
10,000 persons set by the United Nations for
developing countries. In absolute numbers 'Zaire had a
total of about 780 physicians in early 1972, of whom
only 300 were Zairian nationals. Because medical
facilities and physicians are concentrated in the larger
urban areas, the ratio of physicians to local population
in rural areas is much lower than the national average.
In 1972 the ratio of physicians to persons was
estimated to be about 1 to 5,000 in Kinshasa and
Lubumbashi but only 1 to 50,000 in rural areas. As a
practical matter, therefore, reliable medical facilities
are limited to a few government operated hospitals in
the major cities and the small rural hospitals or clinics
that are operated by Christian missions. The latter are
so unevenly dispersed across the interior that they are
accessible to only a small portion of the rural
population (Figure 20). Of Kinshasa's 203 doctors, 122
worked in hospitals, 61 in Lovanium University
clinics, and 20 for the central government.
The only full- length training course for physicians is
provided by the medical school at the Kinshasa
branch of Zaire National University (the former
Lovanium University). In early 1972 some 1,300
medical students were enrolled in its 6 -vear course
leading to a doctorate in medicine. This school has
expanded rapidly since 1970; it had graduated only 65
physicians between 1%. 3 and 194'0. As o. early 1972,
well over half of the roughly 300 physicians of Zairian
nationality who were practicing in Zaire had received
their medical education abroad.
Zairian physicians are as reluctant as the foreign
doctors to serve in rural areas. The government
conscripted all "Zairian doctors in March 1968 in an
attempt to improve medical care in rural areas, but
this has not worked well because the government has
-not been able to service rural medical facilities.
Doctors in rural areas are rarely paid on time and
therefore resort to Alin,,, their drugs to make ends
meet; often even rudimentary housing for their
families is nonexistent. The conscripted doctors are
intensely and understandably discontented, and many
have left their posts and returned to Kinshasa, while
others simply never arrived at their posts. Discontent
among Zairian physicians i i government service
apparently was among the motivations for the
imposition in 1971 of a maximum fee schedule for
physicians in private practice. This regulation has
caused so many foreign doctors to leave "Zaire that
European residents face an acute shortage of private
practitioners.
Training facilities for nurses and medical
technicians are very limited. Zaire National University
conducts only one nursing school and one school of
pharmacology, both situated at Kinshasa. As of early
1972, Christian missions were conducting six 4 -year
training courses for nurses and twenty -three 2 -year
courses for practical nurses. The total output of trained
nurses was still far below nationwide needs, and a
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FIGURE 19. Patients at health center in Ndiili near
Kinshasa (c.)
FIGURE 20. Dispensary at a mission hospital in
Katanti (C)

large p of the practical nurses and midwives who
were on the scene prior to independence are still
practicing.
The government's failure to provide medical care
for the bulk of the population has provoked public-
expressions of dissatisfaction, and Pre,ident Mobut,i
has tended to respond with token programs designed
to have a visible impact on particular areas. For
instance, pressures from a war veterans association in
Bas -Zaire evoked a directive in January 1970 that
unemployed veterans in that province were to receive
free medical care from local public health units. In the
absence of adequate facilities, this was little more than
a gesture, but in 1970 Mobutu also sponsored a pilot
project which has brought genuine results. A special
fund was established for recruitment of foreign
physicians and nurses to serve in a Kinshasa general
hospital and also aboard a hospital ship which is to
tour the principal rivers. In late 1970 the task force at
the hospital, although still short of projected strength,
opened an intensive care unit for surgical patients and
brought a marked improvement in overall cleanliness.
The hospital ship began to cruise in early 1971. Its
staff performed surgery and also conducted such
preventive services as inoculations and training of
village leaders in basic sanitation. The Kinshasa
hospital has been renamed as a memorial to Mobutu's
recently deceased mother, and the hospital ship bears
his wife's name.
G. Religion (U /OU)
The tribes of Zaire are deeply religious, and SIAM
idea of the strength and complexity of their varied
beliefs can be seen in the rich art which they
fashioned. For more than a century these religious
convictions have been challenged by the modem
Western world and its religions as well as by Islamic
influences from Africa's east coast. Although many
Zairians have adopted Christianity for the practical
benefits it has conferred schooling, a mark of elite
status, medical services others are sincere believers.
Indeed, some have formed their own Christian
churches because they have felt that the accepted
churches have failed to interpret the principles of
Christianity correctly. Also, syncretic churches have
been formed that incorporate Christian and
traditional beliefs and practices. A few conservative
tribes, such as the Kuba, maintain their traditional
beliefs with continuing vigor.
The most recent estimates (1966) on the religious
preferences of the population indicate that of some
15.5 million people, 8 million are Christian (6 million
26
Roman Catholic and 2 million Protestant) and 7
million retain their traditional tribal beliefs. The
remainder includes 180,000 adherents of syncretic
Christian sects, 150,000 Muslims, 3,000 Greek
Orthodox Christians, and 1,200 Jews. Such estimates
probably fall short of the full number of syncretist;
son.e indicate that there are over 3 million.
Both Christians and traditional believers are fairly
evenly dispersed throughout the country, that is. there
is no single large tribe or area which is overwhelmingly
Christian and thus religiously distinct from other tribes
or areas. Christians do tend, however, to be
concentrated in the cities and small towns, while the
people who live in rural areas tend to continue in their
traditional beliefs. Furthermore, as a result of an
agreement among various missionary groups, the
adherents of the many Protestant denominations are
#-oiicentrated in particular areas. The largest
concentrations of Muslims are in eastern Zaire,
parti%;ularly in Kisangani and other towns.
T, sre are over 200 indigenous systems of religious
belief in Zaire, many with only several thousand
adherents. The numerous systems developed because
each African tribe had its own beliefs which were an
integral part of its social system. As is the case with the
various Christian denominations, the African beliefs
have many basic feahires in common, usually
differing only in superficial aspects. In all African
systems, religion is not relegated to an occasional
ceremony but permeates a person's entire existence
from birth to death.
In tribal religions, the system of thought usually
includes the idea that all persons, living or dead,
possess a vital force which manifests itself in daily life.
Many of the rituals are followed in order to make this
force available to a particular person or group or,
conversely, to prevent an undesirable force from
making itself felt. Not only persons but also objects are
considered to be the repository of one or more spirits,
and an alert observer may see evidence of offerings
which have been left for the spirits at a particular
stream, rock, or tree. Since the belief that natural
phenomena possess souls or spirits is usually called
animism, African beliefs are often referred to simply as
animistic. Most of the traditional rituals fulfill a vital
and understandable function for the members of the
religion. The worship of ancestors, for example, serves
to remind the living of their past and hence their
continuity as a people, thus performing something of
the same function that the formal study of history
performs for other peoples. A reminder of their past
may also help a tribe survive a particularly difficult or
troubling time, such as a period of famine or warfare.
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I
In most of the traditional religions, there is, in
addition to the belief in a multitude of spirits and
ancestors, a belief in one supreme being, the creator of
the universe, but he is given different names by
different groups. In most cases he is too remote to be
approached directly. Some belief systems developed
an elaborate set of lesser divinities as well.
Human beings are believed to possess a spirit which
leaves the body after death and goes, after a suitable
lapse of time, to a spirit world where all the spirits
have gathercA. Thus, the African belief systems have a
form of heaven, but they lack a hell. The spirits of
departed ancestors in African systems possess the
power to interl ere in the lives of their progeny. Because
they have this power, it is important that their good
will is maintained, an important factor in the growth
of ancestor worship. The emphasis on the ancestor also
serves the purpose of strengthening the position of the
elders vis -a -vis the younger members of the tribe.
In African religious systems, the problem of good
and evil is usually separated from the belief in a divine
spirit and in ancestors. Thus, no one ever falls from
divine grace or is disowned by his ancestors, Instead,
evil comes from prrsons with evil intentions and good
from persons with good intentions. The Africans
believe that sorcerers make people bad, and
traditional practitioners use countermagic to make
people good, or, if not that, to render the evil action
ineffective or the recipient of an evil action immune to
it (Figures 21 and 22). In this manner there arose the
use of charms, fetishes, and ritual -type actions that
had to be followed to acquire a good or ward off an
evil. Belief in i.ragic is retained by many Westernized
individuals. Several years ago, President Mobutu had
a well -known witch doctor, who was to be put to
death, transported on the presidential yacht. Mobutu
would not use -the yacht again until it had been
cleansed by another witch doctor of possible curses.
Roman Catholicism is the most widely practiced
Christian faith. Despite an early beginning �the first
Catholic Church in the Congo was established in 1640
by the Portuguese �it was not until the advent of
Belgian colonial rule early in this century that
Catholicism expanded to become the single strongest
religion in the country and one of the main pillars of
colonial rule. The church has declined in power and
appeal since independence because it waited almost
too long to begin Africanization. In 1960, for example,
there were no Congolese in the hierarchy. Neverthe-
less, the church remains one of the country's few
national institutions, and its welfare services
contribute significantly to stahslity.
A number of factors led the church to realize
belatedly in the mid- 1960's that it was out of touch
with African needs, indeed that it had serious
problems of credibility with the new forces at work in
the cmuntry. Betweer. 1%5 and 1965, church leaders
lost their role as spokesmen for one of the main pillars
of society and were being bypassed by the new regime.
Evidence that the church was identified in the popular
mind with the hated colonial administration was
found in the murder �often in brutal ways �of over
160 priests and nuns, both European and Congolese,
during the 1964 -65 rebellion. Finally, the number of
baptisms, religiously celebrated marriages, and
enrollments in seminaries fell off rapidly, indicating a
sharp decline in adherence to Catholic tenets and
church law. All three indexes declined by 50%
between 1960 and 1965.
Since 1965 the church has been attempting to
adapt. One of its majo efforts has been to weed out
older European ;priests who are conspicuously out of
touch with the contemporary church. The first African
to become an archbishop, Joseph Malula, was
installed in 1964; by 1969, five of the six archbishops
were Africans. The true center of power in the
hierarchy is the bishopric, and by 1969, there were 26
African bishops while 21 were Europeans. This was a
substantial change since 1966, when there were only
18 African bishops as compared to 31 Belgian and
three other European bishops. According to figures in
the 1969 Catholic Yearbook, the Congo had 8,179
priests, nuns, and lay brothers, an increase of about
1,000 over 1959. The total consisted of 6,248
Europeans and 1,931 Africans and included 2,300
priests of whom 600 were Africans. Apparently not all
the Europeans were missionaries; the Kinshasa
diocesan center reported in 1969 that there were 5,814
Catholic missionaries. Of the total, 36% were in the
city of Kinshasa, 18% in Shaba Region, and the
remaining 46% divided among five other regions
Kasai- Occidental, Kasai Oriental, Equateur, Kivu,
and Haut Zaire.
Despite the existence of six major and numerous
minor seminaries, it has been difficult to recruit
Zairians for the priesthood because of the requirement
of celibacy and because the occupation is less
prestigious than it was before independence. Women,
however, are more willing to enter a convent because
it is one of the few avenues of escape from village life.
Another major problem is that Zah ian priests must
belong to the same tribe as their parishioners. A
number of experiments which purposely mixed priests
of varying tribal origin all ended disastrously. The
27
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result is that there are too litany Zairian priests in some
are,is and not enough in others.
Relations between the Catholic Church and the
Mobutu government are tense at times. At issue is the
outspoken nature of the Archbishop of Kinshasa,
Cardinal Malula (Figure 23), who on uumerots
occasions has puhlicly criticized the "Zairian elite for
their ostentatious consumpW)n, contrasting their
extravagance with the pressing needs of the huge
masses of the poor and calling attention to the need for
distrihutive justice" in Zaire. The periodic political
arguments between Malula ctnd President Mobutu
usually have been resolved by the Papal Noncio. In
February 1972, however, Malula had to withdraw
temporarily to the Vatican in order to avoid
threatened prosecution for his pastoral letter
denouncing Mobutu's call for Zairians to replace their
Christian names with personal names derived front
African tradition. Malula is, incidentally, a Luba, a
tribe Mobutu distrusts. Ile is also the most capable
and distinguished Zairian prelate, and his e:evation to
28
V t.
3
FIGURE 22. A Mango female witch
doctor who specializes in ridding
possessed women of evil spirits (U /OU)
the College of Cardinals in 1969 added substantially
to his authority by giving hire prominence in Rome',
rather than just in Kinshasa. The promotion indicated
at least that Pope Paul VI was not displeased with the
people's bishop..
The Catholic Church in 'Zaire is closely affiliated
with the Catholic Church in Belgium, un( of the
richest and most liberal in l ?urope and one which has
been generous in the resources it has provided.
Catholic projects in the educational and health fields
have Made it major contribution, l or example, in 1966
over half a million 1)riutary school children and 50,000
seccndary school children were in church -run schools.
These school systems employ about a quarter of all
priests, 40% of all nuns and lay brothers, 2000 foreign
teachers, and 30,000 Zairian teachers. 'I'll( church's
medical endeavors are similarly extensive; it runs two
thirds of the medical centers. It also has been active in
sponsoring labor unions and supports an organization
to upgrade Zairian ntanagem.
Protestants have made lnueh less impact than
Catholics because few Belgians were Protestants. In
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FIGURE 21. A Mango woman possessed by evil
spirits (U /OU)

i
1
addition, their membership of 2 million is only one
thiru the number of Catholics, and it is divided among
some 70 denominations. Some denominations are even
further subdivided into competing churches based on
tribal divisions. The largest groups are the
Presbyterians, Methodists, and Baptists.
Each Protestant denomination has its own system of
organization, but all Protestant bodies in "lair,, belong
to an organization which coordinates the efforts of the
various member churches and arbitrates their often
acrimonious disputes. This umbrella organization was
called the Congo Protestant Council (CP(',) until
March 1970, when u bare two- thirds of the
membership, meeting in an annual assembly,
approved u new constitution strengthening the CPC
and changing its name to the Church of Christ of the
Congo (now called Church of Christ in Zaire, ECZA).
By the new rules, each member church is to retain
autonomy on doctrinal questions, but the EC'LA's
secretary general is to speak for members on
administrative matters. The impetus for the new
constitution cane from Sec'etury General Jean
Bokeleale and other liberal Protestants. Conservative
clergymen in Zaire and many of the pare
congregations in the United States have strongly
opposed the union of the Protestant groups. The
dispute between advocates and opponents of unity has
some racial overtones in that the former arc mainly
Zairian and the latter are mainly white American
fundamentalists.
Early in 1971, Bokleale showed that he intended to
strengthen the administrative functions of the ECZA
over member churches. The prospect of a tightly
unified ECZA provoked some relatively amservative
members to withdraw and form a loosely organized
counterpart to the ECZA, known as the Council of
Protestant Churches in 'Zaire (CEPZA) In 1971,
however, the Zaire Government recognized ECZA as
the sole legal organization for all Protestants in Zaire,
confronting the missionaries who had not joined with
the choice of affiliat-ng with ECZA c,r withdrawing
from Zaire. Under ci.ese circumstances CEPZA was
dissolved, and its former constituents joined ECZA. As
of late 1972 the degree of autonomy that they could
retain within ECZA remained undecided.
The Protestant groups have been more successful in
Africanizing than have the Catholics, and most of
their ministers and almost all of the lay staff are
Zairians. They also find it easier to recruit clergy
because they do not insist on celibacy, and their
educational requirements are lower.
Although the social welfare activities are much less
extensive than those of the Catholics, the Protestant
groups together run about 250 mission stations,
including schools, hospitals, clinics, and homes for old
people and orphans.
Syncretism has been an important develo in
the Congo since the 18th century. The earliest known
sect was founded iii the Kongo area and led by it
Zairian lady "saint" who was condemned by the
Catholic Church as a heretic .nd burned at the sake�
in 1706. '['his sect was in effect a precursor of
Kimbanguism, which is the nos, important
contemporary syncretic movement, both in size and in
politicai and social impact. 'There have been and are
many other such sects, however, some witl� only it few
hundred adherents.
Kimhanguism, which during the 1920's spread like
wildfire through what is now Bas -lair= Region, was
founded by Simon Kimbangu, a member of the Kongo
tribe who had been converted several years earlier to
Presbyterian beliefs, His original aim was to font an
independent African church, but the church also
became it resistance movement. KiL.1bangu soon
became known not as it prophet but as it savior, and
large crowds flocked to hear him speak and perform
miracles. Because the colonial authorities felt
threatened by Kimbanguisin and all other similar
29
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FIGURE 23. Cardinal Malula, Archbishop of
Kinshasa (U /OU)

i
i
i
i
a
movements, they arrested him in 1921 and deported
him to an Elizabetiville (now Lubumbashi) prison,
where he died 30 years later.
Although the sect was banned, legends about
Kimbangu flourished, and the Kimbanguist move-
ment continued to grow clandestinely. The ban was
lifted in 1959, and Kimbangu's son, Diangienda, who
was a U.S. leader grantee in 1965, is now the spiritual
leader of Kimbanguism, which is estimated to have
about 3 million members, mostly in the Kongo tribal
region. Kimbanguism is also an important religion
among the Kongo of neighboring Congo, who number
some 400,000 and make up about 42% of that
country's population. The church's headquarters are
in Kamba (near Mhanza- Ngungu), a town in which
one can almost feel the atmosphere of peace aad
tranquility which Kimbanguism engenders. The
Kimbanguists a re gentle and extremely kind and
hospitable. They do not believe in war and do not
condone drinking, smoking, or stealing. In 1969 the
"Church of Christ on Earth by the Prophet Simon
Kimbangu," as the Kimbanguist movement is
formally known, became the first independent African
church admitted to membership in the World Council
of Churches.
Relations with the Mobutu government usually
have been good, and Mobutu has himself supported
the Kimbanguist movement since before independ-
ence, despite the fact that he is a Roman Catholic.
The Kimbanguists seem primarily interested in
maintaining the schools, clinics, social centers, and
churches they have set up, all of which Mobutu has
aided. During the 1968/69 school year there were
11,745 students enrolled in 770 schools of which 57
were secondary schools. Some Kongo tribestnen
regarded former President Kasavuhu as the
reincarnation of Simon Kimbangu, and while he was
President, Kasavubn never missed an opportunity to
pay homage to the movement,
Kitawala, the second most important syncretic
movement, is an offshoot of the Watchtower Bible and
Tract Society (Jehovah's Witnesses), which originated
in the United States in 1874. It was introduced into
South Africa and from there spread to what is now
Rhodesia, Zambia, Malawi (where President Banda
Proscribed it). Angola, and to the Congo in 1925,
where it is now a movement quite distinct from the
parent body. The colonial authorities cxnsidered the
sect anti- Europeun and banned it, hut, like
Kimbanguism, it continued to exist. It is doctrinally
similar to Kimbangu �sm, particularly in its insistence
on "Africa for the Africans." It has taken no interest,
however, in encouraging cultural unity as Kimbangu-
30
d�bR :Y.F4+i'.+44xnrMSp7xwAr
ism has among the Kongo. The sec' came centered
in Haut -Zaire Region and was used by Patrice
Lumumba to gain support for his political aspirations;
it is now strongest in Shaba, Haut- Zaire, Kivu, and
Equateur Regions. The basic precepts of the sect
dictate distrust of missionaries, suppression of religious
hierarchies, bandonment of all primitive supersti-
tions, and a belief in the coming of a black messiah to
save all Africans. 'There is no recent estimate on the
size of its membership.
About 150,000 Muslims, primarily of the Sunni sect.
are concentrated in eastern Zaire. They held their first
Islamic seminar in 1969, during which the many
Islamic associations in Zaire were merged, and there is
some interest, in holding an Islamic congress. A
congress was actually planned for the first half of 1970
in Kasongo, Kivu Region, but government authorities
refused to allow it to be held �For unstated reasons
in February 1970. The Greek Orthodox Church has
about 3,000 members, mostly Greek traders in
northeastern Zaire. There is a community of cibc,ut
1,000 Sephardic Jews centered in Kinshasa and
Lubumbashi.
H. Education (U /OU)
At independence, the. Congo claimed the highest
basic literacy rate on the continent. It also had the
highest percentage of children in primary school and
the best system of technical and vocational education
among French- speaking African countries. However,
only a tiny minority of the Africans who completed
primary school were proceeding to secondary courses,
and no more than 20 of them had won university
degrees. Th result was that the Congolese who
assumed high positions at independence had little
formal education, unlike some of their counterparts in
French and British Africa.
The Belgians had planned to provide secondary and
university education on a wider hasis eventually, but
their timetable stretched into the 1980's and beyond.
An administrator in the Congo calculated ---on the
assumption that independence would have to await
the training of the necessary personnel �that at the
rate at w hich senior civil servants were being trained in
1952, it might have taken about 20 years for Nigeria,
60 years for Kenya, and perhaps 2(K) years for the
Congo to gain independence. The Belgian policy of
placing emphasis on traditional values not oniv
prevented the development of educated leaders but
also hindered the development of national unite and
strengihened tribalism, still two of Zaire's most
persistent problems.
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To rapidl% Fill out th top levels of the educational
p% ra ill i(I would I ave� Ie�e�u a fe,rnidit e� task at hest Fur
the newly independent g(wern m�nt, but the task
beams� virtttallN impossible whrn tnanv of the�
Belgian advisers departed sueldenh as a re�sttll of the breakdown, in public order. In fact, the sudden exodus
of Belgian administrative personnel in 1960 seriously
disrupted the existing pritnan schools. Additional
schools were closed during the next 3 %ears as it result
Of continual political tnrbulenc�e and related disorders.
Popular education received especially severe setbacks
in northeastern Zaire, where primitivist rebels
sysMnatically killed a large portion of the literate
inhabit;utt,, who were identified %%ith the ntodvrn
national goveniment.
Nevertheless, the Zairians have made strenuous
efforts to rec�nmstruct the school system. and during the
worst periods, in 1961 and 1962, primarN school
tvac�hers exhibited extracrdinary dedicahot,, remain-
ing al their posts despite the grnernntenl's failure to
pa\ them fur 18 months. �I'he independent govern-
GNmiroF
I' m ortn,Seli
Q
1'ndmted{ Tt
rne�nt's primary eutpliwk has been on it modcriI
education in french, rtlher than on simple vocational
instruction in the vermicular, which had been lire
palter, imposed b, the colonial gover nnent. It also
has worked to stake the primar\ school s\stetn note
uniform and to extend opportunities For higher
education. Se�condav ,drools and higher educational
institutions have indeed multiplied at it phenomenal
rate since 1960. It is eyually true, lhoweyer, that serious
problens c,f education remain and that it s will be at
least another decade before the Zairians c�;ut begin to
redress the imbalance catsed by Belgium's education
police.
Despite poslirtdependenc�e eflorls to adapt the
educational system to national ubjecliyes, the
curricular pattern generally follows the 1',uropean
motel. It consists of it 6 year standardized primary
course followed bs several alternatives igure 2'1).
Sono� students go on to it �1 -\ear pw4prinmtry cycle
hic�h prep then for entplu\ neut as semiskilled
eraflsuen or as primary school teachers. Other
4 v}
Ill
Qt
LYL
FIGURE 24. Educational system (U /OU)
J
H
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primary school graduates enter a 6 -year secondary
cycle consisting of a standardized 2 -year orientation
course and then several 4 -year courses. A general arts
and sciences course leads to university or other
postsecondary training, while specialized courses lead
to employment as primary school teachers or as skilled
technicians.
Public education is administered by the Depart-
ment of National Education, but over 80% of primary
and 50% of secondary pupils are in government
subsidized schools which are managed or staffed by
religious organizations. The three types of schools arc:
state- operated schools, including so- called "congrega-
tional" schools staffed by religious bodies; state
subsidized schools which are operated by religious
bodies; and independent, self- supporting private
schools. The Department of National Education
recruits and pays teaching staff and deals with all
school planning, financing, curriculums, general
administration, and inspection of secondary schools.
The eight regional directorates under the department
supervise teachers, organize examinations, and inspect
primary schools.
The Department of National Education also is the
main channel for disbursing funds to all educational
institutions except the self- supporting private schools.
In 1970 the department's current expenditures
amounted to US$31 million, or 21% of the
government's current expenditures. Such a heavy
outlay for education reflects President Mobutu's belief
that a broadly based educational system is a prime
means of fostering social cohesion and loyalty to the
national government.
Despite the large outlays for the Department of
National Education, schools are generally ill
equipped. There is an overabundance of unqualified
administrative staff, and coordination is poor between
national and regional levels. Most of the budget is
spent on salaries for administrative staff and teachers,
and the balance is insufficient to buy adequate stocks
of textbooks and supplies.
The annual average growth in primary school
enrollment has been 6% since 1965; total enrollment
was 2.8 million in 1970. Excluding overage pupils, the
enrollment ratio of the 6 -11 age group was 78 an
unusually high ratio for a developing country.
Roughly 75% of those who enter school, however, fail
to finish the primary level, and an average pupil
repeats one grade out of three.
Underlying the national enrollment statistics are
sharp contrasts between urban centers, where
attendance rites are relatively high, and the more
remote rural areas, where schooling is virtually
32
unavailable. Also, there is considerable disparity
between school enrollment in the different regions.
Kinshasa and the regions of Bas Zaire, Kasai
Occidental, Kasai Oriental, and Shaba have above
average enrollments, while Bandundu, Kivu, and
Haut -Zaire are far below average. The disparities are
unrelated to density of population. Furthermore,
females have fewer educational opportunities than
males, and sex inequity worsens in rural areas. For
instance, the sex breakdown in primary school
enrollment rates in 1969 varied from 53% boys and
41 girls in Kinshasa, to 70% boys and 30% girls in
Haut -Zaire Region, and 75% boys and 25 5c" girls in
Equateur Region. The lack of opportunity for females
is not matched by a lack of interest in education. On
the contrary, there is much evidence that females are
intensely interested in availing themselves of whatever
educational opportunities are offered (Figure 25).
The ineffectiveness of instruction in most primary
schools is due to several factors. There are roughly
64,000 primary school teachers, but only 23% are fully
qualified, and the teacher -pupil ratio is 1 to 44. The
basic school equipment is poor in urban areas and
usually nonexistent in rural areas. The largely
academic curriculum, based on the Ei!ropean model,
is poorly adapted to the African rural environment.
Moreover, the use of French as the basic language of
instruction, even in the lower primary grades, is an
insurmountable obstacle for a large portion of rural
children.
Primary pupils struggling to iearn arithmetic and
geography in French are the victims of an ideological
controversy among Zairian educators and politicians.
During the colonial period French was used only in
the schools for children of Belgian residents, while
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FIGURE 25. French class for women at night school In
Kinshasa (U /OU)

schools for the Congolese used and encouraged the use
of vernaculars. The Belgians repeatedly emphasized
the utility of the native language because they
believed the African had to develop along his own
line. This policy differed from that of the French, who
required the school systems in their colonies to use
French as the language of instruction; they believed
that the vernacular was a prison, holding back the
African's intellectual development. In the primary
school for Africans, French was taught only as a
foreign language and not before the third year; it was
not used as the basic language of instruction until
students re:.ched the secondary level. Since
independence. most educated Africans have n acted
against the Belgian language policy. Like the
dominant groups in other French- speaking African
countries, they regard mastery of French as the key to
personal advancement and also regard tribal
vernaculars as obstacles to national cohesion.
Relatively few educated Zairians regard vernacular
languages as elements of a traditional culture which
should be preserved. Many rural schools, however,
actually use local vernaculars in the early primary
grades because available teachers are unqualified to
present the officially prescribed lessons in French.
The present structure of secondary education, like
the predominance of French in the primary
curriculum, reflects a misapplication of the European
model, largely motivated by a doctrinaire reaction
against Belgian colonialism. Since the Belgian
administration had withheld further education from
the bulk of primary school graduates, Congolese
national leaders have made it a prime goal to give
qualified Africans the same opportunities for
advancement that their Belgian rulers had enjoyed. In
fact, since 196.1 secondary enrollments have risen at an
extremely rapid rate, roughly 18% per year. By 1970
total secondary enrollments were about 244 ,000,
comprising roughly 11 of the 12 -17 age group, or
about 8% if overage students are excluded. The overall
curricular structure is as follows, by enrollments
according to types of courses:
Enrollments (1970):
Lower secondary cycle
146,057
General secondary (arts and sciences)
34,361
Primary teacher training
34,532
Secondary technical courses
16,500
Industrial
5,300
Commercial
7,000
Agricultural and veterinary
1,700
Paramedical
2,500
Basic vocational courses
12,700
Total
244,150
Underlying the high total enrollment are two basic
imbalances. First, over half of the total enrollment is
in the lower secondary cycle, designed to prepare
students for the several advanced courses. In fact, only
one student in 10 entering a secondary school
successfully completes the full 6 -year cycle. Because
students who meet the stiff entrance requirements for
secondary school usually have the basic aptitudes for
success, the low graduation rate ;s largely attributable
to inadequate facilities, a lack of qualified Zairian
teachers, and cultural gaps between students and
foreign teachers. At the lower secondary level, 36% of
some 8,000 teachers are foreign; at the upper
,econdary level, about 909i of some 1,300 teachers art
foreigners. On the other hand, 80% of all Zairian
teachers are only qualified to teach at the primary
level.
The second imbalance: in the seccmdan educational
pattern is the low proportion of students who are
preparing for careers where personnel shortages are
most acute particularly primary school teaching and
basic technical occupations. It is generally recognized
that the most important weakness of the whole
educational system is the shortage of qualified primary
school teachers, yet the secondary structure reflects
inadequate efforts toward filling this shortage.
Although some 40% of all students enrolled in grades
9 -12 are following teacher training courses, few
graduate, and those who do graduate tend to pursue
other careers. The pattern of neglecting actual
manpower needs is most extreme in the area of
secondary technical training. Nominally there are 28
industrial training schools, but 10 were inoperative in
1971. Although some 3,300 students were taking
industrial training in 1970, only 400 graduated.
Despite the government's declared aim of improving
rural living cYrnditions, agricultural and veterinary
training has been most neglected. For instance, 12 of
the 21 preindependence agricultural schools were still
closed in 1970.
The 4 -year postprinrary cycle, which produces
serniqualified primary school teachers and semiskilled
craftsmen, was initiated in 1970 in order to bypass the
conventional secxmdary courses at points where
personnel shortages are most acute. In essence, the
program takes primary school graduates who do not
gain admission to conventional secondary schools and
puts them directly into simplified versions of the
teacher training and technical courses, eliminating the
conventional secondary orientation cycle. This
pragmatic approach is it promising start towards
bridging the gap between the European model and
the African environment. The existing lwstprimary
33
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technical schools, however, are still too few and ill
equipped to produce technicians in significant
numbers, while the youths who graduate from such an
abbreviated teachers training program can scarcely
serve effectively without the qualified supervisors who
are seldom present.
The pattern of inadequate resources �both human
and material� devoted to teacher training extends
upward through the postsecondary educational
structure. Teachers for the lower secondary c are
supposed to complete a 3 -year postsecondary course at
an Intermediate Teacher Training School (ENM).
The existing 13 ENM's, however, are so ineffective
that they barely begin to fulfill their purpose. In 1970
some 2,200 students were enrolled in ENM's, but only
279 graduated. Until the reorganization of higher
education in late 1971, teachers for the upper
secondary cycle were supposed to complete an
additional 2 years at the Advanced Teacher Training
School (ENS) in Djelo- Binza. In 1970, however, the
ENS had only 107 students, only 10 of whom
graduated. Furthermore, the few Zairians who
graduate from the teacher training schools are
prepared only to perpetuate the conventional
academic curriculum. As of early 1972, Zaire had no
training program for teachers in the secondary
technical courses.
Such disparities between existing educational
institutions and real personnel needs motivated, at
least in part, the reform of higher education*'iewd
August 1971, although the immediate in+Pwtm 'Aas
President Mobutu's reaction to uat1N. 'ZY)At n at the
former Lovanium University. fArft' I1II1 h4iirm, th
higher educational strut hMN 141mprlsed threr
universities �the Catholic I of JAytl
near Kinshasa, the Official Univ4r),,( the )nro a t
Lubumbashi, and the Protestant sph ft!40re d F r t
University of the Congo at Kisangani. Alsw, thrrc w,W
30 specialized postsecondary schools for training
teachers, government administrators, and it variety of
high -grade technicians. The specialized scho ols
generally were providing more relevant professional
training than the universities, but they had a total
enrollment of only 4,100, compared with 6,075 in the
universities, and student morale was generally poor.
Both low attendance and poor morale were due
primarily to the higher prestige associated with the
universities especially I.Awanium� because, of their
adherence to the c)nventional, European university
system.
The August 1971 reform of higher education
brought all postsecondary institutions under one board
of directors. This body is presided over by the State
34
Commissioner of National Education and includes
additional government and MPR figures as well as
senior Zairian academic officials and several
prominent foreign educators. The newly constituted
Zaire National University comprises the three former
universities, redesignated as Kinshasa, Lubumbashi,
and Kisangani campuses. Each academic discipline is
to be offered at only one campus, with few exceptions.
For instance, Kinshasa will offer most of the physical
sciences, medicine, and law; Lubumbashi will offer
the humanities, social sciences, and metallurgy; and
Kisangani will offer the advanced educational courses,
agronomy, and related biological sciences. Most of the
existing specialized postsecondary schools, including
the ENM's, remain as before, but several which had
conducted the equivalent of advanced university
courses are being incorporated into the university. The
most important of these formerly autonomous schools,
the National School for Administration, is being
moved from Kinshasa to the Lubumbashi campus
The sweeping reform reflects the mixed motives of
an MPR dominated committee on reform, appointed
by Mobutu shortly after the bwanium student
demonstrations, and the first Congress of National
Professors of Education, convened to consider the
committee's report. Apparently Mobutu's immediate
objectives were to squelch the elitist mentality which
had prevailed at lovanium and to banish from the
capital area the social science courses which had
tended to stimulate student agitation. He also seized
the opportunity to cirtail re mnants of Belgian
R ;atholic and American Protestant influences at
Lovanium and Kisangani, respectively, to prevent the
Kisangani and Lubumbashi campuses from becoming
C neal points of regional consciousness and to tighten
his conitrols over the faculties as well as students.
Hence the ,august reform initiated �and subsequent
directives pushed along �such an extensive reshuffling
of facilities that physical disarray continued for
months after the November deadline for impletnenta-
tion. In late 1972, it remained to be seen whether the
promising opportunities for more effective meshing of
educational resources with national munpower needs
would be realized.
The student demonstration in June 1971 which
triggered Mobutu's decision to reorganize higher
education was merely the latest of many 7:.;shes
between the authorities and student organizations or
spontaneous movements. In most instances, clashes
have occurred because a small minority of doctrinaire
oppositionists have rallied the majority of students by
exploiting their personal frustrations resulting from
generally inadequate, educational facilities and living
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p
d
conditions. Whenever a student strike or demonstra-
tion is suppressed and student leaders are arrested,
most students fatalistically resume compliance with
academic discipline. Student militancy is considerably
dampened by the fact that most Zairian students are
dependent on the government for scholarships and
living allowances and also look to the government for
satisfying postgraduate careers. Chronic ad-
ministrative inadequacies, however, have slowed
official efforts toward relieving student frustrations, so
many students remain sullen and susceptible to
exploitation.
The former Lovanium university has generated the
unost significant student movements, although other
campuses have had their share of sporadic agitation,
building seizures, and dean jostlings. The General
Association of �inium Students (AGEL) was the
strongest WAR "=�pendent student organizations,
contrullil activities until it was
bannit of that year most students at
1.odWi in order to gain an increase
in111141 rr,$/ )bwar-ces. Some 400 students
staK,I y tlfmorsoctt,, qn j1downtown Kinshasa, and at
least... +prn jtd when troops dispersed the
demonak, r its throughout the country held
sympathy s r`iLe., a nd President Mobutu ternporarily
closed mos of the secondary schools as well as the
three universities.
When the schools and universities were reopened in
October, all students were ordered to join campus
!snits of the MPR youth wing (JMPR), and all other
student organizations were banned. Most students met
the orders with nominal compliance. JMPR claims
universal membership, but with rare exceptions it has
not won student support; organiz extracurricular
activities have been moribund.
Student frustrations under the JMPR monopol of
regular campus activities may have lent impetus to
several sporadic protest movements on all three
university campuses during 1970 and early 1971. None
of these affairs brought more than temporary
disruptions of academic routine until the June 1971
demonstrations at Lovanittm coin rnemorating the
students who had been shot by troops in June 1969.
Although the memorial ceremony was orderly and
intervention by security forces resulted in mere
`t'uffling, President Mobutu saw the affair as a serious
challenge to his authority and announced that all
Lovanittm students would be inducted into the arrnv
for 2 years. In September, however, all student
inductees except 13 who were imprisoned on
subversion charges were ordered to resume their
studies, although they remained under lenient military
discipline. The inductees who returned to campus had
undergone 3 months of rigorous basic training with
negligible instances of insubordination, and most have
-submitted quietly to regular drills in the newly formed
campus army units. Apparently their adjustment to
military discipline has been somewhat helped by the
fact that army pay is higher than their former student
stipends.
Zairians studying abroad have been few in number
compared with students from former French or British
territories. During the colonial period the Belgian
administration allowed few Africans to study abroad,
even in Belgium, because it was assumed that the
foreign experience would instill anticolonial attitudes.
When independence became imminent, a belated
effort was made to place Congolese in foreign
universities and advanced technical schools to
compensate for the paucity of facilities for higher
education at home. By late 19CIf), however, less than a
thousand Africans were known to be taking secondary
or postsecondary courses abroad, Their number
increased during the early 1960's, with a large portion
going to Belgium. In December 1969 there were 4,300
Congolese students in Belgium, but only 730 were in
universities. There also were about 470 in other foreign
universities, making a total of some 1,200 university
students abroad.
The educational -efortn of August 1971 included a
directive that all those studying abroad must return
home if their educational objectives could be met
through courses available locally. Exemptions were to
be made�, however, for individuals who were studying
abroad under the auspices of a technical assistance.
program. In October 1971 a Zairian official estimated
that some 3(X) 'Zairians were being recalled from
foreign stud apparently reflecting in part the
government's concern over student exposure to foreign
political influences.
I. Artistic and cultural expression (U /OU)
Zaire is one of the. great art areas of Africa and,
indeed, of the world, as is evidenced by examples, now
preserve in museums, of sculpture and handicrafts
produced by tribal societies. Prior to the Belgian
colonial era, the area had full -time sculptors and
craftsmen who produced woodcarvings, bronzes,
pottery, musical instruments, and woven raffia cloth.
With European penetration of the area in the late 19th
century, Congolese art aroused considerable interest in
Europc and elsewhere, in particular among the
Impressionists and Cubists in France. Some of
Picasso's finest work was heavily influenced by the
35
aR?kA 'ti.tiii:?i43f:;:']4':. k3.ix.w ,5 n.. ,.Z. 53..YV,,.i;�.;a6
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Female caryatid stools, created as thrones for chiefs,
are frequently fine examples of native art. Consistent
features of the carnatid figures are bod-, scarification
and an elaborate coiffure, both of .vhich corresfxrrtd to
and influence actual practice (.Figure 29). Figure :30 is
an example of ho%% masks are used, not displayed in
isolation but worn as it part of it customs� in un
important c�erenunn accompanied by misic and
dancing. ]'his particular example indicates Luba
influence on the� 'I'shokwe (Chokwe), specifically in
the similarity of the eyes as shown in Figure 25.
The adrnirahl% subtle stile of the x %ood sculpture in
Figure 31 appears to he characteristic of the Azande of
Zaire, rather than the Azande of the Sudan who
depend on other tribes for car%hi 'i'his %%onutn and
child figure and another in the '1'cryuren Museum in
Congolese art brought to Europe. For the most part,
traditional forms of artistic endeavor no longer
flourish� and works of art that preserve the trrditiom
are rarely found 'Then� were, he eyer. it few
\%mi �hops set tip during the colonial period which
prodlwed traditional ;tit (Figure 26). Some of then�. in
Kinsna it and NI�hew are still iri ttN('Iittron.
Contemporary 7.at Mists are lihilk Ir "'(Irk itk
modern \1'estern ways, using their Attik'an heritage as
it se URT of inspiration.
Although excellent art exatij)j are ((I/F'
throughout the country, the soothe'. ;utel
areas scent richer in historic treasures. hsb(.c ial R
artwork has been discovered among the Kotgu 1)(.kyt(
of the lower Zaire area, the Kuha in Kasai Occidental,
and the Luba in Shaba. Experts have defined five
distinct stylistic regions in Zaire, including these three
areas, plus the northeast and the northwest.
The Kuha people show universal respect for and
attachment to their traditional art. The finest of their
artistic productions are the effigies of I,e rulers or
kings (nyimi) which were carved durit,, the mater's
lifetime and used after his death to preserve the royal
power and wisdom in his successor. Figure 2; sho"ys a
fine portrait statue, in wood, of our of it long line of
Kuba kings, King Bom Bosh, who reigned front 1650
to 1660; there is little doubt that this statue was made
in his lifetime. The style of these figures seems to he
the result of the importation of many ideas from the
Kingdom of Kongo in the 16th century. 'I'hp posture of
the Boin Bosh figure has it remarkably similarity to
that of stone and wood figures made by the Kongo
people.
The mask shown in Figure 28 is it sup(r) example of
Luba carving. The hemispherical form so typical of
I mb a art is retained despite the setnirealistic� approach.
16
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FIGURE 26. Carvings made in an art workshop in
Tshikapa showing the harvest and preparation of food
and other everyday activities (C)
FIGURE 27. Wooden portrait statue of King
Bom Bosh. This 19 inch statue is in the
Brooklyn Museum. (U /OU)

Bt�liziiiill ;itv tilt' Iiiw kii( \II t� \111111)1,. tit flit' %,Ilit
/.Milt� t\ It� 'I'llci k ;Illm"I nil t'\ i(It�n('(� ,t It) ht)\\
tilt fiun, \\t rt, Il,t ll. lint tl!t�\ \\t�n� Im,haill\ ;I!!t't�.ltir
\111.x1 l ul l)t t lt. chit,t I\ (i 1
lunuutnl tlln�11"'hi,llt /.;lit,,�. Siilu( til)It�t�t 11.1 \t� a
111()(it11, hivhl\ 1)( 1i11i \hilly titlu�r ;IIr It�1t in
;t r4 111L ;hli�\\it 1.itc ;.I-itiurt, V%( ';I\ in-. !nt�l,ll\%(itk.
Auld I)tittt�r\ Inakiu. \\t�rt, IItititi,hill, ll;nldit'ralt
\\hich upplit'd Im-A llvcd (fldcr n!t�11 I)! till� hl!I)!
trih4� 1x�l'i;iIi /rd in cl:iI )i ;iIt�1\ t,n! it 4)itlun�(I ra(Ii,!
(�I(ith. kiitmi1 ;1i \t,l\t't. \10aI\ \Ork. ;llt it u),II
1)ruictic�t�(I Iii it it (It,,rc(� t�\cr\\\Iit -ic \\,1 .iutitlicr
'I wrialt\ tit tIiI. K,I ;11 ;trl',1. st;!t lit' kiii \l� i1'
;!',rll'1!Itiir.iI t( it \1';11)( )11 ht,ll ;IMI 1; \\4'rt'
ltirl[t'lI "I !It'll. ,)I)[N�1'. .11111 Itx'A :lilt 1),111 t)t
nt)rlht�;i /.,tiry \\t,rt' t;li!I,iu, till Iht, mit
1111 ;11if\ ul lilt� Imttt�r\ 1)nulutl(I
\l�r1 til( t�( ii it It r i i i t i lit, i 11111 \t�h:il. IititIi i )It i
Jild in lillkt)n %;liri ;iii nlu i Ilillil\ rh0hi11il.
II;!rnittll\ i wit n ;itl\ tit \t 11)11,.11. hill nl( "t tlodititurrll
cht)rli lCIli1.\(. illipli� 11,11111"I m (�114�(1 I ht,
Ki fill ,illl:!!i (huu 411 kin t i \\till L11t)\\ hir it
(Ppli til�;acd harimillit' \Il ht)Ilt,ll 'j\ It-, (!1 illtl
cq)rt Vim( ;ir\ ln)in ict n to n�6t)1! a tradit!(IIIa1
perlt)rni,illt�t� tit Illil Ill It lilt) t't'!1ipicft� Imiti ill
int hide i11a t t�1! tit n!u in rr :ill(l
(l;inccr wt1)111I);imc l 1,\ rh\thnlit' cLippiw- 'I'll(-
'l.d 1)l t)Ilt1, an� I Ill Iitirta[it h1 c' ilia t)I II!, Illt�".11t'
thr\ (.(Ill\(�\ I)t'ill,lt' tilt (1ni lii\(�l
lun" lit t'n km)\\i! hir tlicii Lilkilii drin11 h\ \\hit'h
,lit' trliii tf \t,r I(mtl li 1 11crt� i
.I \alit't\ t)I niii in lit Ilichiditi), tlllllll
\\It)I)Iiunt� I iil11r :i:i ht'r11 Ilutt, :roll lriw_ c l
in OIt(. (�('1111111111 ill i tilt ("(111z.(1 1)1
Wa
FIGURE 29. The Luba female caryatid fig-
ure is a symbolic ancestor figure conceived
of as a link between the dead ancestors
and the living chief, as an affirmation of
the chief's power, and as on affirmation
of ancestral continuity (U /OU)
FIGURE 28. This helmet -mask, framed by a special
hairstyle which looks like two curved horns, is cne of the
highest expressions of Luba art (U /OU)
M
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hisanzi), it sort of small portable piano c�ousistiug of a
hollmv wooden has� to which the ends of metal or reed
strips of var%ing thickness arc� fastened.
Although traditional art forms remain important,
particularly in more remote areas, \Vest( irrflurric�e
has had a profound effect kn /s;url;utt .:rtis9i, ,cud
intellectual expression. Oil pJllll iog begatt t.. J
ill the urban centers in the'Itlt jit2ll .tttn ra -"I In
European painters in the area Aim. E-oohilnletil �rrr(l Ai
their works. Self- taught Africilts }t:e 1e a ro Irnlrut III)
their own tec�hniyues and (lit \r l.tx( .o, of IIIII
Paintings shoecn in I?nropc. 11sf (orrL