The National Museum at Kinshasa – August 22, 2012

It was a pleasure to listen to the curator describing in vivid detail the history and culture of the peoples of Congo. We arrived on foot after taking a taxi to the bottom of the hill. We walked up a long steep road to the museum, where a guard confiscated my passport, I was reluctant to part with my only and most important piece of identification, but I did and it was okay.

The power was out at first so we began the tour guided by torchlight. We paid 1000FC for ‘Congolais’, my local guide, a young girl from the school at Café Mozart, and $10 or approximately 10 000FC for ‘etrangers’ like myself. For me it was well worth the money to have a guided tour of the national museum of Congo. The curator talked in French, the choices were Lingala and French and since I only understand a few phrases in Lingala – “Na lobe” and “Sango nini”, I preferred French and my comprehension is much better so I understood and I even learned a few new words. Soon after we began the electricity was back on and we continued
in the light.

What I learned is that Congo is as diverse as it is large. I had noticed that there were all kinds of black people in Africa, more than I have ever seen anywhere. I had thought that Trinidad was diverse with its mixes and melanges and then Canada with its multiculturalism but really it is Africa that has the most diversity. I didn’t think I would see so many shades of black – from skin so rich in hue it appears purple to skin devoid of pigment and everything in between -- or every shape of nose and eye, every kind of cheek or jaw bone, every size giant or petit. Congo is just one example of the diversity of Africa. And no, all black people do not look alike, this was proven for sure. So if anyone still thinks that, take my word for it, it ain’t so.

At the museum, the curator showed me a map of languages in Congo and a map of tribes. There are more than 240 lanuages, officially there are four national languages – Chiluba, Lingala, Swahili and Kikongo, and then there are dialects for the different language groups. Languages
in the same region or group will pronounce some words differently but have many similarities. The languages in different regions are different, from Lingala in the west to Swahili in the east. I learned there are more than 460 tribes, which would explain the diversity you see in Kinshasa and Lubumbashi.

She, the curator, talked to me about the culture, the spirituality, the everyday and the special occasions of the different peoples of Congo. Sometimes she could only explain one element of one tribe because only that particular artifact was in the museum during this curation. She explained that for each tribe there are hundreds of artifacts and all of them couldn’t fit in the museum. There was one giant mask with lots of fabric strings or tendrils flowing all around the mask like long flowing hair. She explains that this is the feminine mask, it is worn by a man in a tribal council. In this way, the woman, the feminine is represented even if women are not physically part of the council. Throughout the presentation, there were many references to the role of women in the family, in the community and in society. Definitely I have talked to people here (mostly women) about women’s role and everyone agrees that women are producers and need
to be productive to have value. We were not limited in our discussions to the reproductivity of having babies, no, we also contemplated the role of women in having an education or training, having skills, being employable or employed, being able to contribute to the family, being able to carry the family, having strength and fortitude and being a contributing member of society.

What I liked most about the Musee National was this interactivity. I visited many museums in
Paris and enjoyed the Musee de Quai Branly, mostly because it showcased the history and heritage of Africa, Asian, and America before and with the influence of the West and colonization. Early history up to before colonization was showcased. At the Musee National in Kinshasa, the museum was solely about Congo and in Congo, I think also by the ‘Congolais’ for the ‘Congolais’. So instead of videos as there were at the Musee de Quai Branly, there was the woman talking in very good French, all the while being explicit with gestures and if I didn’t get something she repeated or explained differently or if I asked a question she answered.

She explained the initiation process for young men of a particular tribe moving into adulthood, the first stage. Young men are circumcised when they are 18 years old and without any pants on made to run through what she described as razor grass to see who is strongest and can tolerate that kind of pain. Ouch! The one that cries too much is not fit to be chief but the one who cries a little is strong enough to be chief and soft enough to empathize. An interesting test! So glad I’m not an 18 year old boy living in rural Congo. At first when she explained, I didn’t believe my ears but I could not not believe my eyes because her gestures were unmistakeable, and her reaction to my aghast look told me that I understood correctly.

I really enjoyed my personal guided tour of the museum. We left after an hour-long guided tour and took ourselves on a self-guided tour of the grounds where we looked at the murals and the statues of King Leopold and his nephew Albert, the two statues were the only items I saw reflecting colonial times. Then we picked up our identification cards and walked back down the hill. I learned a lot from that experience about the people of the Congo—their past, their history as told by them.

History ain't nothing like the present - Paris to Kinshasa - June 23, 2012

Paris has been fun, a good test of my French skills and my ability to manage in a somewhat foreign environment. One might wonder why I detoured to Paris en route to Kinshasa. Moi aussi, yet there are some great incidentals along the way.

Incidentally, while in Paris I visited the Musee de Quoi Branly, Europe's largest collection of Oceanic peoples, Asian, African and American first peoples history and culture. It is referred to as the collections of 'non-Western' cultures. I began my history tour of the museum with the Pygmy people of Papua New Guinea and finished with the Chilean people of Chile.

Along the way, I saw artifacts and history of the food, lifestyle, dress and culture of the first people of many cultures including Congo, Angola, Haiti and Vietnam. I feel like I learned stuff about a history many centuries old, as much as you can from dead people's stuff. (Shrug). I also saw that one of the largest collections came from one Western European doctor who brought back to Europe all the "gifts" the people had given him. I had my misgivings about the number of funeral staffs and pyres that were on display. I appreciated seeing them in the museum, but wondered about the ethics of uprooting someone's culture and heritage in the form of their tombstone so it could be in a museum. Hmmm, that is a debate that I believe rages beyond this blog.

While I learned about the people of Congo and the Yoruba culture (in Congo and neighbouring African countries), it has only whet my appetite to learn more about the culture and heritage of Congo from those living it today. Just like studying French language and history. Going to the museums is fun, but it is a damn-sight removed from the France of today, which is more complicated and diverse than the revolution would suggest. I have attended two churches this week and I keep remembering that getting rid of religion and religious hierarchy was a tenement of the revolution. Hmmm. Yet, Paris and many other parts of France boast the most beautiful and largest churches with strong congregations, the language is built around religion. With as complex a history, or more complex and diverse some could argue, (but each person's and country's history is relative and unique), the Congo of today may be far removed from the Congo of years past that I saw reflected in the museum.

I realize that not many people get the opportunity to visit a country different or 'foreign' from their own and live the culture, heritage and history of that place by living among it's peoples. Most of us are limited in our experience of other cultures through museum visits and what we learn on the internet or from a library or the media. I am grateful for this opportunity to live another culture and experience another life, another lifestyle by living among the peoples.

I hope I can give back to others what this experience will give to me. I only wish more people took the chance and the opportunity to be somewhere else and do something else.