A mosaic of over 450 ethnic groups
The cultural and human heritage of the DRC is incredibly rich, with nearly 450 ethnic groups, and almost as many languages, customs and traditions. They can be grouped into large groups spread over specific territories:
- in the south-central region, i.e. the lower Kasai, Tanganyika and Haut-Katanga, the Luba or Baluba are the main ethnic group (18%) ;
- the Mongo (17%) occupy the north-east, i.e. virtually the whole of the former Equateur province and part of northern Kasai;
- the Kongo or Bakongo (12%), the third largest ethnic group, populate the entire territory of Central Kongo around Kinshasa;
- the entire southern region of the former Greater Katanga, along the Angolan border, is inhabited by the Lunda.
In addition to these four main groups, there are many other ethnic groups that are closely or distantly related to them, such as the Téké, Chokwé, Kuba and Tétéla.
Ethnic identity, as the bearer of a specific heritage, is of paramount importance in the Congo. As Isidore Ndaywel points out, " the Congolese live the cult of their origins. Each individual has a family affiliation that links them to a community and an ancestral land where their ancestors are buried, even if they live in the city or were born abroad ".
Bantu group. The majority of ethnic groups, including those mentioned above, belong to the Bantu group, which accounts for 80% of the population. The term Bantu does not initially refer to an ethnic group, but to a linguistic community that covers most of Central and Southern Africa, with some 400 Bantu and related languages. It was the Bantus who founded the first great kingdoms of the Congo. Several legends exist as to the exact origin of the Bantu people, whose name comes from the word "bantu" meaning "men". They are thought to have originated in present-day Chad or Nigeria, and to have migrated southwards, probably as a result of the drying-up of the Sahel zone and demographic pressure. Before reaching Congolese lands, these migrants would have split around 3,000 BC into two branches, the Western and Eastern Bantu nuclei. The eastern group preferred the savannah of the northeast and Kivu, and specialized in cereal cultivation and cattle breeding. The western group, the largest, spread into the forests and continued this expansion into southern Maniema. By mingling with the natives, both groups were at the root of other internal movements, mixing not only with them, but also between the two blocks in fine.
Pygmy indigenous peoples. These were probably the first inhabitants of the country, and their existence was already known in the time of Aristotle and the Egyptians. Recent studies date the existence of a common ancestor between Bantus and Pygmies back some 60,000 years. Indigenous Pygmy peoples are thought to have been pushed out by the second millennium during the Bantu expansion. They number between 300,000 and 450,000 in the DRC, essentially divided into two groups: the Mbuti in the north-east, in the forests of Ituri, and the Twa in the centre-west of the country. Historically hunter-gatherers and semi-nomadic, a large proportion of these communities became sedentary during the 21st century. They have extensive knowledge of the equatorial forest, on which they depend for their livelihood. Their characteristic short stature (1.50 m on average) is the result of a genetic adaptation to the forest environment. Their survival is threatened by the ongoing degradation of their ecosystem due to the gradual disappearance of the forest and poaching. They are also still subject to a great deal of discrimination.
Nilotic group. This group originally referred to populations living in or originating from the Nile Valley. However, the term Nilotic has taken on a more linguistic meaning, designating all groups speaking languages related to those of the Shilluk, Dinka and Nuer. In the Congo, the Alur, Kakwa and Bari are the third largest ethnic group. However, they are not very well represented, except in a few chiefdoms in the north-east of the country. On the eastern border, around the Great Lakes, there are also Hamites, more or less mixed, including Tutsi pastoralists. It has been asserted that cultural traits are common to Nilotic-speaking societies, notably the predominant value placed on livestock and pastoral activities.
Sudanic group. The economic boom in Sudan from the 14th century onwards is said to have triggered a demographic explosion, resulting in the spread of populations southwards. Predominantly present in the north-east of the country, a number of ethnic groups now belong to the central Sudanic group. The main ethnic groups include the Zande, Mangbetu, Ngbandi, Ngbaka and Mbanja. Their social organization is based on an aristocracy formed by the descendants of the first conquerors, and on a warrior-like royalty. These populations are relatively recent (between the 14th and 19th centuries): they came from the north to settle in the Ubangi-Uélé basin, in the Equatorial and Oriental provinces, pushing the Bantu peoples southwards.
Linguistic diversity
Africa is home to four distinct language supra-families: Afro-Asiatic, Niger-Congo, Nilo-Saharan and Koisan. The Congo is characterized by a multitude of ethnic groups that can be grouped into large clusters with a clearly defined territorial presence, often defined by a common linguistic base: language is thus the main characteristic of the community, the first "palpable cultural distinction".
Alongside French, the official language inherited from Belgian colonization, four national languages coexist, in order of importance: Swahili (or Kiswahili) in the eastern provinces; Lingala in the north and north-east and in Kinshasa; Kikongo in the provinces of Kongo Central and the former Bandundu (Kwango, Kwilu, Mai-Ndombe); and Tshiluba in the Kasai and part of the former Greater Katanga. English was added as an official language under Kabila Sr.
In addition to these four main national languages, there are hundreds of related dialects. The 246 local languages identified in the country are part of the intangible heritage as recognized by UNESCO. They belong to three different linguistic groups, according to their common ethnic origin: 212 are affiliated to the Bantu language group, 21 to the Sudanese group and 13 to the Ubangian languages.
French. French is the official language of the DRC, enshrined in the Constitution. It is the language of administration, education and the media. Although its use is tending to decline in favor of national languages and oral dialects, due to the lack of access to education (or defective language teaching) for a large part of the Congolese population... The use of French is more mixed and lively than in Europe. It is subject to the influence of Lingala and other national languages. It's also subject to the great creativity of the Congolese people, and of the Kinois in particular, who never cease to appropriate, triturate and mix it up. This makes French in the Congo (as elsewhere in Africa) very dynamic, poetic and lively.
Kiswahili. The Swahili languages are a group of Bantu languages from East Africa that are the result of a crossbreeding of African languages, Arabic and Persian, a consequence of the long "Arab-Swahili" slave campaign in this region in the 19th century. The most widely used and popular of these languages is Kiswahili ("Swahili language" in Swahili), a standardized version adopted as the national language of Kenya, Uganda and Tanzania. This is the version found - among many dialects referring to it - in eastern DRC. It is the country's most widely spoken language, spoken by around 40% of the Congolese population, but is mainly confined to the provinces of the former Greater Katanga (Lualaba, Haut-Lomami, Haut-Katanga, Tanganyika), Maniema, North and South Kivu, as well as the former Province Orientale (Ituri, Haut-Uele, Tshopo).
Lingala. Lingala has become the national language of Kinshasa, as well as of the northern and north-eastern provinces (27.5% of the population). It has been described as a "language without manners", characterized by a fairly direct style and an essentially oral tradition. It was popularized by music and under the impetus of Mobutu, whose language it originated from. With its origins in the Bobangi, between the Congo and Ubangi rivers, Lingala also spread through river trade and the migration of the army, for whom it has been the preferred idiom since colonial times. But above all, Lingala is the vernacular language with which it is possible to communicate throughout most of the DRC, thanks to its influence (language of the capital, music, media, etc.). It is also spoken in northern Angola and Congo-Brazzaville.
Kikongo. Like the other three national languages, Kikongo belongs to the Bantu language family. It is spoken by around 17% of the population in the provinces of Kongo-Central, Kwango, Kwilu, Mai-Ndombe, and to a lesser extent in Kinshasa and western Kasai. Spoken by the Kongo people (the Bakongo), it is also found in north-western Angola, southern Congo-Brazzaville and the southern coast of Gabon. There is also a "commercial" Kikongo called "kituba" or "kikongo ya l'Etat", which is mainly used in the administration, mainly in the eastern part of its area of influence (in the former Bandundu province). It is a simplified version of the language, heavily mixed with French, whose vernacular function enables it to be understood by speakers of the various dialects derived from Kikongo.
Tshiluba. This is the Baluba idiom, spoken in the central part of the DRC, notably in the Kasai region, and in the north of the former Greater Katanga (Lomami), covering a population of around 17%. However, Tshiluba is the second musical language of Congo-Kinshasa after Lingala, thanks to the rich traditional musical culture of the Luba-Kasai people, who contribute to its influence. Tshiluba belongs to the Bantu language family, the Luba language group, alongside Kiluba (Luba-Katanga), Luba-Sanga (Kisanga), Luba-Hemba (Kihemba) and Kanyoka.
