Saturday, May 30, 2015

Religion and the Myths of Creation in the Democratic Republic of the Congo (DRC)



         The Democratic Republic of the Congo, (DRC) for short, is made up of various religions. It has its roots in its various indigenous religions as well as the more mainstream religions found around the world. Prior to the introduction of Christianity, the indigenous religious beliefs were centered on a supreme being, the power of the ancestors, spirits of nature, and the efficacy of magic. (Payanzo 2015) Magicians, witches, and shamans were supposed to be able to link the spiritual world with the world of man. It is not vital to many indigenous religions but is necessary to them. Today the country is made up of 50% Roman Catholic, 20% Protestant, 10% Kimbanguist, 10% Muslim, 10% other (which includes syncretic sects and indigenous beliefs) (C.I.A. n.d.)

 

(Figure1)





(Figure 1)
As Belgium colonized the Democratic Republic of the Congo near the start of the 20th century Belgian Roman Catholics were predominantly authorized to established schools and hospitals throughout the colony (Wikipedia n.d.) Yet this was not the first attempt to convert the country to Christianity. The first attempts came in 1484, when Diego Cam discovered the mouth of the Congo River. The naval chaplain set himself at once to preach the story of Jesus to the natives, and won to the faith the of the chief of Sogno, a village on the right bank of the Congo, where he first landed. (Catholic.com n.d.) The Protestant Church first introduced in January of 1878 with the arrival of Reverend George Grenfell and Comber Thomas of the Baptist Missionary Society. By 1891 the Chapel SIMS was completed and is the oldest building in Kinshasa of native durable materials. (Congo n.d.) One of the most interesting religious groups found in the (DRC) is Kimbanguism. A new religious movement founded by Simon Kimbangu. It is considered a branch of Christianity. The founder Simon Kimbangu started the movement through miraculous healing and biblical teachings in the early 1920’s. The Belgian authorities were suspicious and imprisoned Kimbangu until his death in 1951. The Church is very conservative, rejecting violence, polygamy, magic, witchcraft, alcohol, tobacco, and dancing. (The Editors of Encyclopædia Britannica n.d.)


(Figure 2)


 




 

By the mid 7thcentury Islam had made its way to northern Africa. By the mid late 13thcentury Islam began to spread to sub- Sahara Africa by way of merchants seeking trade meanwhile they spread the teachings of the Prophet Muhammad. Christianity has had a far larger effect on the growth of the DRC than Islam. Christianity has helped in the independency as well as the modernization of the DRC. There has not been large religious changes in the country over the last 200 years. Of the different Christian denominations the Roman Catholic Church still remains the most dominate in the DRC.


 (Figure 3)

 In the Christian faith the creation story is the same no matter where you go in the world. This is not true for the indigenous religions of the “DRC”.  Because there was a tradition of oral storytelling being passed on throughout the generations. The creation stories tended to change from kingdom to kingdom and village to village. Take The Kingdom of Kongo for instance. The myth of how their kingdom was created changes several times over the centuries. Although the premise is the same the details change drastically. The BaKongo as they are called, say that the kingdom was founded in the 1300s. (Belcher 2005) All the stories of the founding had to do with a woman at a river crossing being insulted or killed. That led to someone becoming king and taking over the area thus creating the Kingdom of Kongo. Then you have the Kuba Kingdom of The Bushoong. Their story about the creation of man also changes throughout time, but the all the stories carry the same bases. They all involve the sky father Mboom who vomited out the sun, the moon, and the stars. Then he vomited the crocodile and other animals which in turn vomited other animal including man. Mboom ended up with 9 sons all called Woot and each were responsible for some part of the creation of the world. Woot gave man farming, wood to build, iron tools, and tame animals. Like most creation myths the Kubu use theirs to teach everyday lessons that are relevant to them at the time.



Figure 2 (Department of Arts of Africa 2000) The spread of Islam from north to south and east to west...... 2
Figure 3 (Wells n.d.) Africa’s Diverse Religious make-up........ 2



Bibliography



Belcher, Stephen. African Myths of Origin. London: Penguin Group, 2005.

C.I.A. C.I.A The World Factbook . n.d. https://www.cia.gov/library/publications/the-world-factbook/geos/cg.html (accessed 05 25, 2015).

Catholic.com. Congo Independent Stat and Congo Missions. n.d. http://oce.catholic.com/index.php?title=Congo_Independent_State_and_Congo_Missions (accessed 05 27, 2015).

Congo, Church of Christ in. Church of Christ in Congo: Histories. n.d. http://ecc.faithweb.com/ (accessed 05 25, 2015).

Department of Arts of Africa, Oceania, and the Americas. Trade and the Spread of Islam in Africa. 2000. http://www.metmuseum.org/toah/hd/tsis/hd_tsis.htm (accessed 05 27, 2015).

Google. Google Translate. n.d. https://www.google.com/#safe=off&q=translat (accessed 05 27, 2015).

Operationworld.org. Congo- DRC Democratic Republic of the Congo(Formally Zaire) Africa. n.d. http://www.operationworld.org/cong (accessed 05 28, 2015).

Payanzo, Ntsomo. Democratic Republic of the Congo (DRC). 05 27, 2015. http://www.britannica.com/EBchecked/topic/132363/Democratic-Republic-of-the-Congo-DRC/40796/Languages (accessed 05 27, 2015).

The Editors of Encyclopædia Britannica. Kimbanguist Church. n.d. http://www.britannica.com/EBchecked/topic/317916/Kimbanguist-Church (accessed 05 27, 2015).

Wells, Mark. Traditional African Religions . n.d. http://knowledgeisking.ning.com/forum/topics/traditional-african-religions (accessed 05 27, 2015).

Wikipedia. Roman Catholicism in the Democratic Republic of the Congo. n.d. http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Roman_Catholicism_in_the_Democratic_Republic_of_the_Congo (accessed 05 27, 2015).

 

 

               

 



Saturday, May 16, 2015

The Geography of the Democratic Republic of the Congo

 
The Democratic Republic of the Congo, formerly Zaire, is the second largest country in Africa and the eleventh largest in the world with a land area of 905,328 square miles. It is the second most populated country in Africa with 67 million residents as of 2013.The country is located in central sub- Saharan Africa. Kinshasa is the capital city and largest city in the Democratic Republic of the Congo and is located Latitude: 4°19′39″ S and Longitude: 15°18′48″ E. Kinshasa is the third largest city in Africa and is a major modern city located on the southern banks of the Congo River. Home to the second largest rainforest in the world the  Democratic Republic of the Congo receives nearly 100in of annual rainfall in some places. It also has the highest frequency of thunderstorms in the world. It is tropical climate hot and humid most of the year.

   The country is home to three active volcanoes which border along the Great Rift Valley. Nyiragongo which erupted in 2002 and poses a major threat to nearly a quarter million people in the city of Goma. The volcano has fast- moving lava flows that can travel around 62 mi/ hr. The second, Nyamuragira, erupted in 2010 and is Africa's most active volcano. The third is Visoke which has not erupted since 1957.

 Although the Democratic Republic of the Congo is rich in mineral and agriculture production Years of civil war and disease have hinder growth and prosperity.Nearly 5 million people died since 1998 from the civil wars. The majority of those deaths were from diseases like malaria, an pneumonia brought on by displacement from warzones.  Despite peace agreements militias still terrorize small villages, where they rape, murder, and rob the residents.

 The Democratic Republic of the Congo is a complex and complicated country. With the vast mineral riches and agricultural production it should be a wealthy country free of high poverty, disease outbreaks, and civil wars. Yet, due to corruption among the government, and poor infrastructure the country has found itself unable to make use of the great geographical resources at hand.
 
 

 

References

 

  1. Central Intelligence Agency (2014)"Democratic Republic of the Congo". The World Factbook. Langley, Virginia: Central Intelligence Agency.

  2. Maps of World (2015)"Major Cities of the Democratic Republic of the Congo". Map of World Current, Credible, Consistent. Retrieved May 16th 2015

  3. Bureau of Democracy, Human Rights and Labor (2011). Bureau of Democracy, Human Rights, and Labor 2010 Country Reports on Human Rights Practices US Department of State