Culture and Customs of the Congo

African Studies Review, Apr 2003 by Gondola, Didier

Tshilemalema Mukenge. Culture and Customs of the Congo. Westport, Conn.: Greenwood Press, 2002. xx 204 pp. Photographs. Glossary. Bibliography. Index. $45.00. Cloth.

The third installment in the Greenwood Culture and Customs of Africa series, Tshilemalema Mukenge's book may seem at first glance a fact-oriented survey of one of Africa's richest and most complex countries. But as one sifts through the chapters, the book indeed delivers on its promise to "capture the elements of continuity and change in culture and customs" (viii). It is divided into eight chapters, including an introduction that provides some solid background information. From religion to architecture, music and marriage, Mukenge never loses sight of Congo's diversity through examples drawn from various regional groups.

Chapter 3, for example, devoted to literature and media, emphasizes the cultural activities that foster community values and skills in the youth. The author also reviews modern literary currents and critics without, however, devoting serious attention to issues of readership and audience. Although crucial in their own merit, traditional forms of orature and modern literature may not be as accessible to the Congolese masses as, for example, popular forms of communication (radio-trottoir, i.e., rumors; written press; the Internet), to which the author devotes little space.

Some of the book's strongest chapters deal with art and architecture (chapter 4) and gender roles (chapter 6). In chapter 4, Mukenge is at his best exploring the development of housing design and patterns from precolonial times to colonization and postcolonial Congo. Chapter 6 presents the Congolese woman in her many roles: as mother, caretaker, and breadwinner. The section on marriage (including betrothal, bridewealth, and the introduction of Christian and civil marriages during colonization) and traditional birth control methods is one of the most fully documented. Although many women derive their income from informal petty trade, there are an increasing number of urban single women who, undeterred by the widespread presence of HIV-positive male patrons, have chosen to sell their sexual favors in return for meager incomes. These women, as Mukenge rightly points out, have created a subculture within the urban landscape of most cities and owe their survival to various supportive and mutual aid associations. Chapter 5, "Cuisine and Dress," misses the opportunity to problematize some crucial issues in Congolese postcolonial society. Mobutu's authenticité serves almost as an afterthought since the author chooses not to discuss the political and ideological context of this so-called cultural revolution.

In spite of its merits, Culture and Customs of the Congo is flawed by a lack of contextualization. Furthermore, the dichotomy between rural customs and urban cultures seems overemphasized to anyone who has observed the cultural and social fluidity between Congo's cities and countryside. One might even argue that the assumption that most Congolese live in rural areas corresponds neither to the dominant roles urban cultures continue to play in Congo nor to the fast-paced urban growth of recent decades. This assumption is so prominent that the book fails to explore convincingly the rich and bustling cultures that vibrate in most Congolese cities.

Ch. Didier Gondola

Indiana University

Indianapolis, Indiana