Background

The Democratic Republic of Congo, formerly known as Zaire, is a vast central African country approximately two thirds the size of Western Europe. Its capital Kinshasa is the second most populous city on the continent. In spite of this, DRC is sparsely populated relative to its size, with much of the country covered in dense rainforest. In recent history, the country’s 200+ ethnicities have endured colonialism and two civil wars, yet have managed to retain much of their values, traditions and customs, resulting in a fascinating spectrum of language, beliefs, culture, music and cuisine.

People and Language

The Kongo are the largest ethnic group in DRC and form part of a larger group known as Bantu people, consisting additionally of the Mongo and Luba ethnicities. Bantu along with  Mangbetu-Azande account for around 45% of DRC’s population. Of the several hundred languages and dialects spoken in the country, French is considered the official language of the state and media. Lingala is the indigenous language most commonly used for communication between people of differing groups.

Religion

The majority of people in DRC are Christian. The split between Catholics and Protestants is fairly even, while other Christian denominations, including Kimbanguist account for around 12% of the total. Islam, Hinduism and mixed indingenus belief sytems are other minority religions found across the country.

Art and Sculpture

Prominent artistic mediums in DRC include painting, pottery, basketry and textiles as well as sculpture, for which the Congolese are world renowned. There around 50 recognised styles of sculpture relating to specific areas across the nation. The southwest is well known for the stone and nail-studded nkisi statues of the Kongo people and the Yaka people’s masks and figurines. Statues from the Luba people in the southeast reflect a reverence for motherhood and women in society while the Mangbetu people of the north are famous for statues with elongated heads.

Music

One of the most popular genres of music in Congo is soukous, a type of dance music which blends indigenous sounds with meringue, Cuban rumba and other Caribbean influences. It emerged in the cities of Leopoldville and Kinshasa, spreading throughout the Congo basin in the 1930s and 40s. The word soukous is derived from the French word secouer, which means to shake. The genre has grown in popularity not just in Congo but throughout Africa, influencing artists across the continent. Like most Congolese music, DRC’s soukous tends to be sung in Lingala.

Food

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The eateries in major towns benefit from a variety of influences including Chinese, Lebanese, French, Belgian, Italian, Arabic, Indian and those of other African nations. In the markets, one can find delicious locally grown fruits not readily available in Europe or North America, a wide selection of vegetables, and of course, cassava leaves, the mainstay of Congolese cuisine. Dishes made with this ingredient include chikwanga, cassava cooked in dried banana leaf, and fufu, a soft or sticky dough made from cassava flour. The national dish of DRC is Moambe, consisting of fish or chicken cooked in a tomato, peanut butter and hot pepper sauce and served with sweet banana and rice.

Tourism in North Kivu

North Kivu is an Eastern province bordering Rwanda, Uganda and two giant lakes, Edward and Kivu. Situated on the latter’s edge is the provincial capital of Goma. It has a domestic airport and a population of 634,000, which has grown dramatically since 1950, when there were just 5,000 inhabitants. In stark contrast to DRC as a whole, North Kivu has one of the highest population densities in Africa.

The majority of tourism opportunities offered by the Park and its affiliates are located in North Kivu. It is the home to our precious Virunga national park, a world heritage site and one of the richest sources of biodiversity on the planet. The name Virunga is an anglicised version of the word ibirunga, which means volcanoes in Kinyarwanda, an official language of Rwanda. Mount Nyiragongo and Nyamuragira, part of the Virunga mountain range account for approximately 40% of Africa’s volcanic activity and are one of the main attractions for people visiting North Kivu. Other popular activities include mountain gorilla and chimpanzee trekking, lake excursions and Goma city tours.