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Beyond ‘hidden resistance’ against colonial boundaries: Bundu dia Kongo and their philosophy of colonial boundaries in Bas-Congo region of the Democratic Republic of Congo By Clara Devlieger 1. Introduction This essay addresses the case of the African borders between the Democratic Republic of Congo (DRC) and Angola, and between DRC and the Republic of Congo (RC) in the Bas- Congo region of DRC, a region inhabited by adepts of ‘Bundu dia Kongo’ (BDK), a cultural movement made up of members of the Bakongo ethnic group which combines politics and religion. In the following, we attempt to investigate BDK adepts’ visions on the boundaries in their region and the role that their political-religious movement plays in their reaction towards the problems associated with these borders. Doing so, we’ll discuss their reaction from two perspectives. First, from a functional day-to-day perspective; secondly and most importantly, on a larger level of how they translate these day-to-day experiences into a cultural philosophy and a religious doctrine. On both levels, BDK combines religion and politics in order to explicitly denounce the situation caused by the imposition of colonial boundaries in the territory of their lost Kingdom of Kongo. BDK’s reaction to their border situation thus goes further than the “hidden resistance,” a concealed creative manipulation of the border for example by illicit cross-border trade, that many researchers on African boundaries refer to. As we will see, the Bundu dia Kongo movement handles the problems associated with the border through this cultural philosophy in two ways. On the one hand, they react spiritually: through religious practices and the reinforcement of a shared “Kongo” identity, the movement offers psychological support. On the other hand, at the same time the movement functions as a political tool: while denouncing the artificiality of colonial boundaries which separates “blood brothers”, BDK also denounces “injustices” against and domination of the Bakongo people and of BDK in the region by government officials and by the presence of other ethnic groups. Using the problems they encounter as arguments, BDK thus advocates the installation of a system of federalism in DRC. Finally, through the movement and these reactions, the movement seems to create an overall “Kongo” identity for its adepts. Doing so, the choice of an overall “Kongo” identity that BDK offers seems to help overcome the difficulty of 1 choosing between several dimensions of identity, like national identities, in this relatively small region divided by several boundaries. 2. The Bas-Congo region in the Democratic Republic of Congo and “Bundu dia Kongo” Boundaries in the Democratic Republic of Congo and in the Bas-Congo region Like elsewhere on the African continent, the political boundaries in the Democratic Republic of Congo (DRC) were installed by colonial authorities. In particular, King Leopold II of Belgium took advantage of the Conference of Berlin in 1885, at which point European colonial powers officially divided the African continent amongst themselves, to have his colony recognized internationally and so to establish internationally recognized boundaries. However, the European powers concerned refrained from taking the indigenous population into account when setting the political boundaries. On the contrary, as Simon Katzenellenbogen makes clear, In reality, setting Africa’s colonial boundaries reflected a range of political/strategic and economic considerations and hopes which, along with ignorance, misconceptions, sheer uninformed greed and ineptitude, were of much greater practical significance than legal niceties. 1 This neglect of the original population is particularly apparent in the Bas-Congo region, where the movement of Bundu dia Kongo is based today. Indeed, if one takes a look at a map of the Bas-Congo region in the whole of DRC and in central Africa as in annex 1 (p. 16), we see that the region protrudes from the rest of the country. This, because the colonial powers concerned in the division of the area, namely Belgium, France, and Portugal, all necessitated an entrance to the ocean. Doing so, they thus divided the existing Kingdom of Kongo and the Bakongo people over three new countries, DRC, RC, and Angola. Since the time of Leopold II, the political boundaries of the DRC have remained largely unaltered, which create several trans-boundary communities and a great ethnic diversity in the country itself. Another result of this is that in the past, it has been difficult to create a sense of nationalism or even an ethnic majority fit to govern the country. In general however, in the entirety of the immense country that is the DRC, the Bas-Congo region proves to be exceptionally marked by colonialism and the imposition of its boundaries, which has influenced the appearance of political-religious movements throughout history like 1 Katzenellenbogen, S. (1996). It Didn't Happen at Berlin: Politics, Economics and Ignorance in the Setting of Africa's Colonial Boundaries. In P. Nugent, & A. I. Asiwaju (Eds.), African Boundaries. Barriers, Conduits and Opportunities (pp. 21-35). London: Pinter, pp. 21-22. 2 the Bundu dia Kongo (BDK) movement today. That is to say, the region was colonized and Christianized particularly early in the history of colonization: already in 1485, the Portuguese explorer Diego Cao and his following landed on the banks of the Congo River in the present Bas-Congo region and baptized the Mani Kongo , the head of the Kingdom of Kongo. 2 Consequently, by the time that the country officially became a Belgian colony, the Bas-Congo region especially had thus already been in contact with Western civilization for centuries because of its strategic location in central Africa and at the Congo River, an essential point of entrance to the whole of the continent. This early contact with Western civilization and with Christianity, in combination with particularly harsh colonial rule under Leopold II, provoked a reaction that came to be typical of the region concerned: the creation of political-religious cultural movements, the most famous and influential of which is the church of Simon Kimbangu, still active at present. These influential movements later often prepared the way for nationalist movements like the ABAKO, the “Alliance of Bakongo”, the first influential political party that demanded independence from Belgium, and whose leader, Joseph Kasavubu, was elected president after independence. Typical of these movements is that they combine politics and religion as a way of reacting against the perception of the loss of their culture, religion, and political power in their own territory in favor of western versions. Thus, these messianic movements assert ethnic identity as a way of redeeming culture and political power; at the same time also, the affirmation of their ethnic “Kongo” identity was a way of coming to terms with the imposition of European models. Namely, by asserting a strong ethnic identity, on the one hand, “Kongo” culture and identity became more fixed and less susceptible to change. On the other hand, this fixed, clear identity made the region and the people more open to western influences and the few advantages of colonialism. Psychologically stronger through a clear identity, the Kongo people thus creatively “borrowed” positive traits of western influences and came to be known for example as accomplished traders and skillful administrators in the colonial administration. Another example often referred to is the fact that their religion became a combination of tradition practices and Christianity. 3 Doing so, “Kongo” identity thus came to be a mixture of traits associated with the ancient Kingdom of Kongo and traits associated with Western civilization. All in all, the first of these political-religious movements originated as a reaction against colonial rule and the division of the Kingdom of Kongo by asserting ethnic “Kongo” identity, by taking advantage of positive aspects of colonialism, and thus by creating a kind of 2 Banda Banda-Mwaka, J. (1971). Le kimbanguisme en tant que mouvement prépolitique chez les Kongo. Problèmes Sociaux Congolaise , pp. 12-15. 3 See for example Kabwita, K. I. (2004). Le royaume Kongo et la mission catholique 1750-1838. Du déclin à l'extinction (Mémoire d'Eglises ed.). Paris: Editions Karthala. 3 hybrid identity. Today, we will see that Bundu dia Kongo reacts in similar way against the successors of the European colonists, namely the Congolese government and the colonial boundaries they continue to uphold and that continue to divide the homogenous cultural zone of the ancient Kingdom of Kongo. Bundu dia Kongo As mentioned, the Bundu dia Kongo movement is made up of members of the Bakongo ethnic group and is thus a successor of the messianic political-religious movements that originated as a reaction against colonial rule. The movement was founded in 1986, 17 years after the religious leader, Ne Muanda Nsemi, claims to have been awakened by the supervising spirit of the Kongo people, who told him that he had been chosen by their god, Akongo, to enlighten Africa and the entire world. His task would thus be to create the “Temple of Bukongo,” the religion of Bundu dia Kongo. Starting from this date, the movement organized itself and spread out throughout the Bas-Congo region, spreading its message already by using pamphlets explaining their religious and political visions. Three years into its existence, the movement became officially recognized as a religion by the government and given the right to practice. Throughout the years however, BDK became more and more influential, until in 1990, when the movement publicly began to manifest itself in the political realm. In 1990 already, they rejected the new political order installed by the president Mobutu; starting from this year they started advocating the installation of a system of federalism. However, as the leader Ne Muanda Nsemi says himself, the political influence of the movement came to be a thorn in the flesh of the Kinshasa government.

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