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Describes the geography, history, government, economy, people, lifestyle, religion, languages, arts, leisure, festivals, and food of the third largest country in Africa, a former colony of Belgium. ... Read more

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Chapters: Lugbara Mythology, Culture of the Democratic Republic of the Congo, Women in the Democratic Republic of the Congo, Bills, Mwindo Epic, Velours Du Kasaï, Madiaba, Public Holidays in the Democratic Republic of the Congo. Source: Wikipedia. Pages: 35. Not illustrated. Free updates online. Purchase includes a free trial membership in the publisher's book club where you can select from more than a million books without charge. Excerpt: The culture of the Democratic Republic of the Congo reflects much of the diversity of its hundreds of ethnic groups and their differing ways of life throughout the countryfrom the mouth of the River Congo on the coast, upriver through the rainforest and savanna in its centre, to the more densely populated mountains in the far east. Since the late 19th century, traditional ways of life have undergone changes brought about by colonialism, the struggle for independence, the stagnation of the Mobutu era, and most recently, the First and Second Congo Wars. Despite these pressures, the customs and cultures of the Congo have retained much of their individuality. The country's 60 million inhabitants are mainly rural. The 30 percent who live in urban areas have been the most open to Western influences. Map of the major Bantu languages in the Democratic Republic of the CongoLike many African countries, the borders were drawn up by colonial powers, and bore little relation to the actual spread of ethno-linguistic groups. There are around 250 languages spoken in the country, with perhaps a similar number of ethnic groups. Broadly speaking, there are four main population groups: The above descriptions are by necessity simplified. Many Congolese are multilingual, and the language used depends on the context. For instance, a government official might use French to set a tone of formality and authority with another official, use Lingala when buying goods at a market, and the local language when in his home vi...http://booksllc.net/?id=2607984 ... Read more

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High Quality Content by WIKIPEDIA articles! Bembe Tribe or Wabembe Tribe is an african tribe located in the eastern Democratic Republic of the Congo and western Tanzania. Bembe people mainly located in villages and districts of Kigoma Region mostly Ujiji, Kaseke, Kagunga, Mwamgongo, Katonga, lubengela, and many others in Tanzania, and in the northwest forests of the Democratic Republic of the Congo. They also live in Dar es Salaam, and Zanzibar Tanzania. Their language is Kibembe. With no clear proof, big amount of Bembe people been claiming that Bembe Tribe is originally from Togo; they claim that Earlier in 18th century, bembe people moved from Togo to the Democratic Republic of the Congo. ... Read more

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Today more than ever, it is necessary to examine indepth the growing problematic issue of child labourwhich involves both developed and developingcountries and is not a new phenomenon, but rather theunwelcome resurgence of an old phenomenon. Manychildren are employed in activities which have beenclassified as worst forms of child labour by theInternational Labour Organization, and among these wefind mining. Given the gravity of such a practice,this work analyses child employment in artisanal andsmall scale mines in two case studies: Kalima andKampene in the Province of Maniema, DemocraticRepublic of Congo. Employing a qualitative approach,the work investigates in depth the working conditionsof child miners, their self-perception, and theconsequences of the lack of a functioning state forchild miners, providing an innovative view of thisissue that starts from the children's perspective. This academic work is also accompanied by a thoroughtheoretical framework which includes Freire's theoryof oppression, Rossatto's ?Freirean Mapping ofOptimism and Desire?, and the theory of failedstates. ... Read more

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An excellent investigation of child labour in DRC
In this book Miss Savio presents a solid and extensive coverage of the scarcely investigated topic of child labour in the mines in Eastern Democratic Republic of Congo. The study is the result of a well planned three month filed work giving an insight not only on the broader social and economic background but also on the day to day life of child miners. This study is an important source of information for whoever is investigating not only mining in Africa but child labour in general, due to the solid theoretical framework. ... Read more

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This digital document is an article from Countries and Their Cultures, brought to you by Gale®, a part of Cengage Learning, a world leader in e-research and educational publishing for libraries, schools and businesses.The length of the article is 3764 words.The article is delivered in HTML format and is available in your Amazon.com Digital Locker immediately after purchase.You can view it with any web browser.Covers the broad range of popular religious culture of the United States at the close of the twentieth century. Beliefs, practices, symbols, traditions, movements, organizations, and leaders from the many traditions in the pluralistic American community are represented. Also includes cults and phenomena that drew followers, such as Heaven's Gale and UFOs. ... Read more

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The Democratic Republic of Congo, formerly Zaire, continues to struggle with socioeconomic and political development. Culture and Customs of the Congo provides the full context of traditional culture and modern practices against a backdrop of a turbulent history. The volume opens up a land and peoples little known in the United States. Written expressly to meet the needs of students and the general audience, the work will inform about the geography, economy, political history, and history from the slave trade to dictatorship; ancestral religions and inroads of western faiths; ancestral literary heritage and communication; art, architecture, and housing; diet and dress; marriage, family, and women; lifestyles and life events, and traditional and modern music and dance. ... Read more

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Gospel and Culture in an African Context ... Read more

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We are part of nature not set apart from it.
Professor Peterson believes that:
1)The commercialized use, more than indigenous peoples' use of the forest lies at the root of Africa's environmental problems.
2)Central African traditional ecological knowledge suggests that we would do better to try to control the market forces that lead to overexploitation of the environment rather than unjustly restrict the subsistence practices of people who have lived in these forests much longer than ourselves.
3)The environmental wisdom of Central African forest peoples stems from the knowledge and belief that nature and humans are never separate entities but parts of one system.
4)We are part of nature not set apart from it.
5)Nature and culture, humans and environment, social ethics and environmental ethics, ecology and justice go hand in hand.
6)It is not humans or nature that are central; rather it is life that is primary, and that includes the entire community of life, for all of life is important, all of life is bonded, all of life is sacred. ... Read more

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Johannes Fabian was one of the first anthropologists to introduce the concept of popular culture into the study of contemporary Africa. Drawing on his research in the Shaba region of Zaire (now the Democratic Republic of Congo), he has been writing for thirty years about the practices, beliefs, and objects that make up popular culture in an urban African setting: labor and language, religious movements, theater and storytelling, music and painting, grassroots literacy and historiography.

In Moments of Freedom Fabian reflects on anthropological uses of the concept of popular culture. He retraces how his explorations of popular culture in this urban-industrial setting showed that classiclal culture theory did not account for large aspects of contemporary African life. Popular culture draws on various genres of representation and performance, and Fabian explores the notion of genre itself as it applies to Shaba religious discourse, painting, and the theater. He also addresses the element of time and how spatial thinking about culture, ethnicity, and globalization acts as an obstacle to appreciating the contemporaneity of African popular culture. The volume ends with a discussion of contestation in light of current calls for democratization.

In Moments of Freedom, Johannes Fabian takes stock of decades of anthropological work on popular culture and examines the development of his own thought over time. Throughout the volume, he makes eloquent connections to other firelds such as history, folklore studies, and cultural studies, suggesting areas for further research in each.

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No matter how often one sets out, "for to admire, and for to see, for to behold this world so wide," he never quite gets over being surprised at the erratic manner in which "civilization" distributes itself; at the way it ignores one spot upon the earth's surface, and upon another, several thousand miles away, heaps its blessings and its tyrannies. ... Read more

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The Real Heart of Africa
I own over a thousands books on a wide range of subjects regarding Africa.This is THE BEST book in plain english about what life is like in a central african tribe from the perspective on an African.I have also traveled to the congo and other countries for research.This book gets it right, helping to create a cohesive picture of life there without a bunch on anthropological, higher instition speak.A must, must read.

Note the this book would have a 5 star overall rating except someone who wrote a positive review forgot to vote.

Discovery of a lost Africa
This book saves you the discomfort of a trip deep into the African Jungle: I have never read such a detailed description of the real 'Circle of Life' in Africa. Mr. Daems tells us the story of Kianza's life, starting with the first encounter of Kianza's father with white people, up to the independence of Congo. Tales of slavery, intiation rites, secret societies, local politics and economics, all these subjects are demystified in this book by Kianza himself. Kianza is not just a first row spectator but a participant himself. The arrival of white man however disrupted the existing fragile social structures which had evolved out of several thousands of years of trying to live in harmony with nature. "Kianza however did not oppose progress blindly, but it was blind progress that he opposed."

WOW!This is the REAL inside story of the CONGO.
Kianza's Congo is the inside story of black life in the Congo. Written by a man who lived 10 years with the tribes. He spoke their language, witnessed their customs, and learned of secret rituals.

The life of ChiefKianza is told in Kianza's own words and translated by his confidant Mr. Daems.The book includes suspense, sex, politics, power, and even anexperience of slavery.To be accepted in the male elite clan you must passtough rituals, or die trying.These and more are described in thisexcellent book.This is REAL AFRICAN LIFE. ... Read more

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A Rich book about the art of Zaire.
This is a first rate book that examines and traces the art of northeasternZaire.Focusing on the Mangbetu people and their art before and after thecoming of the european, it is a fascinating examination of traditionalstyles and designs. Many fine examples of art from this region include,utilitarian objects such as harps, knifes, pots, bowls, various textiles,bark boxes and stools.The color photographs are from The American Museumof Natural History's collection, with the text provided by the museum'scurator Enid Schildkrout.I am sorry to see that this book is out-of-stockat present.I would strongly advise anyone wanting an excellent book aboutart from this region to track it down. ... Read more