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43-647: Historically, Minembwe was predominantly settled by the Bembe and Buyu peoples; however, the region is renowned for its profound ethnocultural diversity, serving as a nexus for myriad ethnicities such as the Bafuliiru , Banyindu , Bamushi , Baholoholo , Babwari, Bavira , Balega , Bahunde , Banyanga , Bashu, Baamba , Banyamulenge , and Baswaga. Kibembe prevails as the lingua franca , with Swahili also in widespread use, though numerous minority groups continue to converse in their indigenous languages . Traditionally,

86-488: A Congolese tribe. The designation "Banyamulenge" was not documented in colonial records. Throughout history, " Banyamulenge " were predominantly recognized as "Banyarwanda", denoting their status as migrant with Rwanda origins. It wasn't until the early 1970s that the categorization of Banyamulenge as immigrants from Rwanda ceased during the Mobutu Sese Seko administration. In 1972, Barthélémy Bisengimana Rwema ,

129-496: A Tutsi cabinet director under Mobutu during his second republic, promulgated a presidential "Ordinance № 69-096", which collectively granted Zairean nationality to all Banyarwanda. In the same year, Banyarwanda changed their eponym from "Banyarwanda" to "Banyamulenge" to distinguish themselves from recent immigrants from Rwanda. However, this legislation equated both long-settled Banyarwanda populations entitled to Zairean citizenship and recent immigrants, which caused bewilderment among

172-741: A democratic regime in Zaire. This led to the formation of youth militias initiating attacks and murders in Kivu, but were subsequently halted following the intervention of the Special Presidential Division to restore some semblance of order. At the onset of the Second Congo War , the Banyamulenge allied with Rwandan Tutsi refugees dispersed across Kivu to combat discriminatory nationality and land laws. They aligned with

215-490: A lack of improvements in health , access to clean water , lack of roads , and basic civic services . 3°56′3.91″S 28°43′48.22″E  /  3.9344194°S 28.7300611°E  / -3.9344194; 28.7300611 Bembe people The Bembe people ( Babembe in the plural) are an ethnic group based in the eastern Democratic Republic of the Congo and western Katavi Region of Tanzania . They live mainly in

258-444: A product of Western influence, as could the emphasis on African culture as an alternative to widespread continuing Westernization. Also, the banning of Christian names was a measure that particularly offended the church. As part of his re-organization of Zairian life, Mobutu banned all outside Christian religious groups, requiring those who would function in Zaire to become part of one of four recognized umbrella groups. The four were:

301-485: A rural commune and the appointment of Gad Mukiza, a Tutsi, as mayor on 28 September 2020, sparked significant controversy and opposition from other Congolese tribes who assert territorial claims. Many Congolese perceived the declaration of Minembwe as a rural commune as a stratagem for the Banyamulenge to consolidate control over the region. Some critics contended that the move was made under pressure from neighboring countries, particularly Rwanda, long accused of supporting

344-424: A way of life and thought that are essentially ours. Zairian party theorist Kangafu-Kutumbagana described authenticité as "...a metaphysical and abstract concept...not a dogma or a religion, but a manner of action...It leads away from borrowed ideas and aspirations towards an increased consciousness of indigenous cultural values." Though continually glorified by Mobutu and his statesmen, the authenticity campaign

387-459: Is believed Mobutu wanted to control these, as well as the churches in general. Under the state and party ideology of authenticity, all citizens were equal and the appropriate term of address among all Zairians became citoyen , or citizen. The term was mandated for public use in order to do away with the perceived hierarchical distinctions of monsieur and madame . Visiting heads of state were greeted with African drumming and singing as opposed to

430-565: Is not known for certain why President Mobutu chose a Portuguese colonial name instead of an authentic Congolese name. A biography about Mobutu by Le Monde journalist Jean-Pierre Langellier , however, traces the naming of the currency zaire back to a dinner in June 1967 attended by Mobutu's economic adviser Jacques de Groote , the governor of the Central Bank Albert Ndele , and Belgian historian Jan Vansina ; where

473-803: The Kimbanguist Church (a syncretic church of Zairian origin), the Catholic Church , the Eastern Orthodox Churches , and Les Églises du Christ au Zaire (ECZ, now Church of Christ in Congo ), which covered most of the Protestant confessions. All others were declared illegal. The various Protestant churches had to affiliate with the last of these as communities within the ECZ in Zaire. At the time there were numerous local sects and church groups which had sprung up, and it

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516-629: The Mao-style tunic that he named the " abacost ", a word derived from the pronunciation of the French à bas le costume ("down with the suit"). A female equivalent of the national attire was also created. The Catholic hierarchy quickly came to view the retour à l'authenticité as a threat to Christianity in Zaire (in the early 1990s almost half of the population was Catholic). The regime's stress on "mental decolonization " and "cultural disalienation" could be interpreted as an attack on Christianity as

559-809: The Rwandan Patriotic Front (RPF) and later with the Alliance of Democratic Forces for the Liberation of Congo (ADFL) and the Rally for Congolese Democracy (RCD). Following Mobutu's ousting, the RCD, a Rwandan-backed rebel faction led by Azarias Ruberwa , established Minembwe as an independent Tutsi region in 1999, alongside Bunyakiri in Kalehe Territory . The recognition of these two territorial entities instigated ethnic tensions within

602-664: The United Nations reported that at least 15 people had been killed and dozens injured in clashes between the Banyamulenge and other groups in the area. The UN also estimated that over 50,000 people had been displaced by the violence. On 20 July 2021, Twiganeho militiamen and their allies attacked the Musika village, located in the southern Basimunyaka groupement in Lulenge. According to several testimonies, fifteen homes of civilians were incinerated, compelling civilian members of

645-547: The identity crisis between Banyamulenge and other Congolese tribes was evident, as civil status offices were frequently torched to destroy documents necessary for granting nationality or land to Banyamulenge. Between 1991 and 1993, ethnic tensions erupted violently during Kivu's representation at the National Sovereign Conference ( Conférence Nationale Souveraine ) in Kinshasa, aimed at establishing

688-580: The territory of Fizi in South Kivu . The Bembe are also in the province of Tanganyika in the city of Kalemie . In 1991, the Bembe population of the DRC was estimated to number 252,000 and around 1.5 million in 2005. They are representative of many ethnic traditions, including pre- Lega , Boyo- Kunda , Hemba and Bemba . A semi-nomadic people, who often settled in forest environments. The women cultivated

731-679: The transitional government in 2006. The Banyamulenge, having supported AFDL and RCD forces during the Second Congo War, were accused of attacking refugee camps and densely populated villages, committing civilian executions, and engaging in terrorism against Zairean civilians across South and North Kivu, including Bwegera , Luberizi , Luvungi , Katala, Rubenga, Lubarika , Kakumbukumbu, Mutarule , Kagunga, Kiliba , Ndunda, Biriba, Sange , Rwenena, Kahororo, Kamanyola , Lemera , Kidote , Makobola , Kasika , Kilungutwe , Kilungutwe River and Katogota . Consequently, many Congolese perceived

774-513: The 21-gun salute, traditional in Western practice. The state urged that all traditional works of art be returned to the country so as to inspire Zairian artists and ensure the incorporation of traditional styles into contemporary artwork. Although many of the changes instituted as part of authenticité lasted nearly to the end of the Mobutu regime or beyond it, the ideology had begun to wane by

817-608: The Babembe people predominantly inhabited Minembwe, which functioned as a hub for trade, commerce, and cultural exchange, with people from various ethnic groups converging in the region. During the Belgian colonial era, the Bembe and Buyu communities were integrated into the Fizi Territory , which was subsequently segmented into five divisions: Itombwe, Lulenge, Mutambala , Ngandja, and Tangani'a . However, post-decolonization,

860-734: The Banyamulenge as invaders encroaching upon their habitats. Conversely, those on the Banyamulenge side argue that they were not given adequate space within the Fizi Territory and are therefore fighting for self-defense . This conflict resulted in the displacement of approximately 140,000 people in May 2019 due to armed skirmishes in Minembwe. In September 2020, Minembwe was designated a rural commune , despite opposition from other ethnic groups who contended that proper legal and administrative procedures were bypassed. The installment of Minembwe as

903-420: The Banyamulenge. On 8 October 2020, the initiative to create Minembwe as a rural commune was annulled following a declaration by President Félix Tshisekedi , citing irregularities and aiming to mitigate tensions. Félix Tshisekedi stated: "For me, the salvation of the people is the supreme law. I cannot leave my people in danger. I have decided to cancel what has been done so far for Minembwe." This annulment

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946-578: The Belgian colonial authorities and later upheld by the Congolese state post-independence to be recognized as a distinct ethnic group. These criteria included possessing a native language, a chieftainship to represent the tribe, and a well-defined territory acknowledged by neighboring tribes. Despite their mother tongue being Kinyarwanda, the Banyarwanda lacked both a chieftainship and a defined territory, which disqualified them from being recognized as

989-574: The Itombwe sector was realigned closer to the Mwenga Territory to facilitate more immediate administrative oversight for the indigenous populace. During the 1920s, swathes of the South and North Kivu's territories were adjudged sparsely populated, prompting the Belgian colonial administrators to enlist labor from extraneous locales to foster regional development. This incitement culminated in

1032-494: The PDDRC-S program. Being an area built on hills and without subsurface wealth, Minembwe does not present strong development possibilities except for its location as a riparian region which gives it agriculture and fishing development. Lake Tanganyika , situated in the eastern part of the region, offers tremendous fishing potential for Minembwe. Despite strong agricultural and fisheries development, Minembwe has suffered from

1075-535: The affected communities. The broad acquisition of Congolese nationality, combined with the land legislation enacted under Zairianisation , enabled influential Tutsis to acquire land, particularly former colonial plantations redistributed by the state. These acquisitions legalized the Tutsi peasantry's settlements in the Kivu region, granting them recognized status. The inability to apply the 1972 Ordinance, due to not meeting

1118-481: The armed forces, received name changes. Zaireans were required to drop their Western or Christian names (often those of European saints) in favor of authentic "Zairean" names. Mobutu changed his own name from "Joseph-Désiré Mobutu" to "Mobutu Sese Seko Kuku Ngbendu Wa Za Banga" (more commonly abbreviated to "Mobutu Sese Seko"). Greatly a result of Mobutu’s 1973 visit to Beijing, Zairian males were strongly urged, and then required, to abandon Western suits and ties for

1161-542: The banner of a single national party" despite the necessity of a lessening of tribal identity in order to promote national unity. The most widely recognized result of authenticité was no doubt the renaming of the nation from the Democratic Republic of the Congo to Zaire, a Portuguese mispronunciation of the Kikongo word nzere or nzadi , which translates as "the river that swallows all rivers". It

1204-405: The basic criteria, exacerbated tensions and conflicts in the region, with other Congolese tribes perceiving themselves as expropriated by Tutsis. These ethnic tensions threatened national integrity, prompting Congolese political authorities to repeal the "1972 Ordinance" through Law no. 81/002 of 29 June 1981, and, thus, to correct the law regarding the recognition of ethnic communities. Nonetheless,

1247-544: The beginning of the Second Republic following his successful coup against the failing democratic government of President Joseph Kasa-Vubu , he declared his new nationalistic ideology in the Manifesto of N'sele of May 1967. Over the next several years, Mobutu gradually instituted the policy measures that would come to define the campaign. More than anything, the retour à l’authenticité ("return to authenticity")

1290-546: The crops and the men hunted, fished and other entrepreneurship business. Music The babembe people traditionally play drums in their folk music. The way the drum is played can be called a six-beat tune. The music is played in celebration of any sort. The music is accompanied by the folk dance. The dance utilizes movements of the shoulder and waist. It is referred to as Esuba. Folk music has also been adapted into more modernise genres. Cuisine Babembe cuisine consists of cassava-based foods and fish. The fish they love to eat

1333-559: The forced recruitment. In August 2022, dozens of civilians and police officers were taken hostage by Twiganeho in the Minembwe highlands. On 4 January 2023, the Deputy Chief of Staff of the Armed Forces of the Democratic Republic of the Congo in charge of operations, Chico Tshitambwe, called on the population of Minembwe to dissociate themselves from armed groups. Tshitambwe also invited the militias to lay down their arms and join

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1376-598: The late 1950s, there was a significant influx of Banyarwanda immigrants into the Fizi Territory, particularly in the Lulenge sector. This migration was fueled by political instability in Rwanda and the search for better economic opportunities in neighboring areas. Parenthetically, during the Rwandan Revolution of 1959–1961 , the UN High Commissioner for Refugees (UNHCR) settled Rwandan refugees in

1419-471: The late 1970s as it could do little more to benefit Mobutu's kleptocratic regime. Mobutu's announcement of the transition to the Third Republic in 1990, which included most notably a three-party system , came with the freedom to return to more universal forms of address and to wear a suit and tie. Also, by the 1990s many Zairians had resumed use of their given names. After Mobutu was forced to flee

1462-606: The latter came up with the name as it believably designates, in different local languages including Kikongo , the "river which swallows all rivers". Four years later Mobutu also renamed the country and the Congo River "Zaire", and referred to them as " Les Trois Z—Notre Pays, Notre Fleuve, Notre Monnaie " ("The Three Zs: Our Country, Our River, Our Money"). In addition, cities and provinces were renamed (Léopoldville as Kinshasa , while Katanga Province became Shaba). Streets, bridges, and other geographic features, as well as

1505-747: The local community to relocate to Runundu and Ilundu villages. Other members of the local communities were also affected and migrated towards the villages of Lumanya and Kwamulima. Two elderly men were immolated in their residence, children were separated from their parents, and a hundred cattle were abducted, according to witnesses in the area. In May 2022, clashes between Ngumino and Mai-Mai Biloze Bishambuke and their allies resulted in nearly five fatalities in Irumba and Ngandura, villages situated 15 kilometers from Minembwe. In July 2022, four civilians were slain in Minembwe by Twiganeho, an insurgent group led by an army deserter Colonel Michel Rukunda, after refusing to join

1548-616: The most are Mkeke or Mkebuka and Dagaa (a very small fish). Cassava can come in the form of Kyenge and eswaka all similar to fufu. Wabembe are especially fond of eating Kyenge. Vegetable-based foods range from sombe (a stew of pounded cassava lived preferably with ground up nuts and palm oil ) and mlonda. This Bantu language -related article is a stub . You can help Misplaced Pages by expanding it . Authenticit%C3%A9 (Zaire) Early political career Presidency Authenticité , sometimes Zairisation or Zairianisation in English,

1591-478: The relocation of Banyarwanda to the Kivu highlands from the late 1930s through the 1950s. This demographic shift engendered profound sociocultural ramifications within the region, particularly in Minembwe. Nevertheless, the assimilation process was fraught with discord. Ethnic antagonisms erupted between the Banyamulenge and other indigenous ethnic communities, notably the Babembe, exacerbated by land disputes, resource competition, and politico-strategic rivalries. In

1634-611: The sites of Lemera , Mulenge , and Katobo. Many of these refugees ended up dispersing throughout the Lulenge sector and settling in some of the most remote and inaccessible areas of the South and North Kivu regions. The Banyarwanda who settled in Lulenge from the late 1950s to the 1980s, alongside earlier migrants to the eastern Congo Free State in the nineteenth century, collectively known as " Banyamulenge ," aspired to establish their own self-governing territory like other ethnic groups. However, they were required to meet criteria set by

1677-521: The state and to private life, including the renaming of the Congo and its cities, as well as an eventual mandate that Zairians were to abandon their Christian names for more "authentic" ones. In addition, Western-style attire was banned and replaced with the Mao-style tunic labeled the " abacost " and its female equivalent. The policy began to wane in the late 1970s and had mostly been abandoned by 1990. Not long after Mobutu Sese Seko 's declaration of

1720-624: Was an effort on behalf of the self-declared "father of the nation" to create a national identity that could take precedence over regionalism and tribalism while reconciling those claims with the exigencies of modernization . He described the ideology as follows: Authenticité has made us discover our personality by reaching into the depths of our past for the rich cultural heritage left to us by our ancestors. We have no intention of blindly returning to all ancestral customs; rather. We would like to choose those that adapt themselves well to modern life, those that encourage progress, and those that create

1763-543: Was an official state ideology of the regime of Mobutu Sese Seko that originated in the late 1960s and early 1970s in what was first the Democratic Republic of Congo , later renamed Zaire . The authenticity campaign was an effort to rid the country of the lingering vestiges of colonialism and the continuing influence of Western culture and to create a more centralized and singular national identity. The policy, as implemented, included numerous changes to

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1806-617: Was met with approval from various groups, including opposition parties and civil society organizations. However, it elicited mixed reactions from the Banyamulenge, who viewed it as an infringement on their rights and a reversal of the progress made in their struggle for recognition and self-determination . Some Banyamulenge leaders and activists accused the government of capitulating to pressure from other ethnic groups and reneging on its promises to safeguard their interests and foster their development. The situation in Minembwe remains volatile, with reports of violence and displacement. In October 2020,

1849-417: Was the means through which the dictator intended to vindicate his own brand of leadership. He attempted to link his ideology and his political dominance before proclaiming authenticité by saying: "in our African tradition there are never two chiefs... That is why we Congolese, in the desire to conform to the traditions of our continent, have resolved to group all the energies of the citizens of our country under

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