Republic of the Congo

We’re back in Heart of Darkness territory, as on 15 August the Republic of the Congo celebrates its Independence Day—the country became independent from France in 1960. Compare with the Democratic Republic of the Congo, the Republic of the Congo is quite small—but size isn’t the issue. (After all, 15 August is also Liechtenstein’s national day—now that is a tiny nation…)

Original inhabitants? Pygmy peoples. Their replacements? Bantu tribes. First European contact? 15th century, with the Portuguese. Slavery? Check: the Portuguese were trading for slaves in the interior, while the coast was a source for the transatlantic slave trade. Scramble for Africa? Well, the Congo river was a target for conquest, and a number of powers fought for the territory. Eventually it was divided between three powers—the Portuguese got Cabinda (now an area of Angola), which is north of the Congo on the Atlantic Coast, Belgium got only a small part at the mouth of the river—but the enormous hinterland, while France took the area north of the river.

The area that is now the Republic of the Congo was initially joined with other French holdings, and called French Equitorial Africa: it included Chad and the Central African Republic too.

While there was a pretty quick ousting of the first president, it took eight years for a coup d’état to happen. (I have to admit to finding it quite depressing that I read these histories now waiting for the coup—but I expect them all over. They just happened longer ago in some places.) A year after Captain Marien Ngouabi took over, he announced that the country was a people’s republic. In 1977, still president, Ngouabi was assassinated.

After being under a Marxist regime for decades, in 1992 mutli-party democracy entered the game—though, as usual, it hasn’t been smooth sailing. 1997 saw the beginning of a civil war that ended when a peace deal came into effect at the end of 1999. The 2002 elections following this were considered a sham—and a new constitution allowed the president more power and a longer term.

Most people live in the southwest area of the country—there’s a lot of tropical jungle up north that doesn’t see many people.

Today’s poem is by Tchicaya U Tam’si. I have to admit it’s another I found while roaming around looking for pieces, but I didn’t record where I found it. When there’s time, I’ll fill in these gaps.


Epitaph

                    from L’Arc musical (1970)


We are this union
of water salt and earth
of sunshine and flesh
bespattering the sun
no more among the sea marks
but because there is this song
which ruins all the gulfs
which recreates a genesis
of wind weather and flesh!

I predict a babel
of unoxidized steel
or of crossed blood
mixed in the dregs of all surges!
After the red man,
after the black man,
after the yellow man,
after the white man,
there is already the man of bronze
sole alloy of the soft fires
we have still to ford.

—Tchicaya U Tam’si