- Title: Congolese rumba joins UNESCO's heritage list in 2021
- Date: 30th December 2021
- Summary: (SOUNDBITE) (Lingala) SINGER MANDA CHANTE, LEADER OF THE BAND BANA OK, SAYING: "In fact, rumba has many characteristics. It existed for more than 50 years. I have lived my whole life with the rumba. If you look at the rumba now we have elevated and developed it, although we have kept our references to the icon Le Grande Kalle, Papa Wemba, Simaro Massiya, Tabu Ley."
- Embargoed: 13th January 2022 08:17
- Keywords: africa art congo culture music rumba unesco united nations
- Location: KINSHASA, DEMOCRATIC REPUBLIC OF CONGO
- City: KINSHASA, DEMOCRATIC REPUBLIC OF CONGO
- Country: Congo, Democratic Republic of the
- Topics: Africa,Arts/Culture/Entertainment,Music
- Reuters ID: LVA002FA8AC7R
- Aspect Ratio: 16:9
- Story Text: Perched on a corner of the stage at an open-air club in Congo's capital Kinshasa, Manda Chante sang a classic rumba song that has been an anthem for anti-colonial movements in Africa for more than 50 years.
The 1960 hit by Congolese icon Le Grande Kalle, which asked politicians to put aside their differences to achieve independence, debuted during negotiations for Congo's liberation from Belgium, electrifying delegates. Within four months, Congo was free.
Manda, who sings rumba classics every Friday with his band Bana OK, holds a particular reverence for the song, and the entire rumba genre.
"In fact, rumba has many characteristics. It existed for more than 50 years. I have lived my whole life with the rumba. If you look at the rumba now we have elevated and developed it, although we have kept our references to the icon Le Grande Kalle, Papa Wemba, Simaro Massiya, Tabu Ley," Manda said.
Sixty-one years later, rumba remains at the core of music made across Africa, and a movement has emerged to cement its reputation and secure its protection.
The recognition was awarded to Congolese rumba on Tuesday (December 14). The Democratic Republic of Congo and Congo Republic had submitted a joint bid for their rumba to receive heritage status for its unique sound that melds the drumming of enslaved Africans with the melodies of Spanish colonizers.
"Rumba is our creation. Rumba is us, Rumba is our life, Rumba is our vision, so Rumba is us. That's why we want the Rumba to be recognized as our own. It is our identity, Rumba is Congolese," said Catherine Kathungu Furaha, Congo's minister of art and culture.
Born in the melting pot of 19th-century Cuba, rumba combined the drumming of enslaved Africans with the melodies of Spanish colonizers.
Re-exported back to Africa in the early 20th century on vinyl, the Afro-cuban music found a ready audience in the two Congos, who recognized the rhythms as their own, inspiring a new genre across the continent.
Andre Yoka, director of the National Institute for the Arts in Kinshasa, led Congo's candidacy for UNESCO status.
"Our ancestors were deported to the Americas in the 15th, 16th century, and went to either North America, Central America or South America. But the focal point was Cuba, in Central America. So in Cuba there was a surprising mixture from those who came from Africa but also from whom the slaves have encountered once there," Yoka said.
The name 'Rumba' derives from 'Nkumba', literally meaning belly button in the local language, which was a navel dance "in the ancient kingdom of Kongo," according to Congo's submission to UNESCO.
"So the musical traditions that came from Spain, from the Americas but also the local tradition, endogenous, all of that created a melting pot, a mixture which created the first sounds of the Rumba. They even say that the word rhumba comes from "Nkumba" which is a Kikongo (language) word. The word khumba means belly button," Yoka said.
Regardless of the campaign's outcome, the importance of Rumba to Congolese society is not lost on UNESCO. To Jean Pierre Ilboudo, UNESCO's representative in Kinshasa, its recognition is important for everyone.
"The registration means the acknowledgment, and it is important that the whole of humanity recognizes an element of the intangible heritage, as an appropriation for humanity, so it becomes an asset that humanity will protect, will try to promote and so on," Ilboudo said.
Congolese rumba joins a list of many customs enshrined on UNESCO's list of cultural treasures, including the hawker food of Singapore, sauna culture in Finland and traditional irrigation systems in the United Arab Emirates. - Copyright Holder: FILE REUTERS (CAN SELL)
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