Kikwit is the largest city of
Kwilu Province
Kwilu is a province of the Democratic Republic of the Congo. It's one of the 21 provinces created in the 2015 repartitioning. Kwilu, Kwango, and Mai-Ndombe provinces are the result of the dismemberment of the former Bandundu province. Kwi ...
, lying on the
Kwilu River
The Kwilu River is a major river in the Kwilu Province formerly known as Bandundu province in the Democratic Republic of the Congo (DRC) to the city of Bandundu, where it joins the Kwango River just before this stream enters the Kasai River. In t ...
in the southwestern part of the
Democratic Republic of the Congo
The Democratic Republic of the Congo (french: République démocratique du Congo (RDC), colloquially "La RDC" ), informally Congo-Kinshasa, DR Congo, the DRC, the DROC, or the Congo, and formerly and also colloquially Zaire, is a country in ...
. Kikwit is also known in the region under the nickname "The Mother". The population is approximately 458,000 (2017). An important
commercial centre, it is home to a
stadium
A stadium ( : stadiums or stadia) is a place or venue for (mostly) outdoor sports, concerts, or other events and consists of a field or stage either partly or completely surrounded by a tiered structure designed to allow spectators to stand o ...
and is known for its
traditional dances, in particular the
Bapende
The Pende people (singular: Mupende; plural: Bapende), also known as the Phende people, are an ethnic group in the south-western Democratic Republic of the Congo. The Pende are divided into two cultural groups: the Eastern Pende and the Weste ...
dancers whose geographic origin centers on the village of
Gungu
Gungu is a town in Kwilu Province, Democratic Republic of the Congo (DRC). It is the capital of Gungu Territory as well as Gungu Sector. The town lies west of the Kwilu River and is situated between the streams Lukunia in the south-east and Kite ...
. Bapende dancers often wear traditional costumes comprising colorful masks and attire made from
raffia. Kikwit is also home to an airport (
Kikwit Airport
Kikwit Airport is an airport serving the Kwilu River port of Kikwit, the capital city of the Kwilu District in the Democratic Republic of the Congo. The airport is within the city limits.
The Kikwit non-directional beacon (Ident: KKW) is locat ...
) and is connected to the capital
Kinshasa
Kinshasa (; ; ln, Kinsásá), formerly Léopoldville ( nl, Leopoldstad), is the capital and largest city of the Democratic Republic of the Congo. Once a site of fishing and trading villages situated along the Congo River, Kinshasa is now one o ...
by a new road and river transport.
In 1995 the city saw a serious outbreak of the deadly
Ebola virus.
Singer
King Kester Emeneya
Jean Baptiste Emeneya Mubiala Kwamambu (November 23, 1956 – February 13, 2014) was a Congolese singer best known as King Kester Emeneya.
He was born in Kikwit within the Democratic Republic of the Congo. While being a student of political scie ...
was born in Kikwit in 1956. In April 2014, a tribute concert held in Kikwit to honor King Kester Emeneya ended in disaster, and at least thirteen people in the stadium died in a stampede following a power failure.
See also
*
University of Kikwit
The University of Kikwit (UNIKI) is a public university in the Democratic Republic of the Congo, located in the province of Bandundu, city of Kikwit. At its creation, it was an ''Extension of the University of Kinshasa'', then called ''University ...
*
Matthew Lukwiya
Matthew Lukwiya (24 November 1957 – 5 December 2000) was a Ugandan physician and the supervisor of St. Mary's Hospital Lacor, outside of Gulu. He was at the forefront of the 2000 Ebola virus disease outbreak in Uganda until he died from th ...
The Pende people are also from Idiofa and Tshikapa (Kasai). The Pende dancers are known as Mungandji (1) or Mingandji (many).
References
External links
An article about Kikwit in Britannica Online Encyclopedia
Populated places in Kwilu Province
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