Wagenya Rapids

Wagenya is the name of a place in 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 ...

and of the people living there; situated in the northern part of Congo, by the city of

Kisangani Kisangani (formerly Stanleyville or Stanleystad) is the capital of Tshopo province in the Democratic Republic of the Congo. It is the fifth most populous urban area in the country, with an estimated population of 1,312,000 in 2021, and the larg ...

and on the lower reaches of the

Boyoma Falls Boyoma Falls, formerly known as Stanley Falls, is a series of seven cataracts, each no more than high, extending over more than along a curve of the Lualaba River between the river port towns of Ubundu and Kisangani (also known as Boyoma) in the ...

. As a result, the seventh and last cataract on the Boyoma is named the

Wagenia Falls Boyoma Falls, formerly known as Stanley Falls, is a series of seven cataracts, each no more than high, extending over more than along a curve of the Lualaba River between the river port towns of Ubundu and Kisangani (also known as Boyoma) in the ...

Because of low rock banks, at this point the

Congo River The Congo River ( kg, Nzâdi Kôngo, french: Fleuve Congo, pt, Rio Congo), formerly also known as the Zaire River, is the second longest river in Africa, shorter only than the Nile, as well as the second largest river in the world by discharge ...

is not anymore navigable and it creates rapids. For centuries, people living there have fished in a rather interesting way. They build a huge system of wooden tripods across the river. These tripods are anchored on the holes naturally carved in the rock by the water current. To these tripods are anchored large baskets, which are lowered in the rapids to "sieve" the waters for fish. It is a very selective

fishing Fishing is the activity of trying to catch fish. Fish are often caught as wildlife from the natural environment, but may also be caught from stocked bodies of water such as ponds, canals, park wetlands and reservoirs. Fishing techniques inclu ...

method, as these baskets are quite big and only large fish are entrapped. Twice a day the adult Wagenya people pull out these baskets to check if there is any fish caught; in which case somebody will dive into the river to fetch it. At the end of each day the product of this ancient way of fishing is divided among all the members of the same family; including also those who did not take direct action into it. The locations where each individual can set his baskets are inherited like for a property of land. {{Authority control Fishing in the Democratic Republic of the Congo Geography of the Democratic Republic of the Congo Fishing techniques and methods places