
''Authenticité'', sometimes Zairisation or Zairianisation in English, was an official
state ideology of the regime of
Mobutu Sese Seko
Mobutu Sese Seko Kuku Ngbendu wa za Banga ( ; born Joseph-Désiré Mobutu; 14 October 1930 – 7 September 1997), often shortened to Mobutu Sese Seko or Mobutu and also known by his initials MSS, was a Congolese politician and military officer ...
that originated in the late 1960s and early 1970s in what was first the
Democratic Republic of Congo
The Democratic Republic of the Congo (DRC), also known as the DR Congo, Congo-Kinshasa, or simply the Congo (the last ambiguously also referring to the neighbouring Republic of the Congo), is a country in Central Africa. By land area, it is t ...
, later renamed
Zaire
Zaire, officially the Republic of Zaire, was the name of the Democratic Republic of the Congo from 1971 to 18 May 1997. Located in Central Africa, it was, by area, the third-largest country in Africa after Sudan and Algeria, and the 11th-la ...
. The authenticity campaign was an effort to rid the country of the lingering vestiges of
colonialism
Colonialism is the control of another territory, natural resources and people by a foreign group. Colonizers control the political and tribal power of the colonised territory. While frequently an Imperialism, imperialist project, colonialism c ...
and the continuing influence of
Western culture
Western culture, also known as Western civilization, European civilization, Occidental culture, Western society, or simply the West, refers to the Cultural heritage, internally diverse culture of the Western world. The term "Western" encompas ...
and to create a more centralized and singular national identity.
The policy, as implemented, included numerous changes to 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. It was formally abolished by President
Laurent Kabila, in 1997, after the end of Zaire.
Origin and general ideology
Not long after
Mobutu Sese Seko
Mobutu Sese Seko Kuku Ngbendu wa za Banga ( ; born Joseph-Désiré Mobutu; 14 October 1930 – 7 September 1997), often shortened to Mobutu Sese Seko or Mobutu and also known by his initials MSS, was a Congolese politician and military officer ...
's declaration of 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
The Manifesto of N'sele () was a manifesto, political document issued in the Republic of the Congo (Léopoldville), Democratic Republic of the Congo (later renamed Zaire) on 19 or 20 May 1967 which set out the official political stance of the Popu ...
'' 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") 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
Tribalism is the state of being organized by, or advocating for, tribes or tribal lifestyles. Human evolution primarily occurred in small hunter-gatherer groups, as opposed to in larger and more recently settled agricultural societies or civilizat ...
, while reconciling those claims with the exigencies of
modernization
Modernization theory or modernisation theory holds that as societies become more economically modernized, wealthier and more educated, their political institutions become increasingly liberal democratic and rationalist. The "classical" theories ...
. 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 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 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 the banner of a single national party", despite the necessity of a lessening of tribal identity, in order to promote national unity.
Renaming
The "Three Zs"
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 or , which translates as "the river that swallows all rivers". It is not known for certain why President Mobutu chose a Portuguese colonial name instead of an authentic Congolese name.
A
biography
A biography, or simply bio, is a detailed description of a person's life. It involves more than just basic facts like education, work, relationships, and death; it portrays a person's experience of these life events. Unlike a profile or curri ...
about Mobutu by ''
Le Monde
(; ) is a mass media in France, French daily afternoon list of newspapers in France, newspaper. It is the main publication of Le Monde Group and reported an average print circulation, circulation of 480,000 copies per issue in 2022, including ...
'' journalist
Jean-Pierre Langellier, however, traces the naming of the currency ''
zaire
Zaire, officially the Republic of Zaire, was the name of the Democratic Republic of the Congo from 1971 to 18 May 1997. Located in Central Africa, it was, by area, the third-largest country in Africa after Sudan and Algeria, and the 11th-la ...
'' 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 the latter came up with the name as it believably designates, in different local languages including
Kikongo, the "river which swallows all rivers".
[Langellier, Jean-Pierre. (2017). ''Mobutu''. Perrin. , 169.]
Four years later, Mobutu also renamed the country, and the
Congo River
The Congo River, formerly also known as the Zaire River, is the second-longest river in Africa, shorter only than the Nile, as well as the third-largest river in the world list of rivers by discharge, by discharge volume, following the Amazon Ri ...
, "Zaire". He referred to them as "''Les Trois Z—Notre Pays, Notre Fleuve, Notre Monnaie''" ("The Three Zs: Our Country, Our River, Our Money").
Place names
In addition, cities and provinces were renamed. For example, Léopoldville was renamed as
Kinshasa
Kinshasa (; ; ), formerly named Léopoldville from 1881–1966 (), is the Capital city, capital and Cities of the Democratic Republic of the Congo, largest city of the Democratic Republic of the Congo. Kinshasa is one of the world's fastest-grow ...
, while
Katanga Province
Katanga was one of the four large provinces created in the Belgian Congo in 1914.
It was one of the eleven provinces of the Democratic Republic of the Congo between 1966 and 2015, when it was split into the Tanganyika Province, Tanganyika, Hau ...
became Shaba. Streets, bridges, and other geographic features, as well as the armed forces, received name changes.
Personal names
Zaireans were required to drop their Western or
Christian name
A Christian name, sometimes referred to as a baptismal name, is a religious personal name given on the occasion of a Christian baptism, though now most often given by parents at birth. In English-speaking cultures, a person's Christian name ...
s, often those of European saints, in favor of authentic "Zairean" names.
[Meditz, Sandra W. and Tim Merrill.] 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").
Dress code
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 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.
Church
The
Catholic
The Catholic Church (), also known as the Roman Catholic Church, is the List of Christian denominations by number of members, largest Christian church, with 1.27 to 1.41 billion baptized Catholics Catholic Church by country, worldwid ...
hierarchy quickly came to view the ''retour à l'authenticité'' as a threat to Christianity in Zaire
At that time, almost half of the population was Catholic. The regime's stress on "mental
decolonization
Decolonization is the undoing of colonialism, the latter being the process whereby Imperialism, imperial nations establish and dominate foreign territories, often overseas. The meanings and applications of the term are disputed. Some scholar ...
" and "cultural disalienation" could be interpreted as an attack on Christianity as a product of Western influence, as could the emphasis on African culture as an alternative to widespread continuing Westernization.
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: the
Kimbanguist Church (a
syncretic
Syncretism () is the practice of combining different beliefs and various schools of thought. Syncretism involves the merging or assimilation of several originally discrete traditions, especially in the theology and mythology of religion, thus ...
church of Zairian origin), the
Catholic Church
The Catholic Church (), also known as the Roman Catholic Church, is the List of Christian denominations by number of members, largest Christian church, with 1.27 to 1.41 billion baptized Catholics Catholic Church by country, worldwid ...
, the
Eastern Orthodox Church
The Eastern Orthodox Church, officially the Orthodox Catholic Church, and also called the Greek Orthodox Church or simply the Orthodox Church, is List of Christian denominations by number of members, one of the three major doctrinal and ...
es, 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 is believed Mobutu wanted to control these, as well as the churches in general.
Other
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 the 21-gun salute, traditional in Western practice.
[Kabwit, Ghislain C.]
The state urged that all traditional works of art be returned to the country, to inspire Zairian artists, and ensure the incorporation of traditional styles into contemporary artwork.
Decline
Although many of the changes instituted as part of ''authenticité'' lasted nearly to the end of the Mobutu regime, or beyond it, the ideology began to wane by 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 the country in the
First Congo War
The First Congo War, also known as Africa's First World War, was a Civil war, civil and international military conflict that lasted from 24 October 1996 to 16 May 1997, primarily taking place in Zaire (which was renamed the Democratic Republi ...
in 1997, President
Laurent Kabila officially abolished Zaire's ''authenticité'' policy and renamed the country back to the
Democratic Republic of the Congo
The Democratic Republic of the Congo (DRC), also known as the DR Congo, Congo-Kinshasa, or simply the Congo (the last ambiguously also referring to the neighbouring Republic of the Congo), is a country in Central Africa. By land area, it is t ...
.
See also
*
Decolonisation of Africa
The decolonisation of Africa was a series of political developments in Africa that spanned from the mid-1950s to 1975, during the Cold War. Colony, Colonial governments gave way to sovereign states in a process often marred by violence, politic ...
*
Authenticité (Chad)
Notes
References
Citations
Sources
* Adelman, Kenneth Lee. "The Recourse to Authenticity and Negritude in Zaire." ''The Journal of Modern African Studies'', Vol. 13, No. 1 (Mar., 1975), pp. 134–139.
*
* Kabwit, Ghislain C.. "Zaire: The Roots of the Continuing Crisis." ''The Journal of Modern African Studies''. Vol. 17, No. 3 (Sep., 1979), pp. 381–407.
* Langellier, Jean-Pierre. (2017). ''Mobutu''. Perrin.
* Meditz, Sandra W. and Tim Merrill.
Zaire: A Country Study'. Claitor's Law Books and Publishing Division.
* Meredith, Martin. ''The Fate of Africa: From the Hopes of Freedom to the Heart of Despair, a History of Fifty Years of Independence''. PublicAffairs.
* Wrong, Michela. ''In The Footsteps of Mr. Kurtz''. Harper Collins.
* Young, Crawford, and Thomas Turner. ''The Rise and Decline of the Zairian State''. University of Wisconsin Press.
{{DEFAULTSORT:Authenticite (Zaire)
African and Black nationalism in Africa
Political and cultural purges
Congolese nationalism (Democratic Republic of the Congo)
Decolonization
State ideologies
Zaire
Mobutu Sese Seko