Rumba Rules

Rumba Rules PDF Author: Bob W. White
Publisher: Duke University Press
ISBN: 0822389266
Category : History
Languages : en
Pages : 327

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Book Description
Mobutu Sese Seko, who ruled Zaire (now the Democratic Republic of Congo) from 1965 until 1997, was fond of saying “happy are those who sing and dance,” and his regime energetically promoted the notion of culture as a national resource. During this period Zairian popular dance music (often referred to as la rumba zaïroise) became a sort of musica franca in many parts of sub-Saharan Africa. But how did this privileged form of cultural expression, one primarily known for a sound of sweetness and joy, flourish under one of the continent’s most brutal authoritarian regimes? In Rumba Rules, the first ethnography of popular music in the Democratic Republic of Congo, Bob W. White examines not only the economic and political conditions that brought this powerful music industry to its knees, but also the ways that popular musicians sought to remain socially relevant in a time of increasing insecurity. Drawing partly on his experiences as a member of a local dance band in the country’s capital city Kinshasa, White offers extraordinarily vivid accounts of the live music scene, including the relatively recent phenomenon of libanga, which involves shouting the names of wealthy or powerful people during performances in exchange for financial support or protection. With dynamic descriptions of how bands practiced, performed, and splintered, White highlights how the ways that power was sought and understood in Kinshasa’s popular music scene mirrored the charismatic authoritarianism of Mobutu’s rule. In Rumba Rules, Congolese speak candidly about political leadership, social mobility, and what it meant to be a bon chef (good leader) in Mobutu’s Zaire.

Rumba Rules

Rumba Rules PDF Author: Bob W. White
Publisher: Duke University Press
ISBN: 0822389266
Category : History
Languages : en
Pages : 327

Get Book Here

Book Description
Mobutu Sese Seko, who ruled Zaire (now the Democratic Republic of Congo) from 1965 until 1997, was fond of saying “happy are those who sing and dance,” and his regime energetically promoted the notion of culture as a national resource. During this period Zairian popular dance music (often referred to as la rumba zaïroise) became a sort of musica franca in many parts of sub-Saharan Africa. But how did this privileged form of cultural expression, one primarily known for a sound of sweetness and joy, flourish under one of the continent’s most brutal authoritarian regimes? In Rumba Rules, the first ethnography of popular music in the Democratic Republic of Congo, Bob W. White examines not only the economic and political conditions that brought this powerful music industry to its knees, but also the ways that popular musicians sought to remain socially relevant in a time of increasing insecurity. Drawing partly on his experiences as a member of a local dance band in the country’s capital city Kinshasa, White offers extraordinarily vivid accounts of the live music scene, including the relatively recent phenomenon of libanga, which involves shouting the names of wealthy or powerful people during performances in exchange for financial support or protection. With dynamic descriptions of how bands practiced, performed, and splintered, White highlights how the ways that power was sought and understood in Kinshasa’s popular music scene mirrored the charismatic authoritarianism of Mobutu’s rule. In Rumba Rules, Congolese speak candidly about political leadership, social mobility, and what it meant to be a bon chef (good leader) in Mobutu’s Zaire.

From Zaire to the Democratic Republic of the Congo

From Zaire to the Democratic Republic of the Congo PDF Author: Georges Nzongola-Ntalaja
Publisher: Nordic Africa Institute
ISBN: 9789171065384
Category : Political Science
Languages : en
Pages : 32

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Book Description
Selected bibliography p.23.

Dancing in the Glory of Monsters

Dancing in the Glory of Monsters PDF Author: Jason Stearns
Publisher: PublicAffairs
ISBN: 1610391594
Category : History
Languages : en
Pages : 372

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Book Description
A "meticulously researched and comprehensive" (Financial Times​) history of the devastating war in the heart of Africa's Congo, with first-hand accounts of the continent's worst conflict in modern times. At the heart of Africa is the Congo, a country the size of Western Europe, bordering nine other nations, that since 1996 has been wracked by a brutal war in which millions have died. In Dancing in the Glory of Monsters, renowned political activist and researcher Jason K. Stearns has written a compelling and deeply-reported narrative of how Congo became a failed state that collapsed into a war of retaliatory massacres. Stearns brilliantly describes the key perpetrators, many of whom he met personally, and highlights the nature of the political system that brought these people to power, as well as the moral decisions with which the war confronted them. Now updated with a new introduction, Dancing in the Glory of Monsters tells the full story of Africa's Great War.

In the Footsteps of Mr. Kurtz

In the Footsteps of Mr. Kurtz PDF Author: Michela Wrong
Publisher: Harper Collins
ISBN: 0061863610
Category : Biography & Autobiography
Languages : en
Pages : 455

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Book Description
“Wholly unsentimental,” a foreign correspondent’s exploration of political corruption in Africa “gets it right . . . [a] chillingly amusing cautionary tale.” —Jonathan Yardley, Washington Post Book World Known as “the Leopard,” the president of Zaire for thirty-two years, Mobutu Sese Seko, showed all the cunning of his namesake—seducing Western powers, buying up the opposition, and dominating his people with a devastating combination of brutality and charm. While the population was pauperized, he plundered the country's copper and diamond resources, downing pink champagne in his jungle palace like some modern-day reincarnation of Joseph Conrad's crazed station manager. Michela Wrong, a correspondent who witnessed Mobutu's last days, traces the rise and fall of the idealistic young journalist who became the stereotype of an African despot. Engrossing, highly readable, and as funny as it is tragic, In the Footsteps of Mr. Kurtz assesses the acts of the villains and the heroes in this fascinating story of the Democratic Republic of Congo. “A riveting inspection of the legacy of European colonialism in Africa” — Booklist “The beauty of this book is that it makes sense of chaos.” —Publishers Weekly (starred review) “In lively prose . . . Wrong combines travelogue with astute political analysis . . . terrific.” —Library Journal “Provocative, touching, and sensitively written . . . an eloquent, brilliantly researched account and a remarkably sympathetic study of a tragic land.” —Sunday Times

The Rise and Decline of the Zairian State

The Rise and Decline of the Zairian State PDF Author: Crawford Young
Publisher: University of Wisconsin Pres
ISBN: 0299101134
Category : Biography & Autobiography
Languages : en
Pages : 522

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Book Description
Zaire, apparently strong and stable under Presdident Mobutu in the early 1970s, was bankrupt and discredited by the end of that decade, beset by hyperinflation and mass corruption, the populace forced into abject poverty. Why and how, in a new african state strategically located in Central Africa and rich in mineral resources, did this happen? How did the Zairian state become a “parasitic predator” upon its own people?

Zaire

Zaire PDF Author:
Publisher:
ISBN:
Category : Congo (Democratic Republic)
Languages : en
Pages : 2

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Book Description


Shaba II

Shaba II PDF Author: Thomas Paul Odom
Publisher:
ISBN:
Category : Belgium
Languages : en
Pages : 156

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Book Description


America's Tyrant

America's Tyrant PDF Author: Sean Kelly
Publisher:
ISBN:
Category : Biography & Autobiography
Languages : en
Pages : 312

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Book Description
Details the 30-year relationship between the US and Mobutu.

Historical Dictionary of the Democratic Republic of the Congo

Historical Dictionary of the Democratic Republic of the Congo PDF Author: Emizet Francois Kisangani
Publisher: Scarecrow Press
ISBN: 0810863251
Category : History
Languages : en
Pages : 718

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Book Description
The third edition of the Historical Dictionary of the Democratic Republic of the Congo looks back at the nearly 48 years of independence, over a century of colonial rule, and even earlier kingdoms and groups that shared the territory. This is done through a chronology, an introductory essay, a bibliography, and over 800 cross-referenced dictionary entries on civil wars, mutinies, notable people, places, events, and cultural practices.

Mobutu's Totalitarian Political System

Mobutu's Totalitarian Political System PDF Author: Jean-Louis Peta Ikambana
Publisher: Routledge
ISBN: 1135861501
Category : Political Science
Languages : en
Pages : 214

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Book Description
Mobutu's political system, inaugurated in 1965 and lasting more than three decades, met all the characteristics of totalitarianism. This study shows that the failures and misdeeds of Mobutu's system were clear evidence that it lacked an African-centred vision and did not put the interests of the African people of Congo (formerly Zaire) at the centre of this political project. In this study Mobutu's political actions in the 1990s - mostly as they related to the National Sovereign Conference - are critically analyzed and found to be a deliberate attempt to obstruct the momentum of democracy for the African people of Congo. From an Afro centric standpoint, this obstruction is evidence of Mobutu's attempt to impede the search for harmony and peace by the Zairian people, and to reject the African-centred truth that without Ma'at (harmony) there is no understanding and no possible restoration of balance. Mobutu's Totalitarian Political System will be of interest to students and scholars of ethnic studies, political science and international relations.