by So you just got your mission call to Congo-Brazzaville and you want to know what the culture is like, you’ve come to the right place. What is their culture and customs like? Lets see!
Language in Congo
The official language in Congo is French but French isn’t the people’s first language. They first learn their native language which depends on where they grow up. In northern Brazzaville they speak a language called Lingala which is widely spoken throughout Congo and in DRC. In southern Brazzaville they speak a language called Lari. In Pointe-Noire most people speak a language called Kituba which is also a national language of DRC. So don’t be surprised if the people have trouble understanding French when you talk to them, it’s not their first language. They speak French just in school mostly, most of the time in home and with their neighbors they only speak their native language.
Learning the native language of the area you serve will go a long way. I mentioned this in this article. I started my mission in an area where they spoke Lari but didn’t see the importance of learning it. I was transferred to an area where they spoke Lingala and learned a little bit of it. Learning the local languages in addition to French is a really fun opportunity that helps you build better relationships with the members and have more fun with the people you teach.
Congolese food
I wrote an entire article on Congolese food here. The food is very good and nutritious. They eat lots of fufu and boiled vegtables and leaves as well as fish and chicken. It’s really simple food and you get used to it very fast. Something that will earn you major respect points on the mission is learning how to make fufu. You will be a celebrity among the missionaries if you can make really good fufu. You normally eat fufu with tomato sauce and chicken or fish and a vegtable sauce.
La deuil
When someone dies in Congo, everyone who knows that person goes to a thing called a “deuil” which means, “mourning” in French. It’s kind of like a celebration after someone dies. It is a week long party where the people listen to music, sit around, talk, and drink beer. They also eat lots of food and stay up late at night. In Brazzaville, it seemed like there was a “deuil” going on in every street. Everyone celebrates deuils even members of the Church.
La dote
La dote is where Congolese men have to pay the family of the the girl to marry her. It is common throughout Africa but it is an especially big deal in Congo Brazzaville. The parents ask for large amounts of money to marry off their daughter. In Nigeria, for example, the dote can be like $200 or something like that but in Congo the dote can be $1000 to $2000 which is a year salary for the average Congolese. The family asks for insane things like new suits, shoes, motorcycles, or whatever else they want and the man has to buy all that in order for them to give away their daughter. People can’t pay the dote so the couple just lives together and make a family without being married they also can’t be civilly married unless they have done the dote. This causes problems for us missionaries because they can’t join the Church if they are living together so either they have to get separated or do the dote which is nearly impossible. I have seen couples get separated and then they get individually baptized though.
Concubinage
Concubinage is when people who aren’t legally married live together because they can’t pay for the dote. There are many adults who live in concubinage because of the high price of the dote. Around 80% of the adults that I contacted in Congo Brazzaville where living in concubinage. You can’t baptize people who are living in concubinage because they would have to pay la dote first we do our best to teach them and help them come to Church and hopefully motivate them to be married and baptized.
Fashion
The Congolese are very fashion conscious which means that they care about what they wear and what you wear too. It was the thing that surprised me the most about the Congolese is that even though we think of both of the Congos as being super, the people and missionaries in those countries dress better than Americans sometimes. They love suits and they love French and Italian designer brands. They love to show off their money and show off their clothes. Its a big part of their culture. So in Congo you really have to show up with good-looking clothes.
I wrote a similar article called, Everything you need to know about Congo.
