2014 Fieldwork on Nsambaan

From March until July 2014, JKM carried out language documentation fieldwork in the villages of Kwilumpia (S 04°37'00" ;  E 018°52'00"), Funda (S 04°64.040; E 018°83.954), Kikongo (S 04°37.439; E 018°46.967), Elomo (S 04°66.038; E 018°80.352), Nsama‑Nsama (S 04°38.202, E 018°50.376). He was assisted by Christophe Mafuta Ntwale and Fiston Loso, both former students of the ISP in Kikwit. The fieldwork aimed at documenting Nsambaan, the endangered Bantu language spoken in these villages, as extensively as possible and in as many different cultural settings as possible. Several of the speech events documented are presented below.

	Nsambaan woman returning from the forest (Kwilumpia village)		Nsambaan women returning from the forest (Kwilumpia village)

1.  Arrival at Nkara sector

On March 13, JKM arrived at the office of Niadi-Nkara sector to obtain authorization for conducting research in Nsambaan villages with the DoBeS team. On March 14, JKM arrived at the seat of the groupement Kikongo to inform the traditional chief on the arrival of the DoBeS research team.

2.  Questions-and-answers session on basic vocabulary

On March 19, our team arrived by night at Kwilumpia village, a southern border village. Due to the breakdown of our vehicle, investigations started there. On March 22, the team organized a questions-and-answers session on Nsambaan basic vocabulary for lexicostatistical research. The whole event was recorded and transcribed.

3. Nsambaan twin ceremonies

On March 23, JKM filmed a big twin ceremony in Kwilumpia. Twins are immersed in water known in Nsambaan as ɛtɔ́ a bambwʊl ‘source of twins’. In Central-Africa, twins are considered peculiar and they require special treatment. Such is the case amongst the Nsambaan who see twins (bambwʊl) as chiefs and sacred. During this ceremony, twins are “baptized”. The ceremony begins in the village, but continues outside the village in a water source belonging to twins’ clan. Fathers and mothers of other twins, who are called ngaŋ a bambwʊl ‘priests of the twins’, lead the ceremony. Mothers and twins have their hair shaved, mothers walk almost naked and all participants are smeared in with kaolin. People come from everywhere to participate in the ceremony, which takes two nights and three days. We filmed and recorded songs, which are usually sung during such a twin ceremony and filmed the dances accompanying the different rites. On March 24, JKM also filmed a twin ceremony called nsaŋ a bambwʊl ‘palaver of the twins’ during which the village elders end the twin ceremony. In the evening, a twin mother gave us more explications on twin rituals, which we recorded.

4.  Nsambaan traditional marriage

On March 29, still in Kwilumpia, a traditional marriage was reported to take place in Funda, another Nsambaan village. JKM filmed and audio-recorded the whole speech event was. Traditional marriage involves that the groom gives symbolic objects, drinks and money to the parents of the bride, i.e. her father, her mother and her maternal uncle. This happens in the presence of the entire village and is followed by a great celebration.

5. Speech on the history and origins of Nsambaan people

On March 28, the chief and several elders of Kwilumpia village received us for a talk on the history and origins of the Nsambaan. The village eldest, Bayizuma Norbert (°1924), performed a speech on the history of the Nsambaan living in this big village. His speech was followed by a questions-and-answers session on various historical and cultural Nsambaan issues. 

6. Speech by chief Ngolo Lakuba

7. Nsambaan folk music

On April 13, a group consisting of village women and men performed a concert with songs and dances called Mubidi & Kileembi. The term and dance Mubidi is borrowed from the Mpiin people, their western neighbours. They have repertoire of several Nsambaan songs which they sang accompanied by drums (ngɔ́m): the big drum (ngɔ́m), a smaller drum (pátɛ́ŋ) and the smallest (mángǘŋ). The whole event was filmed and recorded. Before the Mubidi band, there was a one-man show by Sayimon who sang numerous songs on social issues. In the evening, the whole concert was replayed on DVD, a cinema happening which the entire village was very pleased to attend.

8. Nsambaan traditional trial

On April 13, while we were filming the traditional dances, Mubidi and Kileembi, two people were allegedly caught in flagrant adultery. The case was brought to the traditional authorities (village chief and his elders) and was treated in public. The adulterous wife and her lover were condemned. Our team recorded the trial. On April 30, our team recorded another trial in Elom village involving two young people who lodged a complained against the police with respect to the way a dispute concerning a peanut bag was handled 

9. Interview with a traditional healer

On April 24, JKM met with Zwazwa Mabana Erasme (°1960), the traditional healer of Kikongo village, whom he interviewed about medicinal plants, medicine, diseases and their therapies. He is a veterinarian by professional training, but was trained as a tradipratician by his maternal uncle. He especially uses medical plants and minerals to treat female infertility,male impotence, and ‘evil spirit’ possession.

10. Nsambaan plant and mushrooms names

On April 25, JKM met in Kikongo village with a group of women to collect Nsambaan names for edible mushrooms and food plants. They talked about mushrooms, their uses and the way they are recognized in their natural environment. JKM also met with a group of men to collect Nsambaan names for wild useful plants.

11. Nsambaan animals names

On April 26, the team met with a group of men to collect Nsambaan names for wild animals. They talked about animals, their uses and the way they are recognized in their natural environment. The team also met in the forest with a hunter who had killed a warthog. They observed and recorded how a big animal is dismembered and divided between traditional authorities and the hunter according to Nsambaan customs.

12. Consultation of the dead

According to the Nsambaan people, the dead are not dead. They live somewhere where they can still influence human life. On April 25, our team wanted to attend a consultation of the dead ceremony on the cemetery of Kikongo, but did not get authorization, because the ceremony is not accessible to strangers. The clan of uncle Basanga Anaclet (°1930), which had land problems, went to consult their dead ancestors and solicited their help to win a lawsuit. One young childless woman also implored the dead to enable her to give birth. The event was recorded by a family member, a teacher who understood why we wanted to document such an event and obtained the family's agreement to film and photograph the ritual and to use this documentation for our research project.

13. Nsambaan proverbs

Proverbs constitute a reservoir of wisdom that governs people's lives and are a vehicle of cultural information. Proverbs pertain to family law, matrimonial law, ceremonial, codes of conduct, experiments, norms of social life, precepts, or reprimands... Proverbial language is metaphorical. Their power is most obvious during court trial where participants argue with proverbs that serve as precedents. On April 30, we recorded numerous proverbs during a trial in Elom village.

14. Nsambaan lullabies

Nursery schools do not exist in Nsambaan villages. Women going to the forest leave the care of their babies to a wet nurse, old women or those women who do not go and cultivate that day. Specific lullabies are used to console crying children. However, the words of these songs are not always so tender. On May 1 and 5, during daytime, JKM recorded several Nsambaan lullabies performed by a mother, grandmother and a great‑grandmother from Kikongo village.

15. Nsambaan Mbal dance

Mbal is, just like Kileembi, a very ancient Nsambaan dance abandoned and unknown by the young generations. There is no special musical instrument for this dance. Everybody plays on a ready-made instrument (machete, pan, basket, brazier, etc.). On June 2, the elders of Kikongo village decided to dance this specific dance for our team.

16. Nsambaan folktales

On June 3, in the evening, we assembled a group of children who told traditional folktales. The other children participated by answering the narrative formulae, which the storyteller launched. All folktales were recorded.

17. Oral Nsambaan tradition

On June 3, we were received in Funda village by Itaka Izun (°1930), the village chief, and several village elders. They performed a speech on the history of the Nsambaan living in Funda. Their speech was followed by a questions-and-answers sessiion on various historical and cultural Nsambaan issues. They afterwards sung and explained many proverbs.

18. Sayimon the solo singer

On May 1, griot Sayimon – nickname of Ngolo Milwal Baudouin (°1954) – accepted to sing for us his repertoire of solo songs, which are very critical of the society he lives in. All his songs were recorded and filmed.

19. Interview on negation patterns in Nsambaan

On June 5, JKM did an elicitation session dedicated to negation patterns in Nsambaan with three informants in Kikongo. 

20. Collective fishing

On June 5, in the evening, one of the village elders of Kikongo village gave a statement, as he usually does, to announce that there would be a collective fishing the next day in the morning. The participating fishers were particularly asked not to share the bed with their wife or husband that night. On June 6, in the morning, our team accompanied a collective fishing party. The men erected a large dam on a river so that the women and children can collect the fish on a dry riverbed. The entire event was filmed.

21. Nsambaan funeral

On June 1, at night, we heard the sounds of the talking drum (máláŋ) coming from Nsama-Nsama village. A very old man, Manday, had died. On June 2, in the morning, our team went there to assist, record and film all funeral events. Participants at a funeral do not come by invitation. When the talking drum resounds, it invites everyone who hears it to go and share the pain of the bereaved family. People offer a financial contributions to the costs of the funeral. A funeral palaver is held before burying. Two people, the village chief and a member of the family, announce the cause of death and cite the ‘curriculum vitae’ of the dead. After the funeral, visitors are invited to return home after sharing a farewell meal. This is a break in the mourning. Afterwards the family members continue the funeral wakes for several more days. During this period they discuss issues of inheritance and succession.