The Sakata people, or Basakata, are one of the Bantu peoples of Central Africa, and in the Democratic Republic of the Congo. They are indigenous to the Mai-Ndombe Province, formerly part of Bandundu Province.
They speak the Kisakata language, and Lingala as their lingua franca. The Sakata are a sub-group of the Mongo ethnic group.
They live in the area between the Kasaï and Lukeni-mfimie rivers in the western part of the Democratic Republic of Congo, more precisely in the province of Mai-Ndombe.
The Kutu area is, with the exception of a part to the northeast (Mbelo), the traditional territory of the Basakata. The vast majority of inhabitants of the Kutu Zone are Basakata. The Sakata of Democratic Republic of the Congo are numbering 270,000 (Peoplegroups.org, 2024).
The Kutu territory has 5 tribes, the largest of which is the Sakata tribe which occupies 80% of the territory's population, the Waria (Dia) with 10% in the north of the territory, the Bayi with 4% in the east of the territory. , Nkundo with 4% in the South East of the territory and Ntomba with 2% in the North East of the territory. Below are the particularities:
From an ecological point of view, basakata are adapted to a region of virgin forest and savannah. The basakata country is crossed by several rivers such as: Lebili, Lekobe, Molibampei which flows into Nioki, Lemomo which flows into Kilako, Lebuku of Mbatin, Sow which flows into Iyon (ilombe), Lelaw which flows into in Ibaa, Mokaw which flows upstream of motangiri, Lenoo from nselesaa to Belwe, Dzomme which flows into Bonkita, Dwoo which flows into Kibambili, Ntakumu which flows into Kutu moke, Yong which flows into Mokla, Menangié, Elain which flows into Nkolo, Lebè which flows into Kutu, Leboo and Itii which flow into Bokoro etc.
It is useful to point out that the basakata border to the north with the Baboma, the Basengele, part of Ntomba, part of Nkundo-mbelo and Nkundo-mbindjankama. To the south, with the Bayanzi, to the east with Nkundo-ipanga.
Regarding the organization, they are organized into sub-tributes:
the “bobai”, north of Lukenie, between Lelaw and Dzuyi which separates them from Nkundo-mbindjankama inhabited by the sub-tribute of “babaa” or “babai”;
It is interesting for us to indicate that all these tributes speak the same language: “kisakata, kesakata, or keshaa”. There are several variants, namely the waria spoken by the badja, the kebai, by babai, the mokan among all those who are on the right bank of Kasai, the kengengei in the entire western region, kitere or the kintuntulu, throughout the eastern region.
Among the basakata, the chiefs are “mbey” (land chiefs). The latter heads the bobla, he has the power feared by all, because this power is associated with an “iluo”, that is to say special witchcraft which makes him religious, political, social legal authority. Next to mbey, there is the mojuu, heads of men, he is a king head of basakata. The mojuu governs in an “ijuu” or chiefdom which is a set of several “bobla”. The land belongs to the mbey and the men to the mojuu. Thus, a proverb says: “mbey oni be leshaon, ujuu oni be leban”, which translates into the power of mbey is limited in his hut (bobla), and that of mojuu extends outside the hut (bobla).
The Basakata living in their traditional environment all speak Kisakata.
However, the influence of Lingala, the vehicular language of the region, is very strong: in primary school children are taught in Lingala and practically all contacts with people who do not know Kisakata are made in Lingala. Almost the entire population is bilingual in Kisakata/Lingala, with the exception of old women and children. The influence of Lingala is also reflected in the considerable number of lexical terms borrowed from Lingala.
Kisakata therefore remains the mother tongue of the community, it is the language in which we
knows how to express himself best.
They live from fishing, hunting and agriculture. The basakata from an ecological point of view, are in virgin forests and savannahs, and their territory is crossed by several rivers.
Basakata does not encourage polygamy or polyandry. The dowry is not essential in a marriage, it is first of all the union between the two spouses which is very necessary for basakata. If the woman divorces before having children, her family reimburses the dowry received. In marriage the basakata advise us that good must come from two sides; that is to say of the woman and the man. The wife becomes very jealous as soon as she learns that her husband has a second wife somewhere.
The basakata in their ethics of marriage require from the son-in-law a lot of respect towards his father-in-law. A man owes respect to his parents-in-law. The husband can eat with his father-in-law, but with his mother-in-law. Not even looking at him, not even crossing his arms. When they meet on the way, one lets the other pass. Parents-in-law are called “tata” (father) or “mama” (mother). Anyone who transgresses the prohibitions buys a calabash of wine.
As a result, all the brothers of the two families are the “banzaa” (brothers-in-law), while the sisters, cousins-half-sisters are “bankèe be kenzizaa” (sisters-in-law). The man could have fun, insult each other, quarrel with his sisters-in-law. A proverb says: “monkèe ne kenzizaa kepiele kasha ka itaon”, which translates to my sister-in-law no longer seduces me by having fun with her. But for caution another says: “mva av’iluo ya mee nde k’itaon”, that is to say while having fun the dog ended up putting his mother to bed.
It should be noted that the woman also maintained the same relations with her husband's extended family. She had to help and assist her mother-in-law and remained distant from her father-in-law.
In short, at the wedding all the clans concerned unite and visit each other, they help each other. A clan cannot have two marriages with the same clan. By the first marriage, there are already very close ties between the two clans. And the main goal of marriage among the basakata is to have children. A woman who does not give birth is expelled from marriage. A marriage that does not produce children is subject to divorce.
The religious conception of the Basakata is summed up in a few beliefs: belief in a Supreme Being, belief in Sorcerers, belief in the afterlife and belief in spirits.
As is the case among many other peoples, the Basakata believe in the existence of a transcendent Supreme Being, creator of the visible and invisible universe that they call Nzâu.
Nzâu is fundamentally good, although he is criticized for the fact that some people are born physically or psychologically infirm. He is the guarantor of justice.
“We take the oath by joining all the fingers of the right hand except the index finger. This is brought against the neck, after which it is pointed upwards saying: Nzâu ale o lo (God is in heaven) or Nzâu ale o lo, se k'unta bla (God is in heaven, we swear by him). This ceremony expresses the belief that Nzâu has the power and the will to punish those who break their oath, which is underlined by the gesture which accompanies the words: the index finger placed against the neck. It means death. ".
In the Basakata tradition, the individual does not speak directly to Nzâu who, moreover, is inaccessible. He went through intermediaries such as ancestors, deceased clans, clan chiefs, diviners, etc.
The Basakata venerated the Ancestors and Spirits through mate (fetishes) as well as other symbolic objects according to an immutable ritual. A specific day was dedicated to this worship. It was called M’pka, a word which by its radical ‘pka, means forbidden or prohibition. Indeed, tradition forbade anyone from going about their business on that day.
Although having some attributes in common, the God of the Basakata is not the same as that of the Judeo-Christian revelation.
Belief in Nzâu does not prevent the “people of the country between the rivers Lukenie and Kasaï” from experiencing human finitude. When faced with death, for example, it is not the Supreme Being who is accused, but the molwa (the sorcerer). Because he is the one who always waits for life.
An ambivalent and complex reality, witchcraft is the knowledge and power available to the sorcerer to cast a bad spell, to bewitch, to cause death. We will talk more about this later. Whatever the curses of sorcerers who, according to belief, sow death, the Basakata believe in life beyond its natural end.
The sakata tradition represents life in the afterlife in the same way as that which is led on earth. This justifies the deposit on the graves of certain everyday objects, which belonged to the deceased. It is from this same perspective that we must understand the custom according to which chiefs take their slaves beyond the grave to continue to benefit from their services. “The afterlife is therefore not conceived as a supernatural world, a place of personal encounter with God. Man never leaves his human condition. He does not ascend to heaven to enjoy the beatific vision. The place of man's accomplishment remains the earth, although the person is transformed with death. Unlike the conditions of life on earth where the wheat and the chaff coexist, the wicked do not have access to the kingdom of those who left this earth and who had behaved well. Sorcerers and all other evildoers are rejected by the master of the place. What happens to these unwanted people? Tradition dictates that they are forced to wander. This is their fate forever.
Belief in spirits is consistent with the concept that existence continues beyond death. The dead are not dead. As Birago Diop wrote with great poetry.
“Those who died never left. They are in the lightening shadow and in the deepening shadow... They are in the quivering tree, they are in the groaning wood, they are in the sleeping water, they are in the box, they are in the crowd. The dead are not dead”7. Among spirits, we distinguish the good from the bad. Good spirits intervene in favor of life. They protect her. Evil spirits, on the other hand, destroy it with all kinds of curses. To neutralize them, the Basakata resort to the Ancestors, through the clan leader, or to the Anti-Wizard. If the evil spirit is a deceased member of the family, tradition provides for conciliation rites. If the situation does not improve, we go so far as to dig up the remains of the ghost (Kejijon) and burn them in the hope of putting him out of harm's way once and for all.
As we said in the introduction, marriage is exogamous, members of the same clan cannot marry each other. Marriage is tolerated after four generations. Generally men have the right to a woman whatever is desired. But sometimes some have more. The case of polygamy is not often encouraged, as is said in this saying “ibèe l’izàa izuku”. Polygamy is disorder. The marriage is contracted after negotiations between on the one hand the man (often represented by his father or his maternal uncle) and on the other hand, the father and the maternal uncle of the female.
It is important to point out that there are several ways to get married among the basakata. In other words, a musakata can marry in several ways:
1) “Ibee le ndundjula” (marriage on request): in this case, there are proverbs which guide such marriage “je akuna ukaa, shua ibura”. This proverb means when the boy gets married, he must choose the family. Because not only the woman must be good, but also her family. Marrying a woman also means having all your relatives into the bargain.
It is the most desired form of marriage. A young adult man in agreement with his parents will request marriage. What is frequent and current is this form of marriage.
2) “Ibee le mvumvula” (marriage for adoption): in this case, it is often parents who choose a girl for their boy. As a result, the boy's parents took the girl and raised her. In this sense, the boy was waiting for his wife to grow up. Another aspect, the two children are young and the parents decide that when they grow up, they will get married. This marriage caused a lot of problems as the children married not out of love, but by choice of parents. In short, parents choose the wife or husband for their children.
3) “Ibee le kekla” (marriage by inheritance): This is the form of marriage which has almost disappeared. When a spouse (especially the wife) died, his sister or brother married the living spouse. Either because the dying man paid his entire dowry, or because the clan wants to keep close ties with this clan, or they had many children. This form of marriage is still practiced in the families of Sakata chiefs, who are the “bajuu”. When a chief dies, his brother or nephew often takes his wife.
4) Ibee le nkfunkfan (marriage by kidnapping): A man was going to kidnap the wife of another man who had not yet paid her dowry. That is to say, he returns to the first man everything he gave to the woman. So you would have to be rich, or a leader to do it. This form of marriage has completely disappeared.
5) Ibee lese mojuu (mojuu's marriage): For a mojuu who is the leader of the basakata his marriage is a bit special. A young mojuu man or girl marries differently from others. He (she) chooses his/her spouse himself. As Mbu Mputu Norbert says; a mojuu who falls in love with a woman, he takes either a parrot's feather or a leopard's tooth or his bell (kentuin) does it on the girl's head, even in the plot with instruction she becomes my wife.
It is important to emphasize that, if the girl is already engaged, the mojuu will return to her fiancé all the pre-dowries he gave to the girl's family, and will get the girl back. The same goes for the monkajuu who will place the same signs on a man and ask him to marry her. This form is less and less practiced. Currently bajuu almost often marry on request or by inheritance.
Regarding the dowry, after the boy asks for marriage, the conclusion of the marriage occurs with the dowry (nkole). The young man's family gave a goat, more or less 10 calabashes of sugar cane wine and a little money (not too much). All members of the girl's family will take this wine and share this sum.
It is known that if the father of the girl has paid his dowry, that of his daughter returns to him otherwise his in-laws take everything. The young man, apart from the aforementioned objects, adds two machetes, a 6-yard piece (English), a suit, a bag of salt, two bottles of oil, two packs of matches, a pack of gillettes, a pack of cigarettes, sewing thread, a hand towel, two bed sheets; and other possible small objects.
Thus, he who has not paid his full dowry, his children and his wife do not belong to him completely. They belong to their mother's family. The dowry is given in the hands of the witness who is the bridge between the two clans. And this witness will be paid with a little money. The dowry is not given in secret; it is given publicly, that is to say in the palabrial courtyard. During the dowry ceremony both families must be there, especially the father or maternal uncle of the man or woman. The man's family gives the goods to the witness and the latter, always in the courtroom, gives them to the woman's family, through the woman's father or maternal uncle. However, one of the spouses can be absent.
It should be noted that, before paying the dowry itself, the boy first gives the “mèe ne kepula mena”. Which means the drink to open the mouth. This shows that he is really asking for marriage. It’s almost 3 to 10 calabashes of sugarcane wine. Then, the boy will pay for the “mèe ese banzaa”, the drink of the brothers-in-law and sisters-in-law; to be officially recognized (this can be done by giving the brothers-in-law a little money). These two ceremonies are often combined.
The dowry is not considered essential among the basakata, because it can be paid even after the woman is already with the husband. As soon as the two types of ceremonies mentioned above are done. In short, ethically the basakata attach more importance to the union between man and woman than to money. It is first of all the man or the person who is a wealth par excellence than money which is a bad master. It is a beautiful ethical lesson that the basakata give us in this world characterized by interests.
1. the woman strives for fidelity, because her husband who has paid the dowry has the full right to kill the man he surprises with his wife and to repudiate her;
2. the woman fears being a source of divorce, because in this case her family reimburses the dowry received;
3. other men are afraid to approach the woman, because in the case of bed fragrance, the man reimburses the woman's husband doubly or triple the dowry;
4. in the event of a quarrel, the parents-in-law do not intervene, the girl is no longer theirs;
5. when the woman dies, the man is not too bothered, because he paid all her dowry;
6. A man has the right to bury his wife and children in any cemetery of his choice. Otherwise, the woman's family decides and even delights all the children.
The basakata reflect on proverbs which give advice for living well in marriage. From the start, there are proverbs which say: “ote ibèe, odzule ihung” (before getting married, first find out about the clan in question). And before giving his daughter a musakata must know everything about the clan. You don't get married just anyhow. You must find out before the marriage agreement between two clans.
Furthermore, in marriage the good does not come from just one side. Thus, unmusakata will say: “belo bibèe katse nka nemo ngo”. Which translates to; The good in marriage doesn't come from just one side. Both spouses must seek harmony in their relationship. This is what the Bible, even Western ethics, recommends to us: in marriage, both spouses must seek the good of each other. Both the woman and her husband must seek how to bring joy and peace to their family.
Also in marriage, the ideal is to have children. Thus, a musakata will say: “obua oshune nzeme” (giving birth is better than money). As a proverb says: “a woman who gives birth is happy”. To marry is to give birth to children, not to marry is to be crazy. In this sense, “ompfua ijii, omfe ngilaa” (a barren woman is very unhappy, the unmarried is crazy). What seems like a contradiction, for a musakata giving birth goes beyond money, and giving birth is still the acceptance of madness; to the extent that children can take you places you didn't expect. (ibua ilàa)
With his in-laws according to Mbu Mputu Norbert, a proverb says: “benstula bele ibèe, nso bamontone, ndoo akla” (the services requested by a in-laws, even if they don’t like you you must do them).
Sources: