Les Kwilois parlent de l'époque coloniale

Abstract

Much of what is known of the colonial period of the Democratic Republic of the Congo is based upon sources written by members the colonial regime. This article emphasizes the voice of the Congolese who lived through that period, as shared in interviews carried out by the author in the villages of Due and Kwilu Sectors of Bulungu Territory, and Bindungi Sector of Masi-Manimba Territory, all in the Kwilu District of Bandundu Province. Relevant materials from unpublished archives in Congo complement those voices. The topics covered are the structure of the colonial administration, the activities of that administration in the villages, the reactions and resistance of the people to those activities, and the repression by the government of that resistance. Among the impositions of the government were tax payment, agricultural production, porterage, road and railroad construction, the relocation of villages, the control of cultural activities, sexual exploitation, medical programs, and military duty. The emphasis throughout is on the realities of living under a colonial regime from the perspective of those undergoing the colonial experience. Keywords : colonial rule, Belgian Congo, Democratic Republic of the Congo, oral sources, colonial archives; Congolese Kwilu District Resume Nos connaissances sur la periode coloniale en Republique Democratique du Congo, sont, pour une bonne part, basees sur des sources ecrites par les representants du regime colonial. Cette etude, par contre, donne la parole aux Congolais contemporains du regime colonial, par le biais d'interviews effectuees dans les villages des secteurs de Due et de Kwilu dans le Territoire de Bulungu, et les secteurs Bindungi du Territoire Masi-Manimba, dans le District Kwilu de la Province du Bandundu. Des documents d'archives inedits completent ces temoignages. Les sujets abordes sont: la structure de l'administration coloniale, les activites de cette administration dans les villages, les reactions et la resistance des gens a ces activites et sa repression par le gouvernement. Parmi les impositions du gouvernement, nous citons : le paiement de l'impot, les cultures agricoles obligatoires, le portage, l'entretien des routes, les constructions ferroviaires, les deplacements de villages, le controle des activites culturelles, l'exploitation sexuelle, les programmes medicaux et le service militaire. L'approche de ces realites sera toujours la perception de ceux qui ont subi le regime colonial. Mots cles : Regime colonial, Congo belge, Republique Democratique du Congo, sources orales, archives coloniales, Kwilu Annales Aequatoria Vol. 26, 2005: 165-217