Idiofa Territory

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Idiofa Territory
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Idiofa Territory
Coordinates: 4°58′00″S19°35′28″E / 4.966798°S 19.591026°E / -4.966798; 19.591026
CountryFlag of the Democratic Republic of the Congo.svg  DR Congo
Province Kwilu Province
Time zone UTC+1 (WAT)
National language Kikongo

Idiofa Territory is an administrative area in the Kwilu Province of the Democratic Republic of the Congo (DRC). The capital is the town of Idiofa. [1]

Contents

Location

The territory has an area of 20,000 square kilometres (7,700 sq mi). The Loange River defines the eastern boundary of the territory, while the Kamtsha River flows through the west of the territory. Other rivers include the Lubue and the PioPio. All these rivers flow from south to north, emptying into the Kasai River, which defines the northern boundary. [2]

People

The territory currently has a population of 1,450,035. The many ethnic groups today include the Bunda, Pende, Dinga, Lori, Ngoli, Wongo, Yansi, Lele and Nzadi.

French is the administrative language, but almost all the people speak Kikongo, one of the four national languages of the DRC. Some younger people also speak Lingala.

Administration

The colonial administrators originally named the territory "Babunda Territory" after the largest ethnic group, the Bunda people. [2] The Territory was renamed the Kamtsha-Lubue Territory after the largest of the rivers. [2] Later the territory was extended east, renamed again to the Kamtsha-Luange Territory. [3]

The Idiofa Territory today has five cities and 12 sectors. The cities are Idiofa, Dibaya-Lubwe, Mangai, Panu, Mongombala (at Bulungu border), and Kalo (Kamtsha-Loange). The sectors are Banga, Belo, Bulwem, Kalanganda, Kanga, Kapia, Kipuku, Madimbi, Mateko, Musanga-Idiofa, Sedzo and Yasa-Lokwa. [1]

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The Kamtsha River is a tributary of the Kasai River. The river flows north through Idiofa territory of Kwilu province, Democratic Republic of the Congo to its mouth on the Kasai River.

The Lubue River runs from south to north through Idiofa territory, Kwilu province, Democratic Republic of the Congo. Near its origin in the south, where the Musanga River enters from the left, it is a small, winding river perhaps 12 metres (39 ft) wide obstructed by rocks and rapids. It becomes navigable at Mulasa, and below this point meanders through a very wide and wooded valley. It enters the Kasai near the town of Dibaya Lubue.

The Luele River runs from south to north through Idiofa territory, Kwilu province, Democratic Republic of the Congo. The river starts as a clear stream in a small valley near Idiofa. It grows in size rapidly due to many small tributaries, among which is the Punkulu River, and then meanders through a large valley before entering the Kasai River downstream from Mangai.

Eolo is a community in Idiofa Territory, in the Kwilu Province of the Democratic Republic of the Congo. It lies on the south shore of the Kasai River just downstream from the mouth of the Kamtsha River.

The Bunda people or in the Democratic Republic of the Congo are an ethnic group that mostly live in Idiofa Territory, Kwilu District of Bandundu Province. They speak the Mpuono language, spoken by an estimated 165,000 people as of 1972.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Kwango District</span> District in Bandundu, Democratic Republic of the Congo

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<span class="mw-page-title-main">Kwilu District</span> District in Bandundu, Democratic Republic of the Congo

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References

  1. 1 2 X. Blaes, PNUD-SIG (October 2008). "Découpage administratif de la République Démocratique du Congo" (PDF). UNOCHA and PNUD. Archived from the original (PDF) on 2010-04-01. Retrieved 2011-11-22.
  2. 1 2 3 "Le territoire de la Kamtsha-Lubue (district du Kasai)" (PDF). 1923. Archived from the original (PDF) on 2021-05-06. Retrieved 2012-02-07.
  3. Kiangu Sindani (2009). Le Kwilu à l'épreuve du pluralisme identitaire, 1948-1968. Editions L'Harmattan. p. 320. ISBN   2-296-09444-9.