Kikwit

Kikwit
Kikwit

Location in Democratic Republic of the Congo

Coordinates: 5°02′19″S 18°49′05″E / 5.03861°S 18.81806°E / -5.03861; 18.81806
Country Democratic Republic of the Congo
Province Bandundu
Area
 • Total 92 km2 (36 sq mi)
Elevation 452 m (1,483 ft)
Population (2012)
 • Total 397,737
 • Density 4,300/km2 (11,000/sq mi)
Climate Aw
National language Kikongo

Kikwit is the largest city of Bandundu Province, lying on the Kwilu River in the southwestern part of the Democratic Republic of Congo. Kikwit is also known in the region under the nickname "The Mother". The population is approximately 397,737 (2012). An important commercial and administrative centre, it is home to a stadium and is known for its traditional dances, in particular the Bapende dancers whose geographic origin centers on the village of Gungu. Bapende dancers often wear traditional costumes comprising colorful masks and attire made from raffia. Kikwit is also home to an airport and is connected to the capital Kinshasa by a new road and river transport.

The Munganji dancer is central to Pende dance ceremonies. The full-body suit is woven from raffia thread.

In 1995 the city saw a serious outbreak of the deadly Ebola virus.[1]

Kikwit was to have become the capital of the proposed Kwilu province on 18 February 2009, under the new Congolese Constitution. As of July 2011 this decentralization had not happened.[2]

Singer King Kester Emeneya was born in Kikwit in 1956. In April 2014, a tribute concert held in Kikwit to honor King Kester Emeneya ended in disaster, and least thirteen people in the stadium lost their lives in a stampede following a power failure.[3]

See also

References

  1. ↑ "Outbreak of Ebola Viral Hemorrhagic Fever -- Zaire, 1995". Centers for Disease Control. 19 May 1995. Retrieved 7 April 2014.
  2. ↑ "Provinces of the Democratic Republic of Congo (Congo Kinshasa)". Statoids. Retrieved 2012-01-24.
  3. ↑ "Deadly stampede at tribute concert in Democratic Republic of Congo". Deutsche Welle. 2014-04-25. Retrieved 2014-04-29.

External links

Coordinates: 5°02′S 18°49′E / 5.033°S 18.817°E / -5.033; 18.817


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