Fighting Boys, Strong Men and Gorillas

Notes on the Imagination of Masculinities in Kinshasa

Bibliographic Data

ID7546689
AuthorsK Pype (0000-0002-7766-1902, corresponding author)
Year2007
Volume77
Issue2
Pages250-271
Publication date2007-01-01
Peer ReviewedYes
Open AccessNo
TypeARTICLE
VenueAfrica (JOURNAL)
Journal identifiersISSN: 0001-9720 • E-ISSN: 1750-0184
PublisherCambridge University Press (CUP) (PUBLISHER)
DOI10.1353/afr.2007.0034
OpenAlexW4251618222
LanguageEN
Citations received38
References cited47

The article provides insight into the current violent practices of urban youngsters in Kinshasa. At nightfall youth gangs transform the streets of Kinshasa's townships into arenas of the fight. Frequent regular clashes between these gangs create young violent leaders, who not only sow terror but also provide security for the inhabitants (young and old) of their territories. Although many of these boys and young men are trained in foreign fighting styles such as judo, jujitsu and karate, in the public clashes between the fighting groups, these boys and young men perform mukumbusu . This fighting style, inspired and based on the gorilla, was invented during the last decade of colonialism, and is an original mixture of a traditional Mongo wrestling practice, libanda , and Asian and Western fighting practices. In the article, I scrutinize the practices of these young fighters through the diverse images of masculinity ( kimobali ) upon which they draw, such as the fighter and the soldier; and the models of masculinity that they contest, the sapeur and the staffeur

Colonialism · CONTEST · Criminology · Gorilla · Masculinity · Political science · Sociology · Style (visual arts · African Sexualities and LGBTQ+ Issues · African Studies and Ethnography · Anthropological Studies and Insights · Anthropology · Cultural Identity and Heritage · Gender Studies · History · Law · North African History and Literature · Psychology · Vietnamese History and Culture Studies

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