Kikwit

Kikwit

Kikwit

City in Kwilu Province, DR Congo

Kikwit is the largest city of Kwilu Province, lying on the Kwilu River in the southwestern part of the Democratic Republic of the Congo. Kikwit is also known in the region under the nickname "The Mother". The population is approximately 458,000 (2017). An important commercial 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.

The Munganji dancer is central to Pende dance ceremonies. The full-body suit is woven from raffia thread.
Quick Facts Country, Province ...

In 1995 the city saw a serious outbreak of the deadly Ebola virus.[3]

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 at least thirteen people in the stadium died in a stampede following a power failure.[4]

Transportation

Kikwit is home to Kikwit Airport, operating domestic flights to Kinshasa. Kikwit is also connected to Kinshasa by road and river transport.

See also

The Pende people are also from Idiofa and Tshikapa (Kasai). The Pende dancers are known as Mungandji (1) or Mingandji (many).

References

  1. [1]
    "Identification et enrôlement des électeurs, Kikwit : Denis Kadima impressionné par l'engouement de la population". La Prospérité (in French). 7 February 2023. Retrieved 14 February 2023.
  2. [2]
    PopulationStat.com Population of Kikwit, city and urban area
  3. [3]
    "Outbreak of Ebola Viral Hemorrhagic Fever -- Zaire, 1995". Centers for Disease Control. 19 May 1995. Retrieved 7 April 2014.
  4. [4]
    "Deadly stampede at tribute concert in Democratic Republic of Congo". Deutsche Welle. 2014-04-25. Retrieved 2014-04-29.
Stub icon

This Democratic Republic of the Congo location article is a stub. You can help Wikipedia by expanding it.
Share this article:

This article uses material from the Wikipedia article Kikwit, and is written by contributors. Text is available under a CC BY-SA 4.0 International License; additional terms may apply. Images, videos and audio are available under their respective licenses.