{"id":31822,"date":"2025-02-14T08:31:42","date_gmt":"2025-02-14T07:31:42","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/lastplaces.com\/?post_type=viajes&p=31822"},"modified":"2025-03-18T08:47:10","modified_gmt":"2025-03-18T07:47:10","slug":"tribal-trip-dr-congo-september-2025","status":"publish","type":"viajes","link":"https:\/\/lastplaces.com\/en\/trips\/tribal-trip-dr-congo-september-2025\/","title":{"rendered":"Tribal trip to the D.R. of the Congo: Congo River and Culture"},"content":{"rendered":"
\n
\n
\n

The itinerary of this tribal trip to the D.R. of the Congo combines 3 regions of the country that give a good idea of \u200b\u200bits reality. We start in Kinshasa \u2018la belle\u2019, chaotic and fascinating; museums, urban artists, voodoo fighters and religious sects…<\/p>\n

We will enter the \u2018heart of darkness\u2019 by flying to Mbandaka, the capital of the Equateur province, and to Last Places \u2013 the essence of the Congo. In this jungle region, we will enter the mighty Congo River and reach forgotten colonial missions from the end of the 19th century. In this stage of the tribal trip to the D.R. of the Congo, we will meet the most traditional tribal groups that can be found in modern Congo. We will have the opportunity to visit ethnic groups such as the Balumbe pygmies, the Lokele, the Ngombe and the Batwa. In addition, we will have the opportunity to experience the reality of the Wal\u00e9 women of the Ntomba tribe.<\/p>\n

The last part of the tribal trip to the D.R. of the Congo will explore the Bantu kingdoms around Kenge, meeting the Yaka and Kuba tribes and their unique art.<\/p>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n

Download the itinerary for this tribal trip to the D.R. of the Congo<\/a><\/h3>\n

Using the form below you can download the detailed itinerary for this tribal trip to the D.R. of the Congo. Click here to easily reach the form.<\/a><\/p>\n

Discover the highlights of this tribal trip to the D.R. of the Congo<\/h2>\n
\n
\n
\n

We will meet the most traditional tribal groups<\/h3>\n

Lokele tribe<\/h4>\n
\n
\n
\n

On the way to the \u2018heart of darkness\u2019, we will stop to meet the Lokele people. They are a Bantu-speaking fishing tribe that had the tradition of tattooing their bodies. Today this practice can only be seen in the bodies of old women.<\/p>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n

Balumbe tribe<\/h4>\n
\n
\n
\n
\n
\n
\n

During this tribal trip to the D.R. of the Congo, we will go up the Congo River to the isolated territory of the Balumbe people, the so-called \u2018sorcerer pygmies\u2019. Their reputation as healers is known up and down the Congo River. They are a semi-nomadic people from the Congolese jungle, with very little information available about them.<\/p>\n

\n
\n
\n

After 3 hours of climbing up the Congo River and a 1-hour walk through the jungle, we will arrive at a Balumbe Pygmy village, where we will spend the night. We will bring gifts appreciated by the Balumbe (salt, oil and fabrics), which will probably start a frenetic welcome party.<\/p>\n

\n
\n
\n

During this tribal trip to the D.R. of the Congo, we will enjoy a whole day with the Balumbe. We will accompany them in their activities of collecting food and medicinal plants, as well as in their hunting activities. At sunset, we will enjoy their music and songs.<\/p>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n

\n
\n
\n

Ntomba tribe<\/h4>\n

This hunter-farmer Bantu ethnic group has a peculiar tradition that affects women who give birth to their first son or daughter. After becoming mothers for the first time, young women from the Ntomba tribe become \u2018wal\u00e9s\u2019 (breastfeeding women). This is when a life of seclusion begins, during which they will spend several years caring exclusively for their children. You can read more about the Wal\u00e9 women in our blog post, ‘The Wal\u00e9 women of the D. R. of Congo<\/a>‘.<\/p>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n

\n
\n
\n

Batwa tribe<\/h4>\n

Durante este viaje tribal a la R.D. del Congo visitaremos un poblado de la <b>Batwa tribe<\/b>. This ethnic group depends on the agricultural products of the Bantu farmers of Mooto and the latter depend on the animals they hunt and the medicinal plants they collect from the Batwa. It is a total symbiosis between both peoples. We will learn aspects of the lives of these jungle people.<\/p>\n

Yaka tribe<\/h4>\n
\n
\n
\n

On this tribal trip to the D.R. of the Congo, we will go deep into the Kwango Highlands, to visit a Yaka village and attend an audience with the Yaka king. The Yaka migrated from Angola during the 16th Century and settled under the control of the Kongo kingdom.<\/p>\n

Yaka society is highly structured and is led by a king of Lunda origin, theKiamfu, who delegates responsibilities to ministers and lineage heads, Unkwagata. Young men are expected to go through several stages of initiation, including circumcision.<\/p>\n

The tribe lives mainly from hunting, although women are involved in secondary agriculture. The artistic tradition of the Yaka is rich and varied, and we will be able to see their art during a royal ceremony involving masked men and the dance of the young initiates.<\/p>\n

Kuba tribe<\/h4>\n
\n
\n
\n

We will end this tribal trip to the D.R. of the Congo with a visit to an important cultural group of the Congo, the powerful Kuba or Bakuba people. Their royal capital is in Mushenge, in the Kasai province, but since the civil warthat affected their territory, some Kuba groups have moved to the Kwango region and settled there. We will meet a Kuba chief, related to the royal family of Kasai. Also, we will admire his unique art: masks, drums and the famous royal raffia cloths. After a tour of the village, we will have a talk with the chief and attend a traditional dance performed by the Kuba initiates.<\/p>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n

Meeting with ‘Sapeur’ members<\/h3>\n
\n
\n
\n

On this tribal trip to the D.R. of the Congo we will enjoy a photo shoot with members of the group \u2018Sapeur<\/a>\u2019 (Society of Ambianceurs and Elegant People), also known as the Dandies of Congo. The sapeurs\u2019 style and relationship to clothing are unique: it\u2019s a throwback to a lost world of post-colonial elegance and decadence, and at the same time it\u2019s futuristic. Members have their own code of honor, codes of professional conduct, and strict notions of morality.<\/p>\n

The movement began when the Congolese military, who fought in France during World War II, returned home to Africa and brought Parisian fashion with them. They regularly met at parties that they themselves created to be able to show off their outfits, until in the end they created the Society of Ambianceurs and Elegant People (SAPE) to recreate the myth of French elegance. This urban cultural experience will be animated with some Suku music, the so-called Congolese rumba.<\/p>\n

\u00a9 Photos by Jordi Zaragoz\u00e0 Angl\u00e8s<\/a> and Xavi de las Heras taken during a tribal trip to the D.R. of the Congo.<\/p>\n

\u25ba Download the itinerary of this tribal trip to the D.R. of the Congo<\/a><\/h3>\n

Click on the button below to easily access the download form for the itinerary for this tribal trip to the D.R. of the Congo.<\/p>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n","protected":false},"featured_media":31781,"template":"","etiquetas_viajes":[],"categorias_viajes":[179,191],"mes_viajes":[159],"ano_viajes":[417],"destacado_viajes":[],"guias_viajes":[],"viajes_a_medida":[],"class_list":["post-31822","viajes","type-viajes","status-publish","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","categorias_viajes-africa-en","categorias_viajes-congo-en","mes_viajes-september","ano_viajes-2025-en"],"acf":[],"yoast_head":"\nTribal trip to the D.R. of Congo \u25ba Congo River and Culture<\/title>\n<meta name=\"description\" content=\"During this tribal trip to the D.R. Congo, we will visit Kinshasha, meet the jungle tribes of Equateur and visit the Bantu kingdoms of Kenge.\" \/>\n<meta name=\"robots\" content=\"index, follow, max-snippet:-1, max-image-preview:large, max-video-preview:-1\" \/>\n<link rel=\"canonical\" href=\"https:\/\/lastplaces.com\/en\/trips\/tribal-trip-dr-congo-september-2025\/\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:locale\" content=\"en_US\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:type\" content=\"article\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:title\" content=\"Tribal trip to the D.R. of Congo \u25ba Congo River and Culture\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:description\" content=\"During this tribal trip to the D.R. Congo, we will visit Kinshasha, meet the jungle tribes of Equateur and visit the Bantu kingdoms of Kenge.\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:url\" content=\"https:\/\/lastplaces.com\/en\/trips\/tribal-trip-dr-congo-september-2025\/\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:site_name\" content=\"Last Places\" \/>\n<meta property=\"article:publisher\" content=\"https:\/\/www.facebook.com\/lastplaces.travelisknowledge\" \/>\n<meta property=\"article:modified_time\" content=\"2025-03-18T07:47:10+00:00\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:image\" content=\"https:\/\/lastplaces.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2025\/02\/meeting-with-Yaka-king-during-trip-to-DR-of-the-Congo-I-encuentro-con-rey-yaka-durante-viaje-a-la-RD-del-Congo.jpg\" \/>\n\t<meta property=\"og:image:width\" content=\"1080\" \/>\n\t<meta property=\"og:image:height\" content=\"1080\" \/>\n\t<meta property=\"og:image:type\" content=\"image\/jpeg\" \/>\n<meta name=\"twitter:card\" content=\"summary_large_image\" \/>\n<meta name=\"twitter:label1\" content=\"Est. reading time\" \/>\n\t<meta name=\"twitter:data1\" content=\"5 minutes\" \/>\n<script type=\"application\/ld+json\" class=\"yoast-schema-graph\">{\"@context\":\"https:\/\/schema.org\",\"@graph\":[{\"@type\":\"WebPage\",\"@id\":\"https:\/\/lastplaces.com\/en\/trips\/tribal-trip-dr-congo-september-2025\/\",\"url\":\"https:\/\/lastplaces.com\/en\/trips\/tribal-trip-dr-congo-september-2025\/\",\"name\":\"Tribal trip to the D.R. of Congo \u25ba Congo River and Culture\",\"isPartOf\":{\"@id\":\"https:\/\/lastplaces.com\/#website\"},\"primaryImageOfPage\":{\"@id\":\"https:\/\/lastplaces.com\/en\/trips\/tribal-trip-dr-congo-september-2025\/#primaryimage\"},\"image\":{\"@id\":\"https:\/\/lastplaces.com\/en\/trips\/tribal-trip-dr-congo-september-2025\/#primaryimage\"},\"thumbnailUrl\":\"https:\/\/lastplaces.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2025\/02\/meeting-with-Yaka-king-during-trip-to-DR-of-the-Congo-I-encuentro-con-rey-yaka-durante-viaje-a-la-RD-del-Congo.jpg\",\"datePublished\":\"2025-02-14T07:31:42+00:00\",\"dateModified\":\"2025-03-18T07:47:10+00:00\",\"description\":\"During this tribal trip to the D.R. Congo, we will visit Kinshasha, meet the jungle tribes of Equateur and visit the Bantu kingdoms of Kenge.\",\"breadcrumb\":{\"@id\":\"https:\/\/lastplaces.com\/en\/trips\/tribal-trip-dr-congo-september-2025\/#breadcrumb\"},\"inLanguage\":\"en-US\",\"potentialAction\":[{\"@type\":\"ReadAction\",\"target\":[\"https:\/\/lastplaces.com\/en\/trips\/tribal-trip-dr-congo-september-2025\/\"]}]},{\"@type\":\"ImageObject\",\"inLanguage\":\"en-US\",\"@id\":\"https:\/\/lastplaces.com\/en\/trips\/tribal-trip-dr-congo-september-2025\/#primaryimage\",\"url\":\"https:\/\/lastplaces.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2025\/02\/meeting-with-Yaka-king-during-trip-to-DR-of-the-Congo-I-encuentro-con-rey-yaka-durante-viaje-a-la-RD-del-Congo.jpg\",\"contentUrl\":\"https:\/\/lastplaces.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2025\/02\/meeting-with-Yaka-king-during-trip-to-DR-of-the-Congo-I-encuentro-con-rey-yaka-durante-viaje-a-la-RD-del-Congo.jpg\",\"width\":1080,\"height\":1080,\"caption\":\"meeting with Yaka king during trip to DR of the Congo I encuentro con rey yaka durante viaje a la RD del Congo\"},{\"@type\":\"BreadcrumbList\",\"@id\":\"https:\/\/lastplaces.com\/en\/trips\/tribal-trip-dr-congo-september-2025\/#breadcrumb\",\"itemListElement\":[{\"@type\":\"ListItem\",\"position\":1,\"name\":\"Portada\",\"item\":\"https:\/\/lastplaces.com\/en\/\"},{\"@type\":\"ListItem\",\"position\":2,\"name\":\"Tribal trip to the D.R. of the Congo: Congo River and Culture\"}]},{\"@type\":\"WebSite\",\"@id\":\"https:\/\/lastplaces.com\/#website\",\"url\":\"https:\/\/lastplaces.com\/\",\"name\":\"Last Places\",\"description\":\"Travel is knowledge\",\"publisher\":{\"@id\":\"https:\/\/lastplaces.com\/#organization\"},\"potentialAction\":[{\"@type\":\"SearchAction\",\"target\":{\"@type\":\"EntryPoint\",\"urlTemplate\":\"https:\/\/lastplaces.com\/?s={search_term_string}\"},\"query-input\":{\"@type\":\"PropertyValueSpecification\",\"valueRequired\":true,\"valueName\":\"search_term_string\"}}],\"inLanguage\":\"en-US\"},{\"@type\":\"Organization\",\"@id\":\"https:\/\/lastplaces.com\/#organization\",\"name\":\"Last Places\",\"url\":\"https:\/\/lastplaces.com\/\",\"logo\":{\"@type\":\"ImageObject\",\"inLanguage\":\"en-US\",\"@id\":\"https:\/\/lastplaces.com\/#\/schema\/logo\/image\/\",\"url\":\"https:\/\/lastplaces.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2021\/09\/lastplaces-travel-is-knowledge-logo-footer.svg\",\"contentUrl\":\"https:\/\/lastplaces.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2021\/09\/lastplaces-travel-is-knowledge-logo-footer.svg\",\"width\":217,\"height\":65,\"caption\":\"Last Places\"},\"image\":{\"@id\":\"https:\/\/lastplaces.com\/#\/schema\/logo\/image\/\"},\"sameAs\":[\"https:\/\/www.facebook.com\/lastplaces.travelisknowledge\",\"https:\/\/www.instagram.com\/lastplacestravel\/\"]}]}<\/script>\n<!-- \/ Yoast SEO plugin. -->","yoast_head_json":{"title":"Tribal trip to the D.R. of Congo \u25ba Congo River and Culture","description":"During this tribal trip to the D.R. Congo, we will visit Kinshasha, meet the jungle tribes of Equateur and visit the Bantu kingdoms of Kenge.","robots":{"index":"index","follow":"follow","max-snippet":"max-snippet:-1","max-image-preview":"max-image-preview:large","max-video-preview":"max-video-preview:-1"},"canonical":"https:\/\/lastplaces.com\/en\/trips\/tribal-trip-dr-congo-september-2025\/","og_locale":"en_US","og_type":"article","og_title":"Tribal trip to the D.R. of Congo \u25ba Congo River and Culture","og_description":"During this tribal trip to the D.R. Congo, we will visit Kinshasha, meet the jungle tribes of Equateur and visit the Bantu kingdoms of Kenge.","og_url":"https:\/\/lastplaces.com\/en\/trips\/tribal-trip-dr-congo-september-2025\/","og_site_name":"Last Places","article_publisher":"https:\/\/www.facebook.com\/lastplaces.travelisknowledge","article_modified_time":"2025-03-18T07:47:10+00:00","og_image":[{"width":1080,"height":1080,"url":"https:\/\/lastplaces.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2025\/02\/meeting-with-Yaka-king-during-trip-to-DR-of-the-Congo-I-encuentro-con-rey-yaka-durante-viaje-a-la-RD-del-Congo.jpg","type":"image\/jpeg"}],"twitter_card":"summary_large_image","twitter_misc":{"Est. reading time":"5 minutes"},"schema":{"@context":"https:\/\/schema.org","@graph":[{"@type":"WebPage","@id":"https:\/\/lastplaces.com\/en\/trips\/tribal-trip-dr-congo-september-2025\/","url":"https:\/\/lastplaces.com\/en\/trips\/tribal-trip-dr-congo-september-2025\/","name":"Tribal trip to the D.R. of Congo \u25ba Congo River and Culture","isPartOf":{"@id":"https:\/\/lastplaces.com\/#website"},"primaryImageOfPage":{"@id":"https:\/\/lastplaces.com\/en\/trips\/tribal-trip-dr-congo-september-2025\/#primaryimage"},"image":{"@id":"https:\/\/lastplaces.com\/en\/trips\/tribal-trip-dr-congo-september-2025\/#primaryimage"},"thumbnailUrl":"https:\/\/lastplaces.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2025\/02\/meeting-with-Yaka-king-during-trip-to-DR-of-the-Congo-I-encuentro-con-rey-yaka-durante-viaje-a-la-RD-del-Congo.jpg","datePublished":"2025-02-14T07:31:42+00:00","dateModified":"2025-03-18T07:47:10+00:00","description":"During this tribal trip to the D.R. Congo, we will visit Kinshasha, meet the jungle tribes of Equateur and visit the Bantu kingdoms of Kenge.","breadcrumb":{"@id":"https:\/\/lastplaces.com\/en\/trips\/tribal-trip-dr-congo-september-2025\/#breadcrumb"},"inLanguage":"en-US","potentialAction":[{"@type":"ReadAction","target":["https:\/\/lastplaces.com\/en\/trips\/tribal-trip-dr-congo-september-2025\/"]}]},{"@type":"ImageObject","inLanguage":"en-US","@id":"https:\/\/lastplaces.com\/en\/trips\/tribal-trip-dr-congo-september-2025\/#primaryimage","url":"https:\/\/lastplaces.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2025\/02\/meeting-with-Yaka-king-during-trip-to-DR-of-the-Congo-I-encuentro-con-rey-yaka-durante-viaje-a-la-RD-del-Congo.jpg","contentUrl":"https:\/\/lastplaces.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2025\/02\/meeting-with-Yaka-king-during-trip-to-DR-of-the-Congo-I-encuentro-con-rey-yaka-durante-viaje-a-la-RD-del-Congo.jpg","width":1080,"height":1080,"caption":"meeting with Yaka king during trip to DR of the Congo I encuentro con rey yaka durante viaje a la RD del Congo"},{"@type":"BreadcrumbList","@id":"https:\/\/lastplaces.com\/en\/trips\/tribal-trip-dr-congo-september-2025\/#breadcrumb","itemListElement":[{"@type":"ListItem","position":1,"name":"Portada","item":"https:\/\/lastplaces.com\/en\/"},{"@type":"ListItem","position":2,"name":"Tribal trip to the D.R. of the Congo: Congo River and Culture"}]},{"@type":"WebSite","@id":"https:\/\/lastplaces.com\/#website","url":"https:\/\/lastplaces.com\/","name":"Last Places","description":"Travel is knowledge","publisher":{"@id":"https:\/\/lastplaces.com\/#organization"},"potentialAction":[{"@type":"SearchAction","target":{"@type":"EntryPoint","urlTemplate":"https:\/\/lastplaces.com\/?s={search_term_string}"},"query-input":{"@type":"PropertyValueSpecification","valueRequired":true,"valueName":"search_term_string"}}],"inLanguage":"en-US"},{"@type":"Organization","@id":"https:\/\/lastplaces.com\/#organization","name":"Last Places","url":"https:\/\/lastplaces.com\/","logo":{"@type":"ImageObject","inLanguage":"en-US","@id":"https:\/\/lastplaces.com\/#\/schema\/logo\/image\/","url":"https:\/\/lastplaces.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2021\/09\/lastplaces-travel-is-knowledge-logo-footer.svg","contentUrl":"https:\/\/lastplaces.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2021\/09\/lastplaces-travel-is-knowledge-logo-footer.svg","width":217,"height":65,"caption":"Last Places"},"image":{"@id":"https:\/\/lastplaces.com\/#\/schema\/logo\/image\/"},"sameAs":["https:\/\/www.facebook.com\/lastplaces.travelisknowledge","https:\/\/www.instagram.com\/lastplacestravel\/"]}]}},"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/lastplaces.com\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/viajes\/31822"}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/lastplaces.com\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/viajes"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/lastplaces.com\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/viajes"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/lastplaces.com\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/31781"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/lastplaces.com\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=31822"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"etiquetas_viajes","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/lastplaces.com\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/etiquetas_viajes?post=31822"},{"taxonomy":"categorias_viajes","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/lastplaces.com\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categorias_viajes?post=31822"},{"taxonomy":"mes_viajes","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/lastplaces.com\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/mes_viajes?post=31822"},{"taxonomy":"ano_viajes","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/lastplaces.com\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/ano_viajes?post=31822"},{"taxonomy":"destacado_viajes","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/lastplaces.com\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/destacado_viajes?post=31822"},{"taxonomy":"guias_viajes","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/lastplaces.com\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/guias_viajes?post=31822"},{"taxonomy":"viajes_a_medida","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/lastplaces.com\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/viajes_a_medida?post=31822"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}