In 1876 the explorer Henry Morton Stanley came upon the Lualaba River in what is now the Democratic Republic of Congo. Stanley was convinced that the Lualaba was connected to the great Congo River which the Portuguese had first sighted 400 years earlier on Africa's west coast. Although it proved easier than travelling across country, the river offered dangerous sailing, especially when his expedition encountered the Wagenia tribe and the cataracts of the middle Congo.
Stanley...
more »In 1876 the explorer Henry Morton Stanley came upon the Lualaba River in what is now the Democratic Republic of Congo. Stanley was convinced that the Lualaba was connected to the great Congo River which the Portuguese had first sighted 400 years earlier on Africa's west coast. Although it proved easier than travelling across country, the river offered dangerous sailing, especially when his expedition encountered the Wagenia tribe and the cataracts of the middle Congo.
Stanley Falls is now Boyoma Falls and from Kisangani's bustling banks it is possible to look upstream and see a raging line of whitewater; the seventh and last cataract, which Stanley called a 'tumultuous rush'. Arriving here in 1877 Stanley described the method of fishing used by the Wagenia people whereby they would climb out over the rapids on wooden tolimo frames and use wooden baskets to catch fish. The scene has not changed in over one hundred and thirty years.
Using only materials harvested from the forest the local Wagenia people still fish the cataracts, which they call Wagenia Falls, in exactly the same way as their forefathers. During the dry season, when the water is low, they drive tree trunks into crevices in the riverbed and form a scaffold from which they can hang their baskets. The baskets are essentially wooden funnels made from branches and bamboo fastened together with thin strips of bark. When lowered into the water fish swim in through the wide opening and get trapped at the narrow end by the force of the current. When a fish is caught a fisherman will usually hold it in his mouth until he gets to land or back to his boat.
In a country where fish is one of the most important sources of food the Wagenia have become the master fishermen of the Congo River.
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