L'unité culturelle Kongo à la fin du XIXe siècle. L'apport des études céramologiques

Abstract

B. Pincon & D. Ngoie-Ngalla — Kongo Cultural Unity in the Late Nineteenth Century: Evidence from the Study of Pottery. On the basis of evidence from cultural and social anthropology, linguistics and onomastics, we can presume that ail the peoples claiming Kongo dia Ntotila as their origins have a single cultural identity. Although this unity of the Kongo group cannot be verified for ail aspects of the material culture, studies of pottery from morphological, technological and sociological viewpoints do bring to light a late ninetenth century 'Kongo ceramic group' distinct from neighboring regions. The fit between 'ceramic group' and 'linguistic group' is amazing in the central African context. Is this unity of ancient date? Is it the remnant of a primordial Kongo substratum? Or does it resuit from cultural homogenization during the past centuries? It is hard to answer these questions for two reasons. On the one hand, there has not been enough archeological research; and on the other, Kongo culture, though stable in certain respects, has, in fact, been subject to sudden changes.