Congolese Liputa and Les Sapeurs

A quick word: 

 I am now coming back to traditional garments and methods of production in this blog. I recently ended my Japanese Dyeing Methods series, and it left a mark on me. The topics that I covered were the main reason why I even started this blog. And recently, I have been feeling like I am not doing enough to cover and write about what I truly want to cover. So, from here on out, I plan to cover a new type of material, a traditional garment, a dyeing process, whatever, to just keep this idea going in this blog. I think that with time I will start to accumulate more knowledge about traditional methods, and it will help me grow as a person. I will learn about new cultures, identities, themes, and philosophies, among other things. I also want to cover the smaller regions of the world as much as possible. I realize that a lot of people like Japanese clothing. I have to admit it is some of the most interesting stuff I have ever seen, but I also feel like there is not enough coverage about African and South American textiles. These places are also some of the most impoverished places in the world, and I know they have so much history behind them, so this is what I will be researching in the coming weeks. I hope that I can shift some opinions and help build my own as well. What I really want to learn about is specific tribal clothing. From a young age, learning about the Native Americans from my history classes, I have always been fascinated with the time and effort it takes that the Natives put into their clothing. The Natives used everything they could. The bones of a buffalo, the hide of a moose, and their clothing and footwear. So I now want to focus on these people, these cultures, and these heritages. The people who have lived for thousands of years preserving their culture and living with the animals and nature around them. 

With this being said, the first traditional garment that is not tribal but that the people of the Democratic Republic of the Congo wear is the Liputa.

Liputa.

The Congolese Liputa is a traditional four-piece draped garment worn by women in the Democratic Republic of the Congo (DRC) that has recently caught my eye. The four pieces are all the same pattern. This pattern is always a colorful one. There is never a black Liputa or one that is monochromatic. A piece goes on the head, one goes on the chest, used as a blouse. The blouse is frequently embellished with beads and strings as well. Sometimes these blouses also have buttons, but they’re very rare and considered taboo in a sense. Another piece is a skirt, or the “wrapper,” and the last piece goes on the waist. The Liputa is an all-round garment. It serves many purposes and is used in day-to-day life by pretty much every woman in the DRC. These events include weddings, markets, gatherings, et cetera. The Congolese Liputa also has a lot of significance. The way you wear a Liputa can tell a lot about a lady. First of all, one of the four pieces that consist of a Liputa is a fastener, or the waistband I mentioned earlier. This fastener also represents whether a lady is married or not. This is interesting to me, but I can see the uses for it. The quality of Liputa is also a status symbol in the DRC. The nicer one’s Liputa, the more respect one gains from their peers. Same goes for men. In the 1970s, men started to wear more suits. These men are known as “Les Sapeurs.” These men wear suits that are always colorful but also very expensive. The suits must come from their “high priests.” These being Louis Vuitton, Versace, Gucci, and other high-end European suiters. Sometimes the men pick colors that clash with the other colors, so creating a more distinct look is better. A clean haircut is also very important for this look. Chiefin’ a big cigar is also part of the look as well. The crazier, the better. Some men go into debt just to put on this look. Some men also buy a suit instead of purchasing food. This is how important this lifestyle is to these men. They also believe that in the poverty-stricken place that the DRC is, they stand out in a suit of high class and quality and believe that they symbolize happiness and are “butterflies among moths.” The men also live by a literal code. This code is all about the clothes. The clothes bring the man happiness. Not food, not water. The clothes. The clothes represent the admiration he has for God. The clothes give him happiness. The clothes do not feed his stomach, but feed his soul. They give the soul a purpose, which thus propels the soul. This is how important clothes are to the Congolese culture. There are estimated to be more than 6,000 Les Sapeurs in the DRC. They even have a prayer that they do. The opening line is actually quite interesting: “As long as heaven and earth exist, the rules of fashion will never end.” This is true, though. This style was developed after a man came back from a trip to Paris dressed in these new clothes. It is said in legend that after seeing this man, the Congolese felt as though they were unclothed, and they were naked, and seeing their brother come back from Paris dressed in a nice suit made them realize this. This then started a movement in Brazzaville where the servants started dressing to imitate their masters. It is believed that fashion became a battle and thus helped the Congolese gain independence and freedom. It has now become a symbol in a way to show that, “Yes, an African man can dress the same as a high-class European man. This does not make us any different. We are just as human as you.” This, to me, is actually really interesting. It is a way to combat superiority and challenge the upper-class men. Straight on, too. 

This short lesson on Congolese Liputa is finished. (Really short, right?) I could not find much, as I feel like the Congolese people and the people of Africa in general are not really covered in historical terms. Africa is so vast and has tons of tribes, languages, and cultures that are so diverse and interesting. I also wanted to cover this because of what is happening in the world right now in the Congo. The Congolese people have actually had some of the worst and bloodiest history in the past 150 years. Words cannot even describe the atrocities that happened in the Congo by the French and, most importantly, the Belgians. King Leopold II of Belgium, who was the sole owner of this land, He also committed a mass genocide of around 10 million people in the land of the Congo, which most likely wiped the entire culture of the Congolese people off the map. The soul of the Congo was lost at this time due to the brutality of the Belgian king. It only stopped when the Belgian state had to step in and stop these acts of horror from happening. All of this for what? For money. For ivory, rubber, and the mineral-rich land that the Congolese people have. What happened after this? The Congo was then the Belgian Congo. This must’ve been a slap in the face for the people of the Congo. They were colonized, and the people of this land were terrorized for far too long. Now, the Congo is again in a state of war. With over 5 million people displaced from warfare between the Congolese military and the rebel group M23, Who wants peace, a better-stabilized government, and democracy in the DRC? They are also allied with Rwanda. All of this is really complex, though. There is a lot of stuff that is messed up, and there is a lot of fighting going on. I don't really want to comment on a lot of things either, as I am not educated on these topics. I will learn more about it, though, as I think it is important.