Idiofa Territory Explained

Idiofa Territory
Settlement Type:Territory
Pushpin Map:Democratic Republic of the Congo
Coordinates:-4.9668°N 19.591°W
Subdivision Type:Country
Subdivision Type1:Province
Subdivision Name1:Kwilu Province
Unit Pref:Metric
Population Density Km2:auto
Blank Name Sec1:National language
Blank Info Sec1:Kikongo
Timezone1:WAT
Utc Offset1:+1

Idiofa Territory is an administrative area in the Kwilu Province of the Democratic Republic of the Congo (DRC).The capital is the town of Idiofa.

Location

The territory has an area of .The Loange River defines the eastern boundary of the territory, while the Kamtsha River flows through the west of the territory. Other rivers include the Lubue and the PioPio. All these rivers flow from south to north, emptying into the Kasai River, which defines the northern boundary.

People

The territory currently has a population of 1,450,035. The many ethnic groups today include the Bunda, Pende, Dinga, Lori, Ngoli, Wongo, Yansi, Lele and Nzadi.

French is the administrative language, but almost all the people speak Kikongo, one of the four national languages of the DRC. Some younger people also speak Lingala.

Administration

The colonial administrators originally named the territory "Babunda Territory" after the largest ethnic group, the Bunda people.The Territory was renamed the Kamtsha-Lubue Territory after the largest of the rivers.Later the territory was extended east, renamed again to the Kamtsha-Luange Territory.[1]

The Idiofa Territory today has five cities and 12 sectors.The cities are Idiofa, Dibaya-Lubwe, Mangai, Panu, Mongombala (at Bulungu border), and Kalo (Kamtsha-Loange).The sectors are Banga, Belo, Bulwem, Kalanganda, Kanga, Kapia, Kipuku, Madimbi, Mateko, Musanga-Idiofa, Sedzo and Yasa-Lokwa.

Notes and References

  1. Book: Le Kwilu à l'épreuve du pluralisme identitaire, 1948-1968 . 320 . Kiangu Sindani . Editions L'Harmattan . 2009 . 2-296-09444-9.