22:
121:
196:
repelled
Kalamba from the post. In July 1895 they helped put down a rebellion by the Luluabourg garrison. The Zappo Zaps provided mistresses to most of the Europeans, gaining further influence in the process. They became the owners of large commercial plantations operated by slave labour and engaged in the slave trade to a small extent, which the authorities chose to ignore. But their main commercial activity was the ivory and rubber trade, bringing their goods to the trading centers at Lusambo,
299:, had brought the Kuba Kingdom under control and established a state post in the royal capital. The state stopped using the Zappo Zaps as auxiliaries and they lost their special position, particularly after the Belgian state took over the colony in 1908. The Songye today are known for metallic decoration on wooden statuary. The Zappo Zaps are considered to be the most skillful smiths of the Songye, the most skillful in the DRC and perhaps in Africa.
240:
Walking through the camp with
Mulumba, Sheppard saw evidence of cannibalism. There were more than forty corpses, some hanging from trees, others lying on the ground. Many of the bodies had been partially or completely defleshed. Three naked corpses had been completely stripped of flesh from the waist
220:
region of the Kuba
Kingdom where they built a stockade. They summoned the local chiefs and demanded sixty slaves as well as herds of goats, baskets of food and 2,500 balls of rubber. When the chiefs refused to pay this huge tribute the stockade gate was closed and the chiefs were massacred. The Zappo
174:
When Herman
Wissman met Zappo Zap in 1887 he was dressed with a turban, shirt and pants in the Arab fashion. The missionary Lapsley, who met Zappo Zap's son later, said he had a cloth tied about his head and was clothed from shoulder to knee. Lapsley gave Zappo Zap a gift of brass wire and cloth, and
103:
to ceremonial occasions, as did other cultures. Instead they ate human flesh because of its taste, considering it a delicacy, and hunted humans for food even when other game was plentiful. They also did not hesitate to slaughter and consume some of the slaves they had captured, since the local value
256:
In
January 1900 a member of the Executive Committee for Foreign Missions acknowledged receiving reports and letters about the Zappo Zap atrocities from the missionaries, but reminded the mission of "the necessity of the utmost caution, in making representations regarding these matters to those in
195:
The Zappo Zap settlement near
Luluabourg prospered and the Zappo Zaps became the main allies of King Leopold's forces in Kasai. In 1890 they helped drive Kalamba away from Luluabourg, in 1891 they defeated two Angolan caravans that threatened the post from the south and in April 1895 they again
107:
In the Kasaï region, the Songye, and especially the Zappo Zaps, were widely admired for their power, which allowed them to both capture and consume considerable numbers of slaves. Since cannibalism was widespread in the region, and slaves were frequently purchased for the table, early
European
236:
was sent from the
Southern Presbyterian mission at Luebo to investigate. Sheppard's journal of 14–15 September 1899 describes how he pretended to be friendly and through asking casual questions of Mulumba Nkusu, whom he knew, obtained the story of what had happened and was shown the remains.
186:
In some ways, the Zappo Zaps seemed civilized to the missionaries. They wore
Western-style clothing, lived in square houses and could speak both English and French. On the other hand, with their plucked eyebrows and eyelashes, filed teeth and traditions of slaving and cannibalism they were
241:
down, and all the flesh had been removed from the arms and legs of a dead woman. Asked what had become of the flesh, Mulumba unhesitatingly replied that it had been eaten. He added that there had been more dead enemies, but the bones of those eaten completely had already been discarded.
104:
of a slave was less than that of a pig. Except after fights or raids, when there were more bodies than could be eaten, nothing was wasted, and all edible parts of the human body were wholly consumed, including the brain and eyeballs. The meat was roasted, or fried like bacon.
187:
stereotypes of the
Western view of African savages. Lapsley said the Zappo Zaps were "magnificent men and handsome women, and carry themselves quite as an aristocracy". However, he was disturbed by the way in which small girls danced lasciviously in imitation of older women.
132:, the first European traveller in the region, gave the name "Zappo Zap" to a leader known as Nsapu Nsapu who ruled over the town of Mpengie, part of the Ben'Eki kingdom. This was a settlement with more than a thousand people, many of them slave warriors, to the east of the
65:
to sharp points. They dressed only in two minute pieces of palm fiber cloth. They were armed with long spears and with poisonous steel arrows. Their iron weapons gave them an advantage in warfare, and when armed with guns the advantage was decisive. They also used
257:
authority, or in publishing them to the world, to observe all proper deference to 'the powers that be,' and to avoid anything that might give any color to a charge of doing or saying things inconsistent with its purely spiritual and non-political character".
272:. It went on "They are sent out to collect rubber, ivory, slaves and goats as tribute from the people, and can then plunder, burn and kill for their own amusement and gain". The massacre caused an uproar against Dufour and the Congo Free State. When
252:
The missionaries protested, and to their surprise the Free State officials responded, ordering the release of the women prisoners and the arrest of Mulumba. Mulumba was puzzled at being arrested, saying he had only done what was asked of him.
244:
Sheppard counted eighty-one right hands that had been cut off and were being dried before being taken to show the state officers what the Zappo Zaps had achieved. He also saw sixty women confined in a pen, being kept as hostages and as
83:
The Zappo Zaps worked as mercenaries for whoever was in power. They had been engaged in slave raiding long before the Europeans arrived, burning villages, partly eating the bodies of the killed and selling hundreds of
108:
settlers noted that the usual prices of slaves offered by the Zappo Zaps and other local sellers were "determined by the amount of meat" on a person's body. A six-year-old girl could be bought for the price of a
217:
159:, where he built an impressive station. In 1887 he lost a battle on the right bank of the Sankuru and was forced to cross the river with his 3,000 followers. He met the Congo Free State commander
49:
authorities, while trading in ivory, rubber and slaves. In 1899 they were sent out by the colonial administration to collect taxes. They massacred many villagers, causing an international outcry.
228:
William Morrison (left) and William Sheppard (right) with Bakuba witnesses who traveled to Kinshasa for the 1909 trial against Sheppard and Morrison for libel brought by the Kasai Rubber Company.
155:
In 1883 Zappo Zap felt strong enough to challenge the king of the Ben'Eki, leading to a civil war that drew in all the slavers of the region. In 1886, he was forced to retreat to a location near
112:, while up to four goats were charged for big, fat men. "If there is as much to eat on a man as on three goats, he brings the price of three goats", a settler told the missionary Samuel Lapsley.
221:
Zaps then killed, looted and burned villages throughout the Pyang country. At least fourteen villages were destroyed, and many people fled to the bush in the middle of the rainy season.
225:
216:
in payment of taxes. He asked Zappo Zap to provide the force needed. Zappo Zap delegated the job to his ally Mulumba (or M'lumba) Nkusu. About 500 warriors armed with guns went to the
1008:
21:
183:
post in 1889. The second Zappo Zap died in 1894. His brother succeeded him and took the name Zappo Zap, which had become the title of the leader of the Zappo Zap people.
1023:
679:
Presbyterian Reformers in Central Africa: A Documentary Account of the American Presbyterian Congo Mission and the Human Rights Struggle in the Congo, 1890–1918
179:
mission. Zappo Zap died in 1888 and was succeeded by his son, who also came to be known as Zappo Zap, and who moved with all his people to settle near the
164:
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Despite the help the Zappo Zaps had given, it was not until 1910 that Leopold's successors, the colonial authorities of the
175:
received some young slaves in return. Lapsley appreciated the gift, later releasing the slaves and educating them at the
903:
770:
749:
686:
42:
292:, but said they were forced to extract rubber for King Leopold's forces or they would in turn suffer punishment.
144:. The group were thriving through slave raiding and trading with caravans from the Arab and Swahili towns on the
1013:
939:
Edible People: The Historical Consumption of Slaves and Foreigners and the Cannibalistic Trade in Human Flesh
824:
278:
120:
282:
five years later, he mentioned Sheppard by name and referred to his account of the massacre. Sir
109:
1018:
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249:. Sheppard used a camera to take pictures of a trio of young men and one of the captive women.
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62:
58:
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In 1899 the commander of Luluabourg, Dufour, decided to demand rubber from the people of the
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789:
8:
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814:
816:
Life and Letters of Samuel Norvell Lapsley, Missionary to the Congo Valley, West Africa
283:
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745:
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959:"Capturing the Image: African Missionary Photography as Enslavement and Liberation"
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978:
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published a report giving Sheppard's findings. It detailed the atrocities in the
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traders each year in exchange for guns, ammunition and other manufactured goods.
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675:"Interview With Chief M'lumba N'kusa Concerning the Zappo Zap Raid"
340:
99:
Like the Songye in general, the Zappo Zaps did not restrict their
156:
141:
137:
85:
602:
699:
Middle Passages: African American Journeys to Africa, 1787–2005
124:
The location of Kasai-Oriental, between the Lualaba and Angola.
980:
Being Colonized: The Kuba Experience in Rural Congo, 1880–1960
762:
Red Gold of Africa: Copper in Precolonial History and Culture
197:
176:
93:
919:
Ethnic Groups of Africa and the Middle East: An Encyclopedia
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149:
782:"Life Force at the Anvil: The Blacksmiths Art from Africa"
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country and said that the Zappo Zaps were acting for the
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895:
William Sheppard: Congo's African American Livingstone
650:
614:
460:
61:, the Zappo Zap people all had tattooed faces and had
1009:
Ethnic groups in the Democratic Republic of the Congo
853:
An African World: The Basongye Village of Lupupa Ngye
578:
542:
525:
484:
448:
436:
361:
874:
The Handbook of Critical Intercultural Communication
871:
Nakayama, Thomas K.; Halualani, Rona Tamiko (2011).
741:
The Troubled Heart of Africa: A History of the Congo
638:
626:
409:
397:
346:
308:
52:
1024:Perpetrators of atrocities in the Congo Free State
373:
870:
608:
1000:
25:Songye people in 1947 with a protector statue.
171:, both retreating westward from the Lualaba.
286:mentioned the Zappo Zaps in his 1909 book
856:. Bloomington: Indiana University Press.
819:. Richmond, VA: Whittet & Shepperson.
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957:Thompson, T. Jack (29 June 2007).
190:
14:
1035:
983:. University of Wisconsin Press.
964:. Yale University Divinity School
765:. University of Wisconsin Press.
53:Traditional lifestyle and customs
898:. Louisville, KY: Geneva Press.
813:Lapsley, Samuel Norvell (1893).
207:
43:Democratic Republic of the Congo
341:"Massacre in Congo State" 1900
260:However, in January 1900, the
80:, which gave them their name.
45:. They acted as allies of the
1:
609:Nakayama & Halualani 2011
302:
809: (archived 3 March 2016)
759:Herbert, Eugenia W. (2003).
738:Edgerton, Robert B. (2002).
717:Doyle, Arthur Conan (2008).
152:in Angola to the southwest.
57:According to the missionary
7:
936:Siefkes, Christian (2022).
892:Phipps, William E. (2002).
696:Campbell, James T. (2007).
10:
1040:
673:Benedetto, Robert (1996).
665:
825:"Massacre in Congo State"
163:near Lusambo, with Chief
279:King Leopold's Soliloquy
913:Shoup, John A. (2011).
877:. John Wiley and Sons.
942:. New York: Berghahn.
723:. ReadHowYouWant.com.
720:The Crime of the Congo
289:The Crime of the Congo
234:William Henry Sheppard
229:
125:
59:William Henry Sheppard
26:
16:Group of Songye people
1014:Cannibalism in Africa
977:Vansina, Jan (2010).
227:
148:to the east and from
123:
41:in what today is the
24:
780:Joyce, Tom (1998).
575:, pp. 123–125.
481:, pp. 121–123.
433:, pp. 137–139.
394:, pp. 138–139.
284:Arthur Conan Doyle
230:
126:
27:
990:978-0-299-23644-1
949:978-1-80073-613-9
928:978-1-59884-362-0
884:978-1-4443-9067-4
863:978-0-253-30280-9
730:978-1-4270-5456-2
709:978-0-14-311198-6
681:. Leiden: Brill.
563:, pp. 121ff.
116:European contacts
63:filed their teeth
37:from the eastern
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848:Merriam, Alan P.
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834:. 5 January 1900
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270:Congo Free State
130:Hermann Wissmann
47:Congo Free State
33:were a group of
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191:Colonial allies
165:Mukenge Kalamba
161:Paul Le Marinel
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611:, p. 286.
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599:, p. 135.
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587:, p. 142.
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573:Benedetto 1996
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561:Benedetto 1996
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541:
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522:, p. 119.
512:
510:, p. 156.
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262:New York Times
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128:In March 1883
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623:, p. 19.
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597:Edgerton 2002
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551:, p. 73.
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539:, p. 27.
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520:Edgerton 2002
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508:Campbell 2007
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498:, p. 25.
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35:Songye people
32:
23:
19:
979:
966:. Retrieved
938:
921:. ABC-CLIO.
918:
894:
873:
852:
836:. Retrieved
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794:. Retrieved
790:the original
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657:Herbert 2003
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549:Vansina 2010
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537:Vansina 2010
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496:Vansina 2010
479:Siefkes 2022
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467:Lapsley 1893
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443:Merriam 1974
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320:Vansina 2010
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39:Kasaï region
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702:. Penguin.
585:Phipps 2002
455:Phipps 2002
431:Phipps 2002
419:Phipps 2002
392:Phipps 2002
368:Phipps 2002
356:Phipps 2002
202:Bena Makima
101:cannibalism
68:battle axes
1003:Categories
968:6 December
838:5 December
796:6 December
645:Shoup 2011
633:Doyle 2008
380:Joyce 1998
303:References
274:Mark Twain
266:Bena Kamba
247:sex slaves
181:Luluabourg
110:dwarf goat
73:Nzappa zap
31:Zappo Zaps
70:known as
850:(1974).
786:ArtMetal
136:between
78:zappozap
805:at the
803:Page 46
666:Sources
167:of the
157:Lusambo
142:Lusambo
138:Kabinda
90:Swahili
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915:"Kuba"
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86:slaves
962:(PDF)
828:(PDF)
218:Pyang
198:Luebo
177:Luebo
169:Lulua
985:ISBN
970:2011
944:ISBN
923:ISBN
900:ISBN
879:ISBN
858:ISBN
840:2011
798:2012
767:ISBN
746:ISBN
725:ISBN
704:ISBN
683:ISBN
200:and
150:Bihe
140:and
94:Arab
29:The
88:to
76:or
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Text is available under the Creative Commons Attribution-ShareAlike License. Additional terms may apply.
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