Mulenge

Mulenge is a village encircled by hills in the Bafuliiru Chiefdom, located in the Uvira Territory of South Kivu Province, Democratic Republic of the Congo (DRC). It is situated on the high plateaus of the Itombwe massif, overlooking the locality of Uvira. The area has conventionally been inhabited by various ethnic groups, including the remnants of the autochthonous population of African Pygmies, as well as Bantu ethnic groups such as the Mbuti, Fuliiru, and Nyindu. The region boasts high agricultural productivity, with two harvests typically achievable each year.

Mulenge Umulenge
Village
Country	Democratic Republic of the Congo
Province	South Kivu
Territory	Uvira
Chiefdom	Bafuliiru
Grouping	Kigoma
Time zone	UTC+2 (CAT)

Etymology

The name Mulenge traces its origins to the Fuliiru dialect, which is spoken by the Fuliiru community who relocated to Uvira Territory from Lwindi Chiefdom, a region situated near the Ulindi River in the rugged hinterlands of the Mwenga Territory, during the seventeenth century. The Fuliiru people settled in the area and established their sedentary way of life. The name is said to have originally referred to the inner bone of the lower leg. During the colonial era, the region was formally designated as Poste de Mulenge or Umulenge, a moniker that alluded to its dual purpose as a postal station and telecommunications hub. The name also referred to the verdant hills where the indigenous Fuliiru people and Mbuti communities resided in certain localities.

Frédéric Hautmann, a Belgian ethnologist, explorer, and linguist, discovered Mulenge during his travels through Uvira. He chaperoned a group of Fuliiru agriculturalists on a trek through the area and came across a small hamlet in a valley surrounded by towering peaks. Hautmann was intrigued by the settlement and asked about its name, which the locals informed him was "Umulenge" or "Mulenghe" in Kifuliiru.

In his ethnographic study of Itombwe, Hautmann stated:

"Near Mulenghe (Mulenge), two days' walk from Sanghe (Sange), I was able to observe five of these small "tumuli"; while crossing other villages of the Bafulero (Bafuliiru) of the mountain, I met another ten with pots with two holes, intact, broken or in last shards remains of these pots. This custom is practiced to protect the newborn from the evil mountain spirits. It is two months after the birth that we meet at the place where the placenta is buried. Parents, family members and friends celebrate a festival that lasts several days and nights. The tumulus is sprinkled with native beer."

History

Pre-colonial era

Mulenge, like many regions in South Kivu, was once home to the Mbuti people, whose livelihoods were centered around hunting and trading. However, with the arrival of the Bafuliiru in the 17th century, the local landscape began to transform. The Fuliiru, having migrated from Lwindi (presently recognized as Luindi Chiefdom in the Mwenga Territory) towards the present-day Uvira, took root in the mountainous terrain of Mulenge and eventually branched out to neighboring regions. Following the migration, Mulenge experienced a profound cultural shift, with the introduction of new traditions and customs that coexisted alongside the existing way of life. The Fuliiru agriculturists quickly introduced new farming techniques to the region, enabling them to cultivate crops such as beans, maize, and cassava.

The cross-checking different versions collected by the first European ethnologists, colonial administers, anthropologists, and cartographers working in Uvira disclosed that the territory stretching along the north-western coastline of the Ruzizi Plain—from Uvira all the way to Luvungi—was under the jurisdiction of the Bahamba dynasty of Bafuliiru. The capital of this dynasty was located in Lemera, a groupement (grouping) positioned northwest of the plain, situated in close proximity to Kasheke and Nyambasha. The name "Lemera" is derived from Mulemera, the father of Kahamba, who founded the Bufuliru dynasty and thus the capital itself.

Colonial era and ongoing conflict

During the 19th century, the village underwent a significant transformation and blossomed into an extensive agglomeration in the northern reaches of Lake Tanganyika. The burgeoning village attracted Tutsi and Hutu shepherds who had been leading their herds to the Itombwe Highlands, seeking greener pastures. While some ethnologists and anthropologists, such as Olga Boone, David Newbury, and Catherine Newbury, describe these pastoralist communities as "foreign groups," they also played a key role in shaping the social and economic landscape of the region. Over time, these shepherds established themselves in the western part of Baraka and eventually made their way to the Fizi Territory, where they settled among the Bembe people.

In October 1998, during the commencement of the Second Congo War, the Alliance of Democratic Forces for the Liberation of Congo (AFDL) embarked on a rampage of criminal activity, leaving a trail of devastation and death in their wake. The AFDL committed a multitude of criminal offenses against civilians in Uvira. In the chaos and mayhem of the conflict, many local populations fell victim to the AFDL's brutality, with countless lives cut short, including the former Mulenge post chief, Ladislas Matalambu, who was killed on October 1, 1998, at 7:30 p.m., while Alexis Deyidedi, former administrative secretary of the Bafuliiru chiefdom, was assassinated on October 2, 1998, at 11 p.m. As AFDL rampaged through the town, they left a pathway of destruction and despair in their wake, with homes and businesses looted, burned, and destroyed.

On 10 June 2004, up to 3,500 Congolese, mostly Bafuliiru and Babembe, fled to Burundi, fleeing ethnic persecution.

Climate

In Mulenge, the wet season is hot, humid, and overcast and the dry season is warm and partly cloudy. Over the course of the year, the temperature typically varies from 62 °F to 86 °F and is rarely below 59 °F or above 90 °F.