Traditions in the Central African Republic

The Central African Republic has no uniform nationwide tradition system. Sango language (Sango) and French are official languages, while numerous communities maintain their own narratives, songs, dances, ceremonies, and forms of transmission. Documented groups include, among others, the Gbaya in the west and north, the Banda in the center and east, the Zandé, Yakoma, and Nzakara in the east, and the Mboum, Karé, Kaba, and Dagba in the north. Aka communities (Aka) live especially in Lobaye and Sangha-Mbaéré; Peuhl communities are also present in pastoral regions. Aka music combines four-part, contrapuntal polyphony with spontaneous and improvised forms. Typical instruments include Enzeko, Geedale-Bagongo, and Mbela; celebrations and ceremonies also include hand-clapping and dancing. Children learn these forms of expression early through participation in community life. They appear, among other occasions, at the inauguration of a new camp, at funerals, and at community gatherings. This element of Aka culture has been on UNESCO’s Representative List of the Intangible Cultural Heritage of Humanity since 2008. The Banda subgroup (Ango-Broto) in Ouaka Prefecture has a fanfare form using horns blown from the side. The horns are made from the roots of fruit trees or from the horns of wild animals. An initiation formerly associated with the age of five lasted three months and also taught the making of the horns and dance costumes. Today this initiation takes place only rarely or in a reduced form; horns and dances continue to be used at official ceremonies, parades, weddings, and funerals. The Ango-Broto tradition was nominated in 2011 for UNESCO’s List of Intangible Cultural Heritage in Need of Urgent Safeguarding, or was otherwise addressed in that process, but this must not be equated with an inscription on the Representative List. No sufficiently documented uniform national festival calendar has been established for the annual cycle. Recurring occasions are more commonly connected with rituals, funerals, weddings, official events, and individual festivals and fairs. Family, clan, and community practices can differ substantially by region. Christian influences, migration, deforestation, declining wildlife populations, the aging of knowledge holders, HIV/AIDS, and pandemics are changing individual traditions; Aka communities also face the additional risk of folkloric representation for tourism. Transmission takes place mainly informally through families, communities, chiefs, and the holders and custodians of the respective traditions. The General Directorate of Culture and Heritage (Direction générale de la Culture et du Patrimoine), the Directorate of Cultural Heritage (Direction du patrimoine culturel), and the responsible services for traditional culture and intangible cultural heritage are responsible for protection and documentation. Aka traditions are also supported by a reference center, a local committee, tradition custodians, literacy programs, workshops, and festivals. Any inventory should be participatory and require the consent of the affected community; no general nationwide access or fee model has been documented. The 2023 Constitution protects cultural diversity, national heritage, and the rights of vulnerable and minority groups. The 2006 Cultural Charter, the 2009 regulation on the protection of cultural heritage, and a 2003 order on the commercial use and export of oral traditions of cultural minorities provide additional legal points of reference. Anyone documenting, performing, or making economic use of a tradition should therefore clarify the consent of the custodial community and the requirements of the responsible cultural authorities.