Belgian Congo Musician Stamps

This post features three Belgian Congo musician stamps from the 1930s. They are absolutely beautiful stamps depicting musicians playing traditional instruments. The stamps are typical of colonial stamps of Africa, featuring stereotypical images. You can read about other colonial African stamps in articles about a Ghanaian stamp and a set from French Somaliland elsewhere on this blog.

King Leopold’s Colonial Ambitions

The Belgian Congo was the colonial name for what is now the independent country of the Democratic Republic of the Congo. Sadly, the country has a very ugly colonial history. As with much of sub-Saharan Africa, the country was colonized rather late when European powers scrambled to divide up the continent and exploit the population and natural resources to gain as much wealth as possible.

King Leopold II in Belgium wanted the small European country to aggressively take over the area of the Congo River Basin, however the democratically elected government of Belgium refused. Leopold organized a private company which he surreptitiously funded through loans made from the country of Belgium, and moved para-military forces into the region and took control of a vast area of land. In 1885, the Conference of Berlin drew together the world’s great colonial powers to establish boundaries for colonial control in Africa. Leopold manages to walk away from the conference with personal control as an outright autocrat of an area that became known as the Congo Free State. It had no official ties to the country of Belgium.

Leopold II was a brutal ruler. He forced the Congolese people into servitude on rubber plantations that produced wealth for him. His governors were known for their atrocities, among which included the horrible act of cutting the hands off of men, women, and children who failed to meet production quotas. Diseases, many introduced from Europe, rampaged the country and the people suffered in absolute squalor. Learn more about the complicated and horrific history of the country under the colonial rule of Leopold II on this post.

The Belgian Congo

As a result of his mismanagement, corruption, and cruelty, diplomatic pressure eventually forced Belgium to relieve the colony from the King’s control. In 1908 the country became the Belgian Congo.

Under the control of the Belgian government brought about great improvements to the people of the Belgian Congo. However, even though the worst abuses were stopped, the relationship of a colony to its mother country was exploitative. Commercial interests in Belgium were typically prioritized over the people of Africa.

During the 1940s and 1950s, the mostly agrarian society began to urbanize, and Belgium invested in the infrastructure of the country. As opposed to many other colonies in African and Asia at the time, a prosperous middle class developed in the cities of the Belgian Congo. The period after the end of World War II also saw a growing movement for the independence of colonies throughout the world and the country obtained its Independence in 1960. The country was given its current name of the Democratic Republic of the Congo that year, but from 1971 until 1997 the country was known as Zaire.

Belgian Congo Musician Stamps

Between 1931 and 1937, the Belgian Congo released a set of eighteen stunningly engraved postage stamps. These were typical of colonial stamps of Africa, featuring scenes of daily life, animals, and the people of Africa. The stamps are each a different, single, solid color.

Three stamps in that set feature musicians playing traditional musical instruments from the country. The musicians on these stamps play flutes, drums, and a string instrument.

The stamps are most certainly typical of colonial stamps of the era and you can read more about the colonial stamps of the Belgian Congo on the following page. Dressed in “traditional” garb the six musicians (all men) are barechest and barefoot. The musicians stand or seat in front of grass huts, simple buildings, or exotic plants. These representation of the musicians is respectful, but simplistic. They are at once both exotic and simple. Primitive and happy. It is a colonial trope that is meant to present the local culture as a static in stereotypical activities and locations.

Each stamp has an intricate border, with the denomination of the stamp printed at the top, and the name of the country both above and below the musicians.

Winds and Strings

The first stamp features two men playing simple side blown (transverse) flutes made of a single piece of wood with several finger holes. The two men stand facing forward, while performing for the viewer. The stamp is printed in a dark green and was sold for 40 centimes. In the background are grass huts, which enhance the “exotic” image on the stamp. The whole scene is typical of how the African populations were often viewed by Europeans.

The second stamp also features a pair of musicians. It is a dark purple color and at the top is the 50 centime denominational value. These players represent musicians found in the area of Lake Leopold in the western part of the country. The musician on the left plays an ngoma (drum with a skin head).

The musician on the right plays a stringed instrument, known generically as a pluriarc. Each string on a pluriarc has its own neck (In this case a stick), whereas a harp has a single neck for all of the strings. On a harp, all of the strings tie to different points on a single neck. Each string on this instrument ties to both the end of one of the stick necks and to the bridge on the body.The musicians sit on the ground facing off to the viewer’s right.

Two Types of Drums

The third and final stamp features a pair of drummers who are both standing with their instruments. The musicians wear the instruments on straps over their shoulders. The figure on the left plays a slit drum known as a Lukombé. He is playing the wooden drum with a mallet. The second figure plays a skin-headed drum with his hands.

The musicians are from the Tetela tribe, from the central part of the country. The stamp is a deep purple maroon color and has the 60 centime denominational value. Learn more here.