Ensemble

Authenticité (Authenticity) was a radical version of Afrocentrism introduced in the late 1960s and early 1970s by Mobutu Sese Seko as an official state ideology of the Republic of Congo-Léopoldville, later renamed Zaire. The Authenticité policy implied numerous changes to state and to private life, and aimed to eliminate the influences of Western colonial culture in order to create a more centralised and singular national identity. This included the renaming of the country and its cities, as well as an eventual abolition of Christian names for more ‘authentic’ ones. In addition, the campaign banned Western-style clothing in favour of a tunic labelled the ‘abacost’ and its female equivalent. The policy had mostly been abandoned by the end of 1990s with the death of Mobutu, who had served as President of Congo/Zaire from 1965 to 1997.