Gondola1999 Sapeurs Congo

Dream and Drama: The Search for Elegance among Congolese Youth
Author(s): Ch. Didier Gondola

Source: African Studies Review, Vol. 42, No. 1 (Apr., 1999), pp. 23-48
Published by: African Studies Association
Stable URL: http://www.jstor.org/stable/525527 .
Accessed: 18/06/2014 05:49
Your use of the JSTOR archive indicates your acceptance of the Terms & Conditions of Use, available at .
http://www.jstor.org/page/info/about/policies/terms.jsp
.
JSTOR is a not-for-profit service that helps scholars, researchers, and students discover, use, and build upon a wide range of
content in a trusted digital archive. We use information technology and tools to increase productivity and facilitate new forms
of scholarship. For more information about JSTOR, please contact support@jstor.org.
African Studies Association is collaborating with JSTOR to digitize, preserve and extend access to African
Studies Review.
http://www.jstor.org
This content downloaded from 195.34.79.192 on Wed, 18 Jun 2014 05:49:10 AM

All use subject to JSTOR Terms and Conditions
Dreamand Drama:The Searchfor
Eleganceamong Congolese Youth
Ch. DidierGondola
My new clothes had put me instantly into a new world.

-George Orwell, Down and Out in Paris and London
Le mythe Afrique-misere, nous ne le voulons plus. Nous sommes en train

de forger d'autres mythes. La Sape c'est une ideologie; c'est contredire les
forces de la misere.
-Adrien Ngudi, interview with author
Abstract: This paper deals with fashion (la Sape) and its use among Congolese youth
as a vehicle to borrow new identities. La Sapeis an ambiguous adventure, a sort of
Baudelairian voyage, that leads Congolese youth (Sapeurs), not only from a third
world city to Paris and Brussels, but also from social dereliction to psychological
redemption. It authenticates and validates their quest for a new social identity
which the African city has failed to provide its overwhelming population of youth.
It is, above all, a study of the interactions between clothing and social (and cultur-
al) identities and the transfer of meaning from one to the other, and vice versa. La
Sapeallows the Sapeurto define the boundaries that separate him from the Other,
but also serves as a defined social territory which distinguishes the Sapeursfrom the
rest of society. Ultimately, la Sapeis redolent with political meanings. It is a political
statement which, I argue in this paper, is directed toward the West, the former col-
onizer, as well as toward the authoritative structures of the African state. I also
demonstrate that this political discourse is inseparable from the egotistical and
hedonistic dimensions of la Sape.
African StudiesReview,Volume 42, Number 1 (April 1999), pp. 23-48

Ch. Didier Gondola is Assistant Professor of History at the Indianapolis campus of
Indiana University. He is the author of Villesmiroirs:migrationset identitis
urbainesa'Brazzavilleet Kinshasa, 1930-1970 (Paris: L'Harmattan, 1997). He has
published numerous articles on Congolese popular cultures and their political
significance. His recent publications (Politiqueafricaine)deal with the crisis of
African studies in France and Africa. He is currently conducting research on
the comparative migration of African Americans and Africans to France show-
ing that whiteness in France, as in the United States and elsewhere, has been a
protean social construct in which blacks from Africa and the U.S. (as well as
North Africans) have been at the core.
23

24 AfricanStudiesReview
R6sum6: Cet article explore la mode (La Sape) et son utilisation parmi les
jeunes Congolais comme un medium pour emprunter de nouvelles iden-
tit6s. La Sape est une aventure ambigu&,une sorte de voyage baudelairien
qui non seulement conduit les jeunes sapeurs congolais d'une ville du
Tiers monde a Paris ou Bruxelles, mais les arrache a une d6r6liction sociale
pour leur accorder une r6demption psychologique a travers le discours de
la mode. Par le truchement de la Sape leur quete d'une identite nouvelle,
qu'ils ne peuvent acqu rir dans le cadre d'une ville africaine qui les mar-
ginalise, se trouve authentifide et en meme temps validee. Cette 6tude ne
concerne pas tant la mode que les interactions entre le v6tement et l'iden-
tit6 sociale et les transferts de sens qui se d6roulent entre l'un et l'autre. La
Sape permet au sapeur de d6finir les frontieres identitaires entre lui et
l'Autre et l'isole dans un boudoir social balis6 par le discours 6gotistique
des apparences. Il convient 6galement de consid rer la Sape comme un
discours politique de resistance Al'6gard de l'Occident, ancien colonisa-
teur, aussi bien que vis-a-visdes structures autoritaires de la soci&t6congo-
laise. Ce discours de resistance et les attitudes h donistes qui l'accompag-
nent sont ins6parables, car toute culture populaire de r6sistance est, a mon
avis, politique parce qu'elle est avant tout culturelle.
Popular culture studies today constitute the new frontier of African studies
research. Researchers have taken on the realms of sociability, spaces of
self-representation and collective representation, where the dramatization
of daily life is enacted, and where the principal actors are often found
among urban youth.
It is important to highlight the pioneering study of Johannes Fabian
(1978) who tackles, in an interdisciplinary manner, three aspects of Zairian
popular culture: music, painting, and religion. His work gave rise to several
well-established interpretations of popular culture in Africa. Fabian con-
cludes that ("modern") African popular cultures are not merely pure folk-
lore or superficial adaptations of imported Western cultures, but express
the originality of the popular conscience, reinscribe and renegotiate the col-
lective memory of the social group, reflect upon the preoccupations of daily
life, and are deeply engaged in the search for collective identification.
At least a dozen fields have recently been explored, including popular
music (Coplan 1985; Erlmann 1995; Gondola 1993, 1996, 1997a; Water-
man 1990), dance (Ranger 1975), painting (Fabian 1996;Jewsiewicki 1992;
Vogel 1991), sports (Martin 1995), slang (Sesep 1990), appearance (Fried-
man 1990; Hendrickson 1996; Gandoulou 1989), popular humor and
games (Barber 1987; Gondola 1997b).
The common thread among these fields seems to me to be the follow-
ing: all of them represent spaces of flight and refuge, places of dreamlike
reincarnation of the self and the social group. Dreams, according to

Dreamand Drama 25
Freudian interpretation, represent, in relation to wakefulness, a reincarna-

tion of real experiences.1 They differ from reality just as cartoons differ
from film through their use of illusion, by means of the greater liberty they
take toward reality-for example, heroes or villains fall into empty space
and explode without ever dying. Popular culture also allows African urban
youth to build a dreamlike order, otherwise unreachable.
Must we attribute the refuge of youth toward dreamlike spaces of cul-
tural creativity to the "malville," or should we understand this retreat as the
normal manifestation of youth?2 What original discourses and lifestyles are
created within these spaces? How does the occasionally deviant, perhaps
even delinquent, social behavior justify itself through such representation
and dreamlike discourse? What remains of reality in its dreamlike reinter-
pretation through popular culture? And, most important, how are reality's
suffering and death introduced, if we accept that there is in fact a death?
This article is a preliminary exploration of these dreamlike recourses
and detours through one of the most fascinating urban cultures in con-
temporary Africa, the sape of Congos' youth.3 This ambiguous adventure
or, as it were, this voyage into the realm of the imaginary, leads the mikiliste
from the seediest parts of Ndjili (Kinshasa) or the "Total"Market (Braz-
zaville) to Chaiteau-Rouge (Paris) and Porte de Namur (Brussels). Far from
a mere migration, this adventure becomes a search for identity. By chang-
ing cities and clothing, the mikilisteattempts, as stated in the succinct words
of Jean Baudrillard (1969: 104), to "r66crire sur le corps l'ordre du cul-
turel," to reinvent himself, to assert both to himself and to the Other his
reincarnation through a series of identities whose paths I will attempt to
outline.
The theoretical framework used here owes much to Barthes' Fashion
Systemwhich stresses the importance of discourse over reality: "It thus
seemed unreasonable," writes Barthes, "to place the reality of clothing
before the discourse of Fashion" (1983: xi). Following Barthes, I believe
that clothing cannot signify "without recourse to the speech that describes
it, comments upon it, and provides it with signifiers and signified" (xi). In
short, there is no Fashion without the Fashion discourse.
Fashion implies also a search for identity (Davis 1992; Klapp 1969).
The sapeis at the center of identity transformations which overwhelm Con-
golese youth. Study of these identity mutations does not deal strictosensu
with clothing and/or the identity it shapes. It is above all a study of their
interactions and the transfer of meaning that goes from one to the other,
and vice versa. Three levels of clothing, which correspond to three differ-
ent stations in the sapeurs'search for identity, will be considered. First, real
clothing, which presents the sapeuras an individual who suppresses a real
identity to acquire a borrowed one. Second, the griffe (expensive designer
labels), which authenticates this oneiric migration, adds the finishing
touches to the usurpation. Third, the spoken (and even sung or danced)
clothing makes the sapeur the actor and conjurer of this identity. If the

value of the real clothing is contested, and if the authenticity of the griffeis
threatened, the spoken clothing reaffirms the illusion of an ego-screamingby
presenting an enactment of words, gestures, and attitudes.4 The saped
body, which has become a sort of socialskin (Turner 1980: 112), is not only
an egotistical surface that allows the sapeurto define the boundaries that
separate him from the Other, but also serves as a defined social territory
that distinguishes one group, the sapeurs,from the rest of society.
The Origins of the Sape

The origins of the sape, as we know it today among Congolese youth, date
to the first years of the colonial era.5 It is a history that can be traced to the
settlement of the colonial capitals-the ultimate milieu of social and cul-
tural change. To argue that its history began during the post-WWII years,
as Justin-Daniel Gandoulou (1989: 32) has proposed, is inaccurate. The
sape was made visible during the war years with the emergence of social
clubs whose inception is linked to the dawn of bar-dance halls in Brazzaville
and Kinshasa, and which would serve as the stage for the acting out of the
sape. The adoption of "modern" European clothing and its "rewriting"by
Africans dates back to the earliest contact between Africans and Euro-
peans. In Brazzaville during the 1920s, Martin writes, "Men wore suits and
used accessories such as canes, monocles, gloves and pocket-watches on
chains. They formed clubs around their interest in fashion, gathering to
drink aperitifs and dance to Cuban and European music played on the
phonograph" (1994: 407). Houseboys were the first, around 1910, to begin
to imitate their European masters. This mimicry was likely encouraged
because properly dressed servants who were capable of responding in cor-
rect French were a reflection upon their masters' social refinement
(Bouteiller 1903: 73-74). Social prestige in the colonial city did not consist
so much in having several houseboys-something that was within reach of
even the Petits-blancs-but in having several "civilized"or "enlightened" ser-
vants. Some masters did not hesitate to give their used clothing to their
houseboys, who showed off their clothes as much to enhance their master's
reputation as to increase their own social status in the eyes of other African
city dwellers. At the beginning of the years 1910-19, this phenomenon was
in full force as baron Johan de Witte's account exemplifies:
Today,the locals in the region of Brazzavilledressup too much, and, on

Sunday,those that have severalpairsof pants,severalcardigans,put these
clothes on one layer over the other, to flaunt their wealth. Manypride
themselveson followingParisianfashionand, havingknownthat not long
ago Europeansjoked about the blacks'passion for the top hat, so inap-
propriatefor the tropicalclimate and completing in a sometimescomic
manneran outfitwhichwasmore than scanty,most of them havegiven up
and now sport elegant panamahats (1913: 164).

Dreamand Drama 27
From the 1930s onward, Congolese in Kinshasa as well as those in Braz-

zaville discovered, at the same time as the music, popo fashion. The arrival
of popo (or coastman) allowed them to redefine their relationship to the
modernity that was spread by the "white man's city." Enlisted by British
companies (especially Sedec and Huileries du Congo Belge) to carry out
subordinate tasks, natives of Ghana, Liberia, Nigeria, and Sierra Leone
represented for Congolese youth the final stage of this new status adven-
ture where colonization was taking them.6 Eventually, these blacks who had
the means dressed like whites. However, they could not become whites and
no longer looked like other blacks! They were described by the Kikongo
expression mindele ndombi ("whites with black skin"). One of my infor-
mants, Kasongo Fundi, stated: "We respected them like whites. We
observed them with curiosity. We had started to dance to popomusic. It was
different. It was new. This was during the '30s."7 Seduced by the snobby
and refined elegance of coastmenattire, houseboys were no longer satisfied
with their masters' secondhand clothes and became unremitting con-
sumers and fervent connoisseurs, spending extravagantly to acquire the lat-
est fashions. Gabrielle Vassal denounced "these minor failings" of her
houseboys in Brazzaville "who might be half-starved... yet once they final-
ly get their monthly pay, there they are donning a helmet or a beautiful hat.
Once they have the hat they demand the shirt, then the shoes" (1931: 153).
Following in the wake of these houseboys, clerks, and then musicians,
ardently competed to recreate identities for themselves through clothing.
Colonial authorities closely followed this European fashion craze.
Moyen-Congo's lieutenant governor wrote that "the elite of Brazzaville
dresses sumptuously and even with a certain elegance."8 A member of this
elite, Camille Diata, wrote in 1930 to a colleague who was stationed in the
"bush":
Do you knowthatin Brazzavilleand Kinshasa,all the gentlemen or young

people dressPopostyle;whichis to saythey havea helmetworth150 francs
and a silkshirt,a poplin suit or a suitmade of anotherfabric,worthat least
around250 or 300 francsand pantsthatgo all the wayto the heels of their
feet.9
Contemporary sapeursrepresent at least the third generation of Con-

golese dandyism. Conscious of this heritage, some sapeursdefine the sapeas
the result of a legacy and a "proper education."
The sapecomes from our fathersand our grandfatherswho were servants

in whites'homes and were often paid with clothing.As for me, my father
was an elegant man. He was the kind of person to put a breastpocket on
his pyjamas.'0

An Ambiguous Adventure?
The expressionmikiliste designatesthe young Congolesewho live in Europe

and, to a lesser extent, in North America.The term replaced"parisien,"an
expressionformerlyused by Lariyouth in Brazzavilleand whichis now out-
moded. The word mikiliste,which was spread by means of popular Con-
golese music at the beginning of the 1980s, is as culturallymixed as the
realityit describesis ambiguous.Mikiliin Lingalais the plural for mokili,
the "world,"and has become synonymousfor Europe. When the French
suffix is added, the word identifiesthe young who made it to Europe. One
must listen to the potential-mikilistespeak to realize the extent to which
European cities are endowed with a magical quality,an aura that is rein-
forced by the stories related by those who return home. They envision
Europe as an immaculate,immense city of light, where magical,mechani-
cal passagewayscarrypeople along, where fortunes are easily made, and
the climate healthy.In short, a place where the living is easy.
Mikilism,I should point out, is exclusivelya male phenomenon for at
least two reasons. The first reason is that Europeanfashion, ever since it
first came into contact with Africansin the colonial city, only interested
men. Africanwomen alwaysrejecteddressesand skirts,remainingattached
to their pagnes.The second reason is that reaching Europe through clan-
destine networkswas,and still is, a "man'sadventure."These two elements
define the mikiliste.
The young Congolese man does not become a mikiliste when he reach-
es the doors of hope that he expects in the northerncities. Before he trav-
els he is a dreamer.The geographicalmigrationthat transportsthe mikiliste
from the underdeveloped third world to the Cities of Light in the North
constitutesonly a second stage in this migratoryprocess.The mikiliste
is an
individual who first experiences Europe, his Europe, in Africa. His knowl-
edge of the northern world is updated by the accounts (alwayswildly
embellished) of youngpeople who returnhome on vacation-that is, when
they have not been deported there-to show off their clothes. The ability
to know and live Europe in Africa is acquired through encounters with
these passing mikilistes.
Young potential-mikilistesspend most of the day-
time hours with groups of mastas11(friends) where the conversations, recy-
cled a thousandtimes over,revolve,of course,aroundgirls,and sometimes
music, but especially Europe. It is there that they discover how to cheat and
get around the Parisianmetro, which nightclubs are trendy,and which
brand names are fashionable. They learn of the opportunitiesfor lawful
integration as well as various illegal schemes to circumvent administrative
measures intended to block their entrance into this paradise.
Finally, they are informed of the immigration offices to avoid, or, con-
versely, those offices where they can kobwakanzoto ("to throw one's body,"
i.e., submit their request for asylum) with some hope of obtaining a nkan-
da or doc (residence permit). A portrait of one of these young men, depict-

Dreamand Drama 29
ed by Julia Ficatier during interviews in Brazzaville, applies to most of the

potential-mikilistes: "He is only 20 years old, walks around with a metro
ticket in his pocket... and knows all of the stations and transfer stops by
heart, because Paris is his dream" (1989). This preliminary preparation is
one of the elements that will help a new mikilisteto orient himself quickly
in this maze of public transportation in Paris or Brussels, to find his way
through the tedious procedures necessary for any asylum request, and even
to adapt to various challenges like the cold weather or handling another
currency.
The ambiguity of this migratory adventure finds its roots in the stiffen-
ing of police and administrative measures intended to ensure the security
of the European border areas and to deport foreigners who do not have a
residence permit.
Congolese (of DRC) nationals are prominent targets of security con-
trols and repression which have been reinforced since the Schengen
accords.12 At the beginning of the 1980s, France had already suppressed
their right to welfare and required them to obtain a "visa de sortie"before
any temporary departure. Today, random deportations are increasing in
line with the Pasqua laws of 1993.13 Reported cases include
relativeswho have returnedto their countriesin a futile attemptto obtain

a visa.Some are compelled to separatethemselvesfrom their Frenchchil-
dren, who are then entrustedto PublicAssistance.Spousesof Frenchciti-
zens faced with the impossibilityof legal residencein Franceare brutally
escorted to the border or forced underground.(de Brie 1994)
France even called upon its old Vichy demons with a December 27,
1994, law which threatens five years of prison and a 200,000 franc fine to
"anyone who actively helps or indirectly facilitates or attempts to facilitate
the entry, circulation, or the illegal stay of a foreigner in France" (de Brie
1996).
Lacking a residency permit, often without permanent shelter and
unemployed, the mikilistefinds himself torn between a precarious stay and
a return home which he associates with dishonor and failure. Privately,the
mikilisteusually lives under appalling, unhealthy conditions that stand in
stark contrast to the elegant attire he displays in public.
Exuberant clothing pushed to rare excesses allow the mikilisteto avoid
the derision and the collision of these two realities: sojourn/return. It
immerses him in a laboratory of the unreal where, as we shall soon see, he
polishes up a new identity behind an obscure screen of dreams and
schemes.
Another ambiguity, at the adventurer's point of departure, is the exten-
sive knowledge that mikilistes-to-benow have of the fate that awaits them in
Europe. Mikilistes-to-beno longer allow themselves to be deceived. The
"belles histoires" repeated since the first mikilistereturned home to tell of

Europe's marvels no longer hold true against the invasive, brutal reality dis-
seminated by the media. One can now watch French and Belgian television
channels in Kinshasa and Brazzaville and discover the precarious condi-
tions in which most mikilisteslive. Although this lens offers them a glimpse
of the misery in store for them in Europe, it does not discourage the mik-
ilistes-to-be. It intensifies their desire. Many young people reach Europe
only after multiple attempts, like one informant who entered Europe after
his third try.14After leaving Kinshasa, via Luanda (Angola), for Bologna
(Italy), he was apprehended at Roissy (France), placed for almost twenty
days in a "retention center" at the Arcade Hotel, then sent back to Luan-
da.15 A second attempt to enter Europe, via Rio de Janeiro, also ended in
failure. The third voyage, finally successful, led him from Luanda to Paris
via Lisbon and Madrid. After each failed attempt, long and patiently
earned savings must be regained anew in the dangerous struggle to cope
and survive. Once again, dream plays its usual role. It offers a space of
refuge and negation of reality. It makes the European voyage a sort of ini-
tiatory rite that has as its ultimate goal the regeneration of a metaphorical
body.
The Body as Social Metaphor

The adventure of the sape remains above all corporeal. Actually, when we
interrogate these "adventurers"on the goal of their trip to Europe, many
respond in Lingala: "na ye ko mekanzoto,"which can be translated as "I came
to try my body." The sapeenvelops a metaphorical body. It dresses the social
metaphor which is the body. In an African city which never truly offered
them a place in society despite their disproportionate numbers, young peo-
ple find themselves at the margins of the formal economy (Macgaffey
1993).16 Through the sape,the mikiliste'sbody escapes the stigma of African
cities' economic chaos in an effort to expose itself to the Cities of Light in
Europe.
The city affects the bodies of youths in several ways. First, the African
city produces adolescents in the sense that it delays their entry into the
world of adulthood, which can be defined by two parameters: professional
status, on the one hand, and marital status, on the other. The social and
economic chaos which characterizes the African city grafts itself onto the
bodies of these youths. From this perspective, reaching Europe consum-
mates their entrance into adulthood or rather, to use Fritz Redl's remark
about Zoot-suiters, it provides "[these] youth [s] with a symbolicanticipation
of being adult"(see Mazon 1984: 8).17 It also immerses them in a dreamy
and cosmetic dimension that allows a martyred body to remake itself, a
body that has become a metaphor for a chaotic social world. The adventure
of the saperemoves the stigmatized body of the African "malville" to regen-
erate it in Europe's Cities of Light. This body, exposed to the difficult liv-

Dreamand Drama 31
ing conditions of deprivation, frustration, unemployment, boredom,

hunger, heat, and illness-in short, to the "mal ville"-finds its salvation
and a sort of redemption in the cult of the griffe.The griffe,then, uproots
the body from the "mal ville," rehabilitates it, and subjects it to a kind of
therapy intended to erase the trauma caused by the myth of the "cursed
race."
The preceding explains fairly well how a practice such as face-bleach-
ing has remained for a long time, maybe before other griffes,the griffepar
excellence.18 It would be erroneous to understand this practice as a simple
sign of alienation, a vain, grotesque attempt to "become white."
Face-bleaching was the first tool used by mikilistes-to-beto erase the stigmas
of the "mal ville," and attempt to blur the social messages a body sends out.
For a long time it constituted, especially in the Congo, a griffein its own
right that many adolescents "wore"for lack of other griffes.The same could
apply to other treatments inflicted upon the mikilistes'bodies, such as hair-
style, eating disorders, or alcohol abuse.19 Like face-bleaching, they are
intended to encode the body's appearances, to free the body of the social
straight-jacket. Through cosmetic illusions the sapeur's body no longer
reflects either the "malville" or the conditions, equally horrifying, in Euro-
pean cities. It becomes a body that lives and shines in the artificial universe
of the sape and that submits itself to a strict code of appearance.
I Sape, Therefore I Am
I will now attempt to define the Sape.Is the SAPE, like some of its followers
boast, the "Societe des Ambianceurs et des Personnes Elkgantes?" Does it
concern fashion in the way that we generally conceive it, that is, as a form
of communication through the body's writing? And if that is the case, does
it convey social oppositions or does it mask them (Roche 1989: 12)? With
the sapewe enter the realm of passion, a boudoir of dreams and imagina-
tion, and also the irrational and the artificial. The sape of the mikilistes
destroys the various cliches of fashion. Is the sapea theater of social and sex-
ual competition (Flugel 1930: 138)? The mikilistedresses precisely in order
to blur social lines and make class values and social status illegible. The
sapeuris an illusionist. The sape is there to conceal his social failure and to
transform it into apparent victory. He dresses as if he were a CEO even
though he is a janitor. He bleaches his face to make his skin "yellow
papaya," despite the disapproval of the opposite sex. He allows himself to
get a potbelly (by eating a lot of semolina), accentuates the curve of his but-
tocks by wearing baggy pants that are tight at the waist, adopts a razor-cut
hairstyle and feigns baldness to give himself the look of a "grand type"
(vuandu, he who is well seated).
The sape is not a display of wasteful expenditure either. The sapeur
makes the acquisition of expensive clothing his first priority despite his

minimum-wage salary.Although it may mean that he finds himself behind

in rent payments and cries famine in his room on the seventh floor of a
Parisian apartment building that is falling apart, he will obtain that 3,500-
franc jacket, admired time and again behind the Nino Cerruti store win-
dow. Nothing can come between him and his desire. The sapeuris the loyal
customer of the prestigious fashion designers of rue Saint-HonorS,
Champs-Elys~es, Boulevard Saint-Germain, Chauss&e d'Antin, Palais des
Congres or around Passy and rue de la Pompe.20
A pair of Capo Bianco shoes, made to order, like a pair ofJ. M. Weston
lizardskin loafers, can consume the sapeur'sentire monthly salary. Aside
from the large clothing items-shoes, pants, suits, and shirts-sapeurs
spend lavishly on the acquisition of luxurious accessories: Morabito or Yves
Saint-Laurent perfume, Cartier watches, Vuarnet, Armani, or Cartier sun-
glasses, Valentino or Emporio belts, Burlington socks, Emporio leather
bags, and gold rings and chains, not to mention underwear, also griffes.We
are no longer in the simple realm of appearance; we have entered directly
into the sphere of aesthetics. For appearance's games and falsity, we must
substitute the aesthetics of ontological perfection, which could be
expressed as: I sape therefore I am. The Homosapeur is not only a self as sign
(Finkelstein 1991: 7), or a living icon. He discovers his existence as a being
and social actor, both for himself and for the Other, through the identity
that appearances obtain for him. The sape reveals this oneiric discovery at
the same time as it gives Homosapeur his raison di'treet de vivreor, to borrow
his language: "Sape is a value. It means: rediscovering something that's
ours. Sape reflects us; it's in the blood; it's innate.... It makesus."21
Thus the sapedoes not follow the rule formulated by Fligel: "The more
elaborate and decorative the costume, the higher the social position of the
wearer" (1930: 138). According to this functionalist approach, the upper
classes deliberately wear expensive, uncomfortable clothing, unsuitable to
the execution of any manual task (Lauer and Lauer 1981: 10; Silverman
1994: 184). The sapeurs,working for the most part as manual laborers, go
to "caillou" or "libanga" in their ceremonial clothing, which they then
exchange for blue work clothes.22 There is thus the desire to reject the
French laborer's "Sunday suit," and even, in a sense, the average Parisian's
"fringale des fringues" whose popularity is revealed in the success of man-
ufacturers such as Chevignon, Celio, Coutard, Benetton, and even Daniel
Hechter. With their rejection of such clothing the sapeursare reminiscent
of England's Teddy Boys in the 1950s. These blue-collar adolescents of Lon-
don's suburbs sported the Edwardian look of Savile Row's bourgeoisie and
rejected the conformity of English working-class dress, with its modest
"Sunday Best" tradition (Chenoune 1993: 234).
Rather than claiming that sape is intrinsically imitative, I would argue
that it is illusion and incarnation. The sapeurdoes not dress like a CEO to
imitate the CEO. He is a CEO, and if the sartorial writing is not immedi-
ately conveyed, he will learn the discourse required to convince others. He

Dreamand Drama 33
does not dress like (imitation), but as if (incarnation) (Davis 1992: 57). It is
true that fashion, understood in its traditional form, highlights and vali-
dates successes sought or obtained by the user (Lauer and Lauer 1981:
163). The example of the sapeshows, nevertheless, that fashion can signify,
even in the absence of all social achievement, its own success or, to speak
like the sapeurs,triumph (nkembo).To wear Dior or Gaulthier clothing, to
buy one's shoes at Lobb's, Weston's, or, for the daring sapeurs,at Capo Bian-
co's when one earns only the minimum wage of a laborer (5,200 FF/month
in 1996)-is that not the ultimate proof of triumph?23
Must we envision the sape as a product of its time, pure reflection of
zeitgeist, which the sociologist Herbert Blumer (1969: 283) linked to all
attempts at fashion?24 If we believe Gilles Lipovetsky, "Wehave entered an
age of fast seduction: People want to charm, but without investing a whole
lot of time, without taking time awayfrom other activities" (1987: 176). The
popularity of jeans is a good example of this zeitgeist. Fashion is no longer
understood as an outward sign of wealth, the monopoly of an elite (Klapp
1969: 73). It has become more democratic since the advent of ready-
to-wear clothing (Du Roselle 1973: 36; Chenoune 1993: 68), ready-to-con-
sume items and the desocialization of consumption (Lipovetsky 1987: 204).
Because it is embedded in a dreamlike dimension and undertakes the
reconstruction of reality, the sapeeasily frees itself of the spirit of the times.
Sapeursare without a doubt the heirs to another era, the era of Beau Brum-
mell, for example (George Brummell, 1778-1840), who was said by Lord
Byron to be the greatest man of the nineteenth century.25 Brummell, inim-
itable master, spent hours selecting a color, tone, perfume, or tie to assume
the veil of mystery that rendered him so divine in the eyes of his contem-
poraries. His boots were alwaysimmaculate, his mirrors cleaned with cham-
pagne, his bearing and self-confidence impeccable. The Prince of Wales,
his curiosity piqued, regularly went to watch the unveiling of this mystery
in Brummell's private apartments. In vain! There was nothing to imitate
(Chenoune 1993: 22). There is in the mikilistes'sape a fervor, a self-confi-
dence and a devotion that even religion cannot impart. Kitendiis the word
that embodies this notion. Kitendi(a kikongo word) is more than just cloth;
it represents a cult of cloth, a sublimation of the body that has been regen-
erated by cloth. It is not surprising that sapeursdevote most of their money,
time, and energy to it. The sapeoffers them a sort of resurrection. Through
it their realities reincarnate themselves as in a dream, where they are dam-
aged by strange convulsions and ambiguity.
The Role of Griffes
Griffes,as we know, are labels that authenticate the mikiliste'sappearance

and attest to the dream's presence. They constitute icons that disclose the
mikiliste'sdreamlike voyage into the sape'suniverse. Without griffes,the mik-

iliste would be powerless, bare and vulnerable. "In Africa," recounts Djo
Balard in an interview in AfriqueElite,
if you are well dressed, all doors are open to you.... Africanswho live
here [in Europe]are careful.If theydon't haveanythingto wear,theypre-
fer not to returnhome for vacation.There are people who haven'tgone
backfor fifteen years!In 1982, I had a friendwho spent twomonths down
there; he couldn't go out during the day because he only had imitation
clothing and shoes, not griffes.26
In this era of extreme exposure, brand names are visible everywhere.

The most prestigious brand names are totemic symbols, protective mascots
that guarantee the sapeur'ssuccess. Sapeursbelieve in griffesand in their
power to make a difference. Linen (lino depepito),worn pompously, is Ital-
ian griffe: Georgio Armani, Nino Cerruti and others; the classic suit is
signed Marcel Lassance, Yves Saint Laurent, or Arthur and Fox; the shoes
are preferably English: Church, Lobb, Alden, and Weston; the leather is
Japanese: Kenzo, Yohji Yamamoto; the jeans are by Marith6 and FranCois
Girbaud.27 Thierry Mugler is extravagance, and Jean-Paul Gaulthier is
provocation. Without the griffe,the sapewould not exist. If the quality of the
attire fails in its role to communicate the mikiliste'sidentity, the griffetakes
over and speaks for itself. It imposes silence, stifles contention over the
kitendi, and takes sapeursback to the source of their faith. If the sapeur
believes that clothing makes the man, he also believes that griffesmake the
clothing. Nothing, neither his meager salary nor the exorbitant price of the
griffe,inhibits his possessive frenzy. By acquiring the griffe,which he will do
at any cost, the sapeurbuys himself a fragment of his dream.
It is important to refrain from masking an apparent contradiction in
what wasjust said; the contradiction between the wearing, or style, and the
griffe.In asserting throughout her prodigious career that a woman should
dress as simply as her maid, Coco Chanel was merely disassociating the
wearing from the clothing by challenging those who seek elegance. Wear-
ing a maid's outfit and appearing elegant: there's the challenge! Worn by
a maid, the dress displays a social status. Moreover, it represents the status
for which the clothing industry produced it. The same dress worn by the
bourgeois woman must, according to Chanel, speak an entirely different
language: an egotistical social language. The style, the appearance, the
maintenance of the bourgeois woman superimpose themselves onto the
dress's crude language by encoding its message and by substituting anoth-
er discourse in a ventriloquistic process. If this substitution exists in the
sape, the new discourse demands designers' clothing. Without claiming to
decode this contradiction, I suspect that it must be attributed to the same
paradox as the sape.The bourgeois woman that Chanel describes to us does
not count her money when she enters a famous couturier's boutique. The
sapeur, on the other hand, often leaves his entire savings in such shops.

Dreamand Drama 35
There lies the paradox. Sapeurs resort to the griffes-clothing already

authenticated-onto which they graft an egotistical discourse.
The sapeurs'dreamlike route does not go without collisions or convul-
sions. Let us summarize: the young man who reaches the dreamed spaces
of the North has no other choice but to request asylum. He does not go to
Europe with a student or long-term visa. He often travels under a false iden-
tity. European authorities contest the right of these young people to asy-
lum. In their view, it is not political asylum, as outlined in the Geneva Con-
vention, so much as economic asylum.28
Faced with the brutal reality of Europe which they discover with alarm
once they arrive, the mikilistesresort to a complex ideology they refer to as
"colonial debt" to validate their identity as political exiles (Gondola 1993:
166). Since the former colonizer denies them this identity, they make him
pay for it politically. The "colonial debt" is thus a recurring theory which
ultimately "victimizes"all blacks-from the first African who entered into
contact with the white man to the mikilistewho is handcuffed and turned
back to the departure gate-and compensates them.29 The mikilistesthere-
fore understand colonization as a historical process whose form and loca-
tion have changed, but whose essence remains the same. Sons of the colo-
nized, they too are colonized.
The first installment of this "self-reimbursement"began with the diese,
a word whose origin and transcription I have not yet managed to deter-
mine. Its definition, however, is clear. It concerns a story, the most plausi-
ble story imaginable, often documented down to the smallest details. It is
the account of political opposition to the Mobutu dictatorship, the demon-
strations that were brutally suppressed by the tyrant's soldiers, the arrest,
the threats and torture, the insecurity of the family, and ultimately the
secret escape and refuge in France, Belgium, or Switzerland. Nothing is
missing, nothing falsified. Everything is authentic. The dates can be veri-
fied. Everything is there, everything except the most important detail: the
mikilistehad not participated in it. This narrative, sometimes authenticated
by physical scars (another element of the illusion), has begun to raise the
suspicion of various immigration offices throughout Western Europe.
Another aspect of the "colonial debt" ideology is fraud (mayuya).30The
mikilistecheats with everything. Ko betanguma (do the boa) signifies passing
underneath the turnstile in the Parisian metro and avoiding the fangs of
the ngando (crocodiles, or ticket inspectors). The use of "Raymond Barre"
became popular among Congolese when Raymond Barre held the position
of Economic Minister in Jacques Chirac's first government. It consists of
sliding a metro ticket or a needle into the electricity meter to keep it from
turning. Ko soumbelais to use the telephone for communicating with peo-
ple back home, then inviting others over, charging an average 100 FF for
thirty minutes, and failing to pay when the bill from France Telecom
arrives. This latter practice is the corollary of another well-known one,
ndakoya poids (squatted apartment). It is a risky endeavor to illegally occu-

py a temporarily unoccupied apartment, as such activity often ends in

tragedy. First, during the night, the mikilistediscovers an unlit, and thus
unoccupied, apartment. Then he locates the floor and the front door and
introduces his "griffe,"a piece of paper through the crack of the door. He
will return to the apartment several weeks later to verify whether the paper
is still in place or whether it has fallen. If the paper did not move, proof of
vacancy, he will force the door open with his body, thus becoming the
apartment's illegal occupant. Dangerous practice? Certainly. Several young
men have lost their lives, shot supposedly in self-defense by a furious occu-
pant who returned from a long absence or by an owner exasperated by the
refusal to vacate the premises. The first man to build a lucrative squatting
"business"was named "Ebende"(iron). It seems that this name was given to
him because of the work tools, hammers and crowbars, which he carried
with him everywhere. At the moment of the illegal occupation boom in
1986, Ebende began helping those who had already located an empty
apartment to break into the place. He then started to break into apart-
ments he himself found, which he "resold" to Africans who were looking
for lodging. Ebendehas become a common name for a squatter.
Other practices, such as possession of stolen goods, selling drugs,
checoula (false checks), shoplifting, illegal sales, the loan of resident per-
mits, harassment of white women, loud conversations, and practicing ngan-
da are also justified by this lex talioniswhich so permeates the mikilistephi-
losophy of the "colonial debt."31
Sapeis redolant with political meanings. In Douglas Kellner's view, cul-
ture is a field that inherently promotes political stances and strategies
(1995: 94). According to Kellner, rap music for example,
constitutesa culture of resistanceagainstwhite supremacyand oppres-

sion. Resistanceby African-Americans not only takesthe form of musical
and culturalexpression,but also other formsof resistancein everydaylife
in the context of language,style,attitude,and social relations."(188)
Through the sape, there develops what James Scott (1990), in his bril-
liant essay on resistance strategies in subcultures, calls "hidden tran-
scripts"-a series of disguised messages and attitudes representing a hid-
den critique of the dominant group's authority. These masked forms of
protest range from simple jokes or anger to genuine positions of resistance
(Scott 1990: 136-69).
The politics of the sape,especially for the Congolese youth, barely con-
ceal ethnic fractures that continue to overwhelm the political landscape of
their country. Congolese sapeurs,coming predominantly from the regional
group of Laris, have created with elegance what the sans-culottes devel-
oped with rags: an instrument of protest and an emblem of political rally-
ing.

Dreamand Drama 37
We all come from the South, and it mayappearparadoxicaltodaybut we

were "proud"to havebeen colonized by the Frenchwho, penetratinginto
the Congo from the South, brought us education and western clothing.
We all admired our grandparents,war veteranswho returned home in
frock coats, bowler hats, and gloves. And we sought the same clothing!
The people in the North were still naked and hunting with bows and
arrows(Ficatier1989).32
To oppose the "northerners," who came to power like one jumping

"from canoe to plane," the newly wealthy Lari sapeursostentatiously demon-
strate that style (classe) can't be bought with money. Northerners display
their wealth through "luxurious mansions" and "flashy cars;" Lari sapeurs
brandish the sapewith its aesthetics and illusion.33
Real Clothing, Spoken Clothing

"I open a fashion magazine," writes Roland Barthes in his Fashion system
(1983: 3). "I see that two different garments are being dealt with. The first
is the one presented to me as photographed or drawn-it is image cloth-
ing. The second is the same garment, but described, transformed into lan-
guage." In this way, he continues, "written clothing is carried by lan-
guage"(4).
Stopped in the street by a woman who cried, "eh! monsieur! Votre
pochette va tomber!" Djo Balard, accustomed to this sort of remark,
responded to her with malice and with well-prepared stylistic effect:
"Madame..., laissez tomber." One corner of his breast pocket was solidly
attached to the interior lining of his jacket pocket with a little safety-pin.
The sagging pants, the jacket that was clearly too large for him, and the tie,
fastened in extremis,falling to his thighs, were the defining features of the
"laisser-tomber"style to which Djo Balard claimed paternity.
These two examples highlight a common message. Beyond real cloth-
ing, the tangible object, there exists a wearing, a speaking, and even danc-
ing and singing of and about clothes.34 It would thus be wrong to believe
that only real clothing makes fashion. To the questions: "Whydoes fashion
utter clothing so abundantly?" and "Why does it interpose, between the
object and its user, such a luxury of words, such a network of meaning?"
Barthes cites economic reasons. To "blunt the buyer calculating conscious-
ness, a veil must be drawn around the object-a veil of images, of reasons,
of meanings...in short, a simulacrum of the real object must be creat-
ed"(1983: xi).
Psychological reasons also exist. Sapeurs find it necessary to speak,
admire, and make others admire their clothing as if wearing it were not suf-
ficient to communicate the desired message. Djo Balard made linen speak

in this apothegm, now popular with sapeurs:"se froisse avec noblesse et se

porte avec 616gance." It is said that at an exclusive, elegant party in Braz-
zaville, where a metro ticket in hand served as an invitation, a sapeurtook
off his shoe and went to place it on the table of a group of guests. He want-
ed them to admire it! Another sapeur(wearing a pair of shoes made of croc-
odile leather), having accidentally stepped in a puddle, cried: "Crocoameli
mayi, crocoameli mayi!"(The crocodile drank the cup!). Beyond the anec-
dote, it is a matter of seeing in these different escapades the creation of
speech that is not the crude language of the clothing itself, but that accom-
panies and interprets it. In this sense, we can conclude that the sapeur's
speech manipulates the clothing's language and remains an individual and
authentic production.35 His speech can also be assimilated into a spoken
clothing, an oneiric clothing that idealizes the real clothing and erases any
potential roughness. It also erases the flaws that might result from its wear
by the sapeur'sbody.36
Chiteau-Rouge (Paris) or the Dream at All Costs

The mikilistes'dreamlike adventure ends along the sidewalks of Panama
and Suez Streets, next to the Chateau-Rouge metro stop. There, sapefinds
its temple, real clothing its souk, and spoken clothing its lyric stage. There,
sapeursget together for a fundamental activity-the illicit sale of allegedly
stolen griffes.It is difficult to reconstruct in time and in space the route of
this clothing sociability. But one distinction is essential: sapeursfrom Kin-
shasa created stages for their ostentatious behavior in different municipal
stadiums in Parisian suburbs (Aubervilliers, Sarcelles, Nanterre, etc.). A
Sunday soccer tournament during the summer becomes the pretext for all
sorts of activities: fights, settling of scores, music, alcohol, harassment of
women, preparation and sale of kebabs, trade in stolen goods, and, chiefly,
sartorial ostentation. Sapeursfrom Brazzaville, in contrast, chose Parisian
cafds. Between 1975 and 1983, they crowded into three spots: the MEC
(maison des itudiants congolais) located on rue B6ranger; cafe B6ranger, a
few minutes away;and the "chains"at the continuation of rue B&ranger,in
front of the Tati store and La Place de la R6publique metro entrance (Gan-
doulou 1984: 131, 133). Later they began to frequent a cafe that still exists
at the intersection of boulevard Strasbourg-Saint-Denis and boulevard
R6aumur-Sebastopol. They were driven away by the owner who was frus-
trated by the loud conversations and all the trafficking taking place at his
establishment, which had become the center for such activities.37 They
withdrew toward Chiteau-d'eau (along the sidewalks of boulevard Rdau-
mur-S6bastopol), a previous gathering place, and especially toward
Chiteau-Rouge.38
We can still observe them. I had the opportunity to do so in August
1995 and June 1996. They were sitting around a table outside the

Dreamand Drama 39
"Royal-Strasbourg-bar"and "I'Ariel," across from the entrance to the

Chateau-d'eau metro stop, leaning against parked cars, talking, and traf-
ficking on the sidewalks and in the caf6s at the intersection of Panama and
Suez streets, at Chateau-Rouge.
The social function of the Parisian caf6, long a subject of analysis, con-
tinues to be worthy of exploration.39 Parisian workers' speech and the cul-
ture it conveys would be incomprehensible without reference to the world
of caf6s and cabarets. Besides, Chateau-Rouge offers the perfect setting for
these displays of appearance, with its "Afro-Caribbean"beauty product
stores and hairdressing salons, its small grocery stores and African restau-
rants. There, sapeurssecretly sell stolen griffes.To sell in Chateau-Rouge or
Chateau-d'eau is "like going to work," according to one informant. "There
are people who live on just that. As for me, that environment supported me
for twelve years" (Lasconi, interview). Although trafficking occurs every
day-between 12 and 4 P.M. at Chateau-d'eau and from 5 to 8 P.M. at
Chateau-Rouge-the good deals are made on Friday night. Sapeur-thieves
return from their Italian and provincial "campaigns," and mikiliste
temp-workers have just received their weekly salary:the ballet of buyers and
sellers (150 people, on average) can then begin.40
Theft from stores, although marginal today, has nevertheless defined
the informal economic activity of the sape at Chateau-Rouge. However,
faced with improved alarm and surveillance systems, the sapeurs'theft tech-
niques have become mostly obsolete.41 Nowadays, sapeursgo to Italy to buy
griffes which they slip into the Chateau-Rouge market.42 They are even
more often supplied by "inexpensive shops in Paris, known only to them.
They resell these griffes for a decent profit at Chateau-Rouge or
Chateau-d'eau, insisting on the fraudulent source of their merchandise.
Since buyers have remained attached to the myth of the "stolen griffe,"the
quality and price of this clothing acquire a mythic value quite removed
from its real value. The chief impression among the buyers at
Chateau-Rouge, as Bazenguissa and MacGaffey (1995: 131) have noted, is
that "the thief would not have taken as many risks for products without
commercial value."
Another lucrative operation is the "griffeswaltz," which also benefits
from this myth of the stolen clothing. Sapeursbuy ordinary suits, apply
fraudulently obtained designer labels, and resell them at double the price.
It is important to note that the sapeur,who would not hesitate to sell such
clothing to others, would consider it sacrilegious to dress in falsely labeled
clothing, let alone in imitation clothing.43
The purpose of all this commerce is spoken clothing. At
Chateau-Rouge, the sapeurdoes not sell just clothing, he sells an image, a
dream, an essence of clothing that the culture of the sapecrowned and con-
secrated. Mikilisteswho buy clothing, whether or not they are sapeurs,are
searching for a dream that they believe Chateau-Rouge places within their
reach.

Conclusion
I have attempted to trace the cultural itinerary and dreamlike voyage that
plunges Congolese youth into the universe of the sape. I have tried to pre-
sent the main themes of a phenomenon in which complexity and ambigu-
ity constitute the major elements. If I made little attempt to distinguish,
within this heterogenous mikiliste community, the nuances in identity
between Kinois and Brazzavillois,it is because according to all of the infor-
mants there exists a solidarity that obliterates differences in taste and
style.44 It is true that sapeursfrom Kinshasa are extravagant, even eccentric,
while those from Brazzaville are more sober and classical.45 But the differ-
ences obscure many similarities. If the Brazzavilloishave mastered the tie
and the classical suit, it is because the kinoiswere deprived of them during
two decades of Mobutu's so-called authenticiti.46The eccentric tendencies
displayed by certain ex-Zairian sapeursmust be seen as an extreme reaction
against, and renewal of, this clothing austerity. The same cult of the gnffe,
the same use of clothing language to construct a dreamlike identity, and
the same illegal practices unite the two groups in a sort of rediscovered fra-
ternity. If I deliberately kept the expressions used by the mikilistesin Lingala
(and not in Lari), it is because the Congolese sapeursbelieve that these
neologistic constructions, to which Lingala lends itself better than any
other language, accurately reflect their lives and experiences. This
encounter of the two communities in which Lingala plays such an impor-
tant role also takes place during rumba and soukouss band concerts (Koffi
Olomide, Papa Wemba, Zaiko, etc.) and in the context of nganda that hosts
both the ostentatious theater of the sape and its most risky schemes.47
The nganda represents a locus in which the distinctive sociability of the
streets and neighborhoods of African cities is recreated. The fact that the
crowds in most nganda remain moderate (on average fifteen people, with
a strong nucleus of at least ten regulars), and that the nganda often takes
place in the hostess's living room, is favorable to the development of
intense sociability.48 There sapeursfind themselves in an intimate setting
the Parisian caf6 cannot offer since it is missing a fundamental ingredi-
ent-Congolese music. The mikilistesfeel sufficiently at ease at the nganda
to display their goods and seek advice from the hostess and sympathetic
customers. It is in any case a space with different levels and multiple uses
of sociability where, in the dominant culture's blind spot, a dreamlike iden-
tity is forged and where the adventure of the sapecontinues.
The sape illustrates Bourdieu's formula according to which social iden-
tity defines itself and affirms itself through difference (1979: 191). There-
fore, the sapeurs'clothing, in its protean dimensions, envelops and develops
the body, draws the cultural contours of the social group, and brings out a
plurality of egotistical identities. But it remains above all a response, a way
for this "sacrificed"youth to adjust to changing realities over which they
have virtually no control. Through this voyage into the sapewe witness the

Dreamand Drama 41
death of reality and its reincarnation in dreams. It is clear that the explo-
ration of this field of dreamlike representation has at least one benefit, that
of better understanding reality, even if it is to recite its funeral oration.
Acknowledgments
This research was made possible through a grant from the Joint Commit-
tee on African Studies (JCAS) of the Social Science Research Council and
the American Council of Learned Societies. It is part of the New Directions
series launched by the JCAS. I would like to thank Bogumil Jewsiewicki for
his encouragement and his comments on the French version of this paper.
Peter Rachleff, Joelle Vitiello, and Heather Akou's very useful comments
helped in the revision. I am grateful to Nicole Palasz for translating this
essay from the French. My interview with Adrien Ngudi, the source for the
second epigraph, took place in London on June 21, 1996.
References
Balzac, Honore (de). 1938 [1830]. "Traitede la vie 6l6gante."(Euvrescompltes,
diverses,vol. 2. Paris: Louis Conard.
ewuvres
Barber, Karin. 1987. "Popular Arts in Africa." AfricanStudiesReview30 (3): 1-78.
Jules Amedee. 1966. "Du dandysmeet de George Brummell."
Barbeyd'Aurevilly,
(Euvresromanesques vol. 2. Paris:Gallimard.
completes,
Barthes,Roland.1983 [1967]. TheFashionSystem. NewYork:Hill and Wang.
Bazenguissa,R6my.1992. "'Bellesmaisons' contre S.A.P.E.:Pratiquesde valorisa-
tion symboliqueau Congo."In MaximeHaubertet al., eds., Etatet sociitidans
le Tiers-Monde:
de la modernisationai la dimocratisation.
Paris:Publicationsde la
Sorbonne,247-55.
'
Bazenguissa,R6myandJanet MacGaffey.1995. "Vivreet briller Paris.Desjeunes
Congolaiset Zairoisen margede la lkgalite&conomique." 57:
Politiqueafricaine
124-33.
Baudrillard, Jean. 1969. Pour une critiquede l'conomie politiquedu signe. Paris: Galli-
mard.
Blumer,Herbert. 1969. "Fashion:From ClassDifferentiationto CollectiveSelec-
tion." TheSociologicalQuaterly10 (3): 275-91.
Bourdieu, Pierre. 1979. La distinction:critiquesocialedu jugement.Paris: Editions de
Minuit.
Bouteillier, Gaston. 1903. Douze moissous l'iquateur.Toulouse.
Chenoune, Farid.1993.A HistoryofMen'sFashion.Paris:Flammarion.
Coplan, David. 1985. In TownshipTonight!SouthAfrica'sBlack CityMusic and Theatre.
NewYork:Longmans.
Daumont-Spragg,Christianeand Robert Cottrell. 1990. Passages:Textesdu Monde
Montreal:CentreEducatifet Culturel
francophone.
Davis, Fred. 1992. Fashion, Culture, and Identity. Chicago: University of Chicago
Press.
De Brie, Christian. 1994. "Les immigres dans l'6tau policier." Le Mondediplomatique,
decembre.

. 1996. "Boulevard de la xenophobie," Le Mondediplomatique, juin.

De Witte Jehan (Baron). 1913. Les deux Congo.Paris: Plon.
Diouf, Mamadou. 1996. "Urban Youth and Senegalese Politics: Dakar 1988-1994."
Public Culture8: 225-49.
Du Roselle, Bruno. 1973. La crisede la mode:la revolutiondesjeunes et la mode.Paris:
Fayard.
Erlmann, Veit. 1995. Nightsong:Performance,Power,and Practicein SouthAfrica.Chica-
go: University of Chicago Press.
Fabian, Johannes. 1978. "Popular Culture in Africa: Findings and Conjectures."
Africa48 (4): 315-34.
_ 1996. Remembering the Present:Painting and PopularHistory in Zaire.Berke-
ley: University of California Press.
Ficatier,Julia. 1989. "Au Congo, pays de la Sape." La croix13, avril.
Finkelstein, Joanne. 1991. TheFashionedSelf Philadelphia: Temple University Press.
Flfigel, J. C. 1930. ThePsychologyof Clothes.New York:International University Press.
Foulkes, David. 1985. Dreaming:A Cognitive-Psychological Analysis. Hillsdale, N. J.:
Lawrence Erlbaum Associates.
Freud, Sigmund. 1950 [1900]. TheInterpretationof Dreams.New York: The Modern
Library.
Friedman, Jonathan. 1990. "The Political Economy of Elegance. An African Cult of
Beauty." Cultureand History7: 101-25.
Gandoulou, Justin-Daniel. 1984. EntreBacongoet Paris. Paris: centre Georges Pom-
pidou.
. 1989. Dandies aiBacongo.Le cultede l'lgance dans la sociitt congolaisecontem-
poraine.Paris: L'Harmattan.
Gondola, Ch. Didier. 1992. "Le 'mal-ville' en Afrique noire: un rave brise," col-
loque, Jeunes, ville, emploi.Quel avenirpour la jeunesse africaine?Paris: ministere
de la Cooperation et du Developpement, 26-29 octobre.
. 1993. "Musique moderne et identites citadines en ville africaine: le cas du
Congo-Zaire." Afriquecontemporaine168: 155-68.
_ 1996. "Popular Music, Urban Society, and Changing Gender Relations in
Kinshasa, Zaire." In Maria Grosz-Ngat6 & Omari H. Kokole, eds., Gendered
Encounters:ChallengingCulturalBoundariesand Social Hierarchiesin Africa. Lon-
don: Routledge, 65-84.
. 1997a. Villesmiroirs:migrationset identitis urbainesai Brazzavilleet Kinshasa,
1930-1970. Paris:L'Harmattan.
. 1997b. "Jeux d'argent, jeux de vilains: Rien ne va plus au Zaire." Politique
africaine65: 96-111.
Graham, Ronnie. 1992. The WorldofAfrican Music. London: Pluto Press.
Haine, Scott. 1996. The Worldof the Paris Cafi: Sociabilityamong the FrenchWorking
Class, 1789-1914. Baltimore: Johns Hopkins University Press.
Hall, Calvin.1966. TheMeaning of Dreams.New York: McGraw-Hill.
Inglis, Brian. 1987. ThePowerof Dreams.London: Grafton Books.
Jewsiewicki, Bogumil. 1992. Art picturalzairois.Quebec: Septentrion.
Keali'ino Homoku, Joann. 1979. 'You dance what you wear, and you wear your cul-
ture values." In Justine Cordwell and Ronald Schwarz, eds., TheFabricsof Cul-
ture: TheAnthropologyof Clothingand Adornment.The Hague: Mouton Publish-
ers, 77-83.

Dreamand Drama 43
Kellner, Douglas. 1995. Media Culture:CulturalStudies,Identity,and PoliticsBetweenthe

Modernand thePostmodern.London: Routledge.
Klapp, Orrin. 1969. CollectiveSearchfor Identity.NewYork: Holt, Rinehart & Winston.
Lauer, Jeanette and Robert Lauer. 1981. Fashion Power: The Meaning of Fashion in
AmericanSociety.Englewood Cliffs: Prentice Hall.
Lipovetsky, Gilles. 1987. L'empirede l'iphemere:la modeet son destindans lessociitis mod-
ernes.Paris: Gallimard.
MacGaffey,Janet. 1993. "'On se debrouille': reflexions sur la deuxieme economie
au Zaire." In Jean Tshonda Omasombo, ed., Le Zaireail'ipreuvede l'histoireimme-
diate.Paris: Karthala.
Martin, Phyllis. 1995. Leisure and Societyin Colonial Brazzaville.Cambridge: Cam-
bridge University Press.
. 1994. "Contesting Clothes in Colonial Brazzaville"Journal of AfricanHisto-
ry 35: 401-26.
Mazon, Mauricio. 1984. The Zoot-SuitRiots: The Psychologyof SymbolicAnnihilation.
Austin: University of Texas Press.
McCracken, Grant. 1990. Cultureand Consumption:New Approachesto the Symbolic
Characterof ConsumerGoodsand Activities.Bloomington and Indianapolis: Indi-
ana University Press.
Montangero, Jacques. 1993. "Dream, Problem-Solving, and Creativity."In Corado
Cavallero and David Foulkes, eds., Dreamingas Cognition.New York: Harvester
Wheatsheaf, 93-113.
Obenga Th6ophile. 1979. "Habillement, cosmetique et parure au royaume de
Kongo." cahierscongolaisd'anthropologie et d'histoire4: 21-38.
Ranger, Terence. 1975. Dance and Societyin EasternAfrica, 1890-1970. Berkeley: Uni-
versity of California Press.
Roche, Daniel. 1989. La culturedes apparences:Une histoiredu vitement,XVIF-XVIIZF
siecle.Paris: Fayard.
Rochu, Gilbert. 1995. "Du contr1le des frontieres au racisme ordinaire." Le Monde
diplomatique, juin.
Safouan, Moustapha. 1982. L'inconscientet son scribe.Paris: Seuil.
Schwartz,Jack. 1963. "Men's Clothing and the Negro." Phylon24: 224-31.
Scott, James. 1990. Dominationand theArts of Resistance.New Haven: Yale University
Press.
Sesep, N'sial Bal-Nsien. 1990. Langage,normeset ripertoireen milieuurbainafricain:l'in-
doubil.Quebec: Centre international de recherche sur le bilinguisme.
Silverman, Kaja. 1994. "Fragments of a Fashionable Discourse." In Shari Benstock
and Suzanne Ferriss, eds., On Fashion.New Brunswick:Rutgers University Press,
183-96.
Steele, Valerie. 1988. Paris Fashion:A CulturalHistory.New York: Oxford University
Press.
Turner, Terence. 1980. "The Social Skin." In Jeremy Cherfas and Roger Lewin, eds.,
A Cross-CulturalViewof ActivitiesSuperfluousto Survival. Beverly Hills: Sage Pub-
lications, 112-40.
Vassal, Gabrielle andJoseph Vassal. 1931. FranCais,BelgesetPortugaisen Afrique.Paris:
Pierre Roger.
Vogel, Susan, ed. 1991. AfricaExplores.20th CenturyAfricanArt. New York:Center for
African Art.

Notes
1. The abundant literature on dreams, since Freud's ground-breaking work, The
Interpretationof Dreams (first published in 1900) confirms that there is a sym-
bolic rewriting and reconstruction of reality to which dreams deliver them-
selves (Freud 1955: 240; Foulkes 1985: 22). Dreams may not always coherently
and intelligently assemble materials taken from reality, but this obvious absur-
dity is often a substitute for an unbearable reality (Freud 1955: 295; Safouan
1982: 120-21). This is certainly the case in dreams in which deceased loved
ones live once again (Freud 1955: 291, 300). Another function of dreams is to
resolve real problems (Inglis 1987: 26-62; Montangero 1993: 110), and this,
because even subconsciously, dreams constitute a symbolic exploration, a sort
of involuntary thinking (Foulkes 1985: 19). The other element which dreams
share with the sape is the central place held by the ego (Freud 1955: 304; Hall
1966: 11; Foulkes 1985: 45).
2. I have coined this expression (Gondola 1992)-to which the closest English
equivalent would be "urbanjungle"-to refer to the economic and social frus-
trations of African urban youth. For a useful discussion of the African city as a
field for confrontation and negotiation between youth and political authori-
ties, see Diouf (1996).
3. Sapecomes from the verb "sesaper,"which in French conveys the idea of fash-
ionable as well as ostentatious dressing habits. Sapewill be kept in French as it
does not have an adequate English translation.
4. I borrow this expression from Klapp (1969: 75, 80, 84), who presents fashion
as an element of "ego differentiation" rather than "classdifferentiation." If for
Klapp ego-screaming is a simple appeal (look at me!), I believe it represents
the affirmation of an ontological expression: "I sape, therefore I am."
5. On the importance of appearances in precolonial Central Africa, see Obenga
(1979); on the relative social impact of European clothing on Congolese soci-
ety (Brazzaville in particular), see the striking analyses of Martin (1994: 405;
1995: 156-9).
6. Both Sedec and HCB were colonial extensions of Unilever Overseas, owned by
the Lever brothers.
7. Interview with (Antoine) Kasongo Fundi, musician, Barumbu/Kinshasa, 27
August 1989.
8. The Lieutenant-Governor of Lower Congo to the Governor General, 12 April
1930, National Archives, overseas section (Aix-en-Provence, France) AEF
5D88.
9. Letter from Camille Diata, writer and interpreter at the direct taxation office,
to Paul Mayoukou, postal clerk in Mossaka, Brazzaville, 19 March 1930, AEF
5D88.
10. Lasconi, interview with the author, Paris-Meaux, 25 June 1996.
11. Unless otherwise specified, italicized words followed by a translation are in Lin-
gala.
12. This convention on the free movement of people inside nine European coun-
tries was ratifiedJune 19, 1990 and put into effect on December 31, 1993.
13. As a result of the Schengen Accords, expulsions are now occurring at the EEC
level. In March 1995, Germany, the Netherlands, and France coordinated their
efforts to deport 44 Zairian asylum-seekers, including one father of a French
child (Rochu 1995).

Dreamand Drama 45
14. He, as some of my other interlocutors, has asked to remain anonymous. The bill
"relatifa la maitrise de l'immigration et aux conditions d'entr6e, d'accueil et de
s6jour des 6trangers en France," adopted on June 18, 1993 by the National
Assembly, marked a shift in French immigration policy. For the first time, a
French legislative text, in all its aspects, establishes an implicit correlation
between immigration, crime, and unemployment. One route to immigration
stows the mikilistesin the hold of a ship until they reach a major European port.
This path often has fatal consequences; see the series of articles in Le Monde
(March 23-29, 1993) on the death of seven Ghanaian stowaways,tossed out to
sea by Ukrainian sailors on a cargo ship en route to the French port of Le Havre.
15. These genuine prisons, also discreetly christened "waiting centers," were cre-
ated (in airports, ports and train stations open to international traffic) by a law
voted in 1992.
16. According to the UN Annual DemographicStatistics (1988), 71 percent of the
urban population in the Democratic Republic of Congo (RDC) was less than
25 years old in 1985.
17. In most African societies the rite of passage from childhood to adulthood
underwent a curious, yet predictable evolution. Initiation in the sacred "for-
est," practiced in precolonial Africa, was replaced, during colonization, with
the migration of village youth toward the "ville cruelle" vividly depicted by
Mongo Beti. After independence, the migration toward European cities
became the latest version of initiation to adulthood.
18. This practice became popular with young musicians in Kinshasa during the
1960s (see Graham 1991: 110). In order to acquire "yellow papaya" skin,
sapeursresort to creams such as Ambi and Topiclair (intended for women), or
pharmaceutical products, Topiframe or Diprosome, which are only sold with a
medical prescription. During a visit to Diosso (a small town near Pointe-Noire),
I observed young boys dressed in rags who had whitened their faces with a
homemade mixture.
19. A very popular haircut among the sapeurswas intended to make them look
older by creating the illusion of baldness. This physical appearance character-
izes, in urban Congolese society, a man's social success.
20. The theory of wasteful expenditure was developped by Fliigel (see the discus-
sion elaborated in Lauer and Lauer 1981: 7-8). Jack Schwartz (1963) has ana-
lyzed a similar paradoxical pattern of consumption within certain groups of
urban black Americans. According to Schwartz, the correlation between social
status, and thus buying power, and consumption levels is no longer valid.
21. Adrien Ngudi, interview.
22. Mikilistesalso use the expression "kobetalibanga"or "kobetacaillou"(break the
stone), thus likening their work to that of a slave. The sapeur,like the English
dandy of the nineteenth century, is above all "un oseur... qui se trouve entre
l'originalite et 1'excentricite," Barbey d'Aurevilly (1966: 689).
23. Perfect success is only obtained once the sapeur's partner is comparably
dressed. By dressing her in the most expensive griffes,the sapeuris ultimately
dressing himself. We have long known that men tend to display their econom-
ic power through their female companion's attire. We now know that within
this projection of economic power, there are hidden motives which range from
simple voyeurism to lust (see Silverman 1994: 186).
24. For the refutation of this dynamic theory of appearance, see Lauer and Lauer
(1981: 18).

25. A striking similarity between the prince of the dandies and sapeursis that Brum-
mell, like sapeurs,came from a modest background, being the son of a private
secretary and grandson of a valet.
26. Article reprinted in Daumont-Spragg and Cottrell (1990: 104).
27. Linen's popularity with sapeursdeserves an explanation. First, Djo Balard's slo-
gan ("se froisse avec noblesse et se porte avec 616gance") is revealing, as no
other fabric is as chic and comfortable and as luxurious and light. Linen frees
the griffedbody by adapting itself to all movements. This is why linen is the
ultimate danced griffe.It allows sapeursto participate freely in risky dances. It
encourages the expression of an authentic culture that is symbolized by dance.
Through dance, clothing and culture meet and claim the dream; see Keali'ino
Homoku (1979) and the similar example of the dance of the kimono in Japan;
see also Mazon (1984) and the example of the 1940s flamboyant zoot-suiters
and the Jitterbug dance. Couturier of the "great,"including Francois Mitter-
rand, who adopted his clothing in 1981, Marcel Lassance added the finishing
touch to the "calm face" image which Mitterrand's public relations advisors
wished to portray.
28. French visas are now given with condescending parsimony in the French
embassies in African countries. French authorities reject eight out of ten
requests for asylum.
29. Mikilistesdo not all adhere to this ideology, and not all of them use it to justify
their schemes. Many recognize that this debt is "non-refundable" since the
drama of colonization also resulted in sacrificed human lives.
30. Rarely do mikilistesinvent fraud. Fraudulent techniques in Paris begin within
several isolated groups of Algerians, Moroccans, Senegalese, and even French
people themselves. They are adopted by Congolese, and gain notoriety and
publicity before they are met with repression.
31. Nganda is a bar hosted in private apartments; see Bazenguissa & MacGaffey
1995: 127-128, 132.
32. Laris adopted European clothing more quickly and with more fervor than any
other regional group in colonial Brazzaville. In 1932, the municipality count-
ed 121 tailors in Bacongo (a neighborhood which is predominantly Lari) com-
pared to only 39 in Poto Poto (Martin 1995: 162). The Congolese daily news-
paper Mweti relates the parade of "Parisians"in the grandstand during a soc-
cer match between Cara and Diables-Noirs. At the conclusion of the match,
several "Parisians"were arrested. The "socialist," "Northern" regime at one
time preached the banishment of "Southern Parisians"from public places. At
the beginning of the 1980s, "Parisiansprohibited" signs could be found at the
entrance to some Brazzaville bars (Gandoulou 1984: 14, 25).
33. See the remarks of Bazenguissa (1992: 253).
34. "SAPE (affirms Djo Balard) is not only a matter of buying expensive things.
One must find a way of wearing them" (Daumont-Spragg and Cottrell 1990:
105). Balzac formulated the idea in a similar vein in his fanciful treaty on ele-
gance, writing that "La toilette ne consiste pas tant dans le vetement que dans
une certaine maniere de le porter. Aussi n'est-ce pas tant le chiffon lui-meme
que l'esprit du chiffon qu'il faut saisir" (1938: 182). We find the same idea in
the writings of Barbey d'Aurevilly: "[le dandysme] ce n'est pas un habit qui
marche tout seul! Au contraire! C'est une certaine maniare de le porter qui
cr&ele dandysme. On peut etre dandy avec un habit chiffonnd" (1966: 673).
The "griffesdance" consists at the moment of "chauff6" (animated part of a

Dreamand Drama 47
Congolese rumba) to display the gniffesby opening the jacket at the end of the
fingers or pulling lightly the pants to the level of a knee to render visible the
griffesof the socks or shoes. With his 1982 song Matibu, the Congolese musician
Papa Wemba helped to popularize among mikilistesgriffessuch as Weston and
Daniel Hechter, and, later,Jean-Paul Gaulthier. Another song which deals with
the sape is La Religion ya Kitendi, recorded in 1989 by Stervos Niarkos, also
known as "Ngantshie."
35. The sapedoes not have any role models or legendary figures. "There is no rep-
resentative of sapeursnor any spokesperson. We are all in the same boat; every-
one dresses in his own way. Nothing in the sape is structured, there are no ele-
gance schools, it's improvisation" (Lasconi, interview).
36. I am aware that the clothing-language metaphor has its limits. These limits
have notably been explored by McCracken (1990: 57-70), who insists that a lin-
ear reading of clothing is impossible, as the clothing sends out obscure mes-
sages which he likens to a puzzle. The exegesis of clothing does not allow the
decoding of a syntactic articulation, but resolves a puzzle (McCracken 65-66).
So, he continues, "clothing does not exhibit combinatorial freedom, and is
therefore encoded and decoded in a way quite incompatible with the struc-
tural linguistic model" (67). Rather than examining the similarities, he pro-
poses observing the metaphorical contrasts between clothing and language. I
agree with two of McCracken's points. First, clothing's language is only possi-
ble because verbal communication cannot translate what the clothing conveys.
Second, the discourse of fashion, and that of the sapein particular--due to its
opacity-can safely venture into the semiotic field of politics.
37. Since sapeursconsume alcohol in large quantities, the bar manager "pretends
to grumble when they haven't consumed enough beer. But when they drink
large quantities, then he ignores the illegal activity" (Lasconi, interview).
Griffe-sellersdrink away almost half their daily profits.
38. According to one informant, Chateau-Rouge replaced Chateau-d'eau for two
reasons. First, because the cafes and sidewalks at Chateau-d'eau, situated along
a major artery and heavily patrolled by police, did not offer the same protec-
tion as the narrow streets and compact crowds of Chateau-Rouge. Second,
because Chateau-Rouge, with its market of African food products and all of the
trafficking that takes place there, provides the griffe-sellerswith additional sales
to ill-informed impulse buyers.
39. See the recent work of Scott Haine (1996). Haine endeavors to show, especial-
ly in the second chapter entitled "Privacyin Public," that the Parisian prole-
tariat was comfortable in cafes because a wide spectrum of social functions per-
meated these spaces of diffusion. I will show that it is in the circle of the ngan-
da, rather than in the cafes which serve solely as trading areas, that a similar
socialization of sapeursoperates.
40. Interviews with Lasconi (already cited) and Aime Bataringue, Meaux, 22 June
1996.
41. This is why a small fraction of resalers began to steal from stores outside of
Paris, where blacks are looked upon with less suspicion, and where surveillance
systems are often rudimentary or nonexistent.
42. On the attraction exercised by the Italian clothing market since the 1950s, see
Chenoune (1993: 242). According to Lasconi, "the first Congolese sapeurwent
to Italy in 1978. People go there because the Italian currency is less valuable.
In Italy, there are Italians who get involved in illegal schemes, then resell to

Africans. We begin in Turin, Milan, Rome, Florence, etc. The Zairians buy
recently outdated (fins de serie)Versace clothing." The money invested in an
"Italian campaign" fluctuates between 5,000 and 40,000 francs, with a profit
margin of about 100 percent.
43. "Cheating" occurs more and more. Wearing an Arthur & Fox suit with a cheap
tie, or Westons with socks purchased at Tati (popular department store) has
become increasingly common among certain penniless sapeurs.Today, "pour
etre toujours tire a quatre 6pingles, il faut avoir des revenus ou exceller dans
la magouille et reussir li oui d'autres &chouent" (Lasconi, interview).
44. Even European sales clerks recognize ex-Zairian men by their clothing style.
Gilles Meyer, owner of the Gilles shoe-repair shop (71, rue Chabrol in Paris),
who also markets the 'John Spencer" line of shoes, estimates that ex-Zairian
and Congolese men represent 20 percent of his clientele, and claims that he
can easily distinguish ex-Zairians from Congolese.
45. "I respect the Zairian conception of the sape. They tend to wear extravagant
items that strike the eye: a red or black shirt, something unusual, something
not classical, buttoning the shirt collar (without wearing a tie), to differentiate
themselves from the Other" (Lasconi, interview).
46. On the other hand, Congolese women recognize that ex-Zairian women excel
in the art of tying the pagne because Mobutu's authenticiti kept them from
wearing skirts, dresses, and pants.
47. It is interesting to note that Congolese musicians, even those of Lari origin,
generally sing in Lingala rather than in Lari or Kikongo.
48. The nganda also serves as a space of refuge for "homeless" sapeurswho take
advantage of the hostess's kindness to spend the night and leave early the fol-
lowing morning.


Gondola1999 Sapeurs Congo

Enviado por

Dados do documento

Direitos autorais

Formatos disponíveis

Compartilhar este documento

Compartilhar ou incorporar documento

Opções de compartilhamento

Você considera este documento útil?

Este conteúdo é inapropriado?

Direitos autorais:

Formatos disponíveis

Gondola1999 Sapeurs Congo

Enviado por

Direitos autorais:

Formatos disponíveis

Dream and Drama: The Search for Elegance among Congolese Youth

Author(s): Ch. Didier Gondola

This content downloaded from 195.34.79.192 on Wed, 18 Jun 2014 05:49:10 AM

My new clothes had put me instantly into a new world.

Le mythe Afrique-misere, nous ne le voulons plus. Nous sommes en train

African StudiesReview,Volume 42, Number 1 (April 1999), pp. 23-48

This content downloaded from 195.34.79.192 on Wed, 18 Jun 2014 05:49:10 AM

This content downloaded from 195.34.79.192 on Wed, 18 Jun 2014 05:49:10 AM

Freudian interpretation, represent, in relation to wakefulness, a reincarna-

This content downloaded from 195.34.79.192 on Wed, 18 Jun 2014 05:49:10 AM

The Origins of the Sape

Today,the locals in the region of Brazzavilledressup too much, and, on

This content downloaded from 195.34.79.192 on Wed, 18 Jun 2014 05:49:10 AM

From the 1930s onward, Congolese in Kinshasa as well as those in Braz-

Do you knowthatin Brazzavilleand Kinshasa,all the gentlemen or young

Contemporary sapeursrepresent at least the third generation of Con-

The sapecomes from our fathersand our grandfatherswho were servants

This content downloaded from 195.34.79.192 on Wed, 18 Jun 2014 05:49:10 AM

The expressionmikiliste designatesthe young Congolesewho live in Europe

This content downloaded from 195.34.79.192 on Wed, 18 Jun 2014 05:49:10 AM

ed by Julia Ficatier during interviews in Brazzaville, applies to most of the

relativeswho have returnedto their countriesin a futile attemptto obtain

This content downloaded from 195.34.79.192 on Wed, 18 Jun 2014 05:49:10 AM

The Body as Social Metaphor

This content downloaded from 195.34.79.192 on Wed, 18 Jun 2014 05:49:10 AM

ing conditions of deprivation, frustration, unemployment, boredom,

This content downloaded from 195.34.79.192 on Wed, 18 Jun 2014 05:49:10 AM

minimum-wage salary.Although it may mean that he finds himself behind

This content downloaded from 195.34.79.192 on Wed, 18 Jun 2014 05:49:10 AM

The Role of Griffes

Griffes,as we know, are labels that authenticate the mikiliste'sappearance

This content downloaded from 195.34.79.192 on Wed, 18 Jun 2014 05:49:10 AM

In this era of extreme exposure, brand names are visible everywhere.

This content downloaded from 195.34.79.192 on Wed, 18 Jun 2014 05:49:10 AM

There lies the paradox. Sapeurs resort to the griffes-clothing already

This content downloaded from 195.34.79.192 on Wed, 18 Jun 2014 05:49:10 AM

py a temporarily unoccupied apartment, as such activity often ends in

constitutesa culture of resistanceagainstwhite supremacyand oppres-

This content downloaded from 195.34.79.192 on Wed, 18 Jun 2014 05:49:10 AM

We all come from the South, and it mayappearparadoxicaltodaybut we

To oppose the "northerners," who came to power like one jumping

Real Clothing, Spoken Clothing

This content downloaded from 195.34.79.192 on Wed, 18 Jun 2014 05:49:10 AM

in this apothegm, now popular with sapeurs:"se froisse avec noblesse et se

Chiteau-Rouge (Paris) or the Dream at All Costs

This content downloaded from 195.34.79.192 on Wed, 18 Jun 2014 05:49:10 AM

"Royal-Strasbourg-bar"and "I'Ariel," across from the entrance to the

This content downloaded from 195.34.79.192 on Wed, 18 Jun 2014 05:49:10 AM

This content downloaded from 195.34.79.192 on Wed, 18 Jun 2014 05:49:10 AM

This content downloaded from 195.34.79.192 on Wed, 18 Jun 2014 05:49:10 AM

. 1996. "Boulevard de la xenophobie," Le Mondediplomatique, juin.

This content downloaded from 195.34.79.192 on Wed, 18 Jun 2014 05:49:10 AM

Kellner, Douglas. 1995. Media Culture:CulturalStudies,Identity,and PoliticsBetweenthe

This content downloaded from 195.34.79.192 on Wed, 18 Jun 2014 05:49:10 AM

This content downloaded from 195.34.79.192 on Wed, 18 Jun 2014 05:49:10 AM

This content downloaded from 195.34.79.192 on Wed, 18 Jun 2014 05:49:10 AM

This content downloaded from 195.34.79.192 on Wed, 18 Jun 2014 05:49:10 AM

This content downloaded from 195.34.79.192 on Wed, 18 Jun 2014 05:49:10 AM

This content downloaded from 195.34.79.192 on Wed, 18 Jun 2014 05:49:10 AM

Você também pode gostar