With the continued discussion on witchcraft in Congolese music, there is something I would like to ask and that has to do with mabanga and specifically songs dedicated to men or lyrics in Congolese rumba in which it seems like the male singer is singing romantic lyrics to the male person the song is dedicated to.

What are the mabanga rules or culture in general?

When Koffi says "loketo ya pierro le blanc quelle balancoire..." in "Balancoire", is Koffi just being mischievous? What about in his new album "Treizieme Apotre" where most of the titles are of the names of men and the songs are romantic lyrics dedicated to these men. Is Koffi and Congolese singers in general take on the role of a woman singing love songs to their male lover, the lover being the men the song is dedicated to? Are the male musicians role playing in songs or lyrics dedicated to men? Take Heritier in the song "Kimberly Choix", there are some very suspect lyrics in that song like Heritier straight up says "Dady Kimberly mon amour...". What is going on? Or am I just reading too much into the music? I know in Congolese music and African culture in general it is normal for a man to take on the role of a woman artistically and play  as if they were the woman in a relationship or a situation and sing a song about the hardships or happiness of that woman in that relationship or particular situation created in the art piece the man is trying to convey. But it is clear in those songs or art piece that this is the case like in songs like Franco's "Mario" and Tabu Ley's "Mongali" or when men dress and act like women in dramas plays film etc etc. It is clear what is going on. But what is going on in this new era of entire romantic songs dedicated to men and sung by men directly to them?

 Again, what are the general rules guidelines and culture in general governing mabanga and specifically where it seems like the male singers are singing love songs addressing other men.

Personally I think you have to look at it in the context of an African experience, a mind that is not yet corrupted by Western Idea's of sexuality. thats my 2 cents.

Really questionable. In most genres, be it reggae, RnB and even my native Benga and Ohangla it is almost abominable to have a man sing romantic lyrics addressed to a fellow man. In the two last genres I mentioned sang in my vernacular, it is common for male singers to dedicate songs to other males but they will mostly be praising their hard work, generosity, wealth and prestige and in very few instances describing their physical attributes but never in a romantic sense( they would sing something like Hosea Songa, the brown guy who has all ladies swooning over him). Archos and other gurus please do some clarification. Though between Kimberny and Heritier I once read here that they have some triumvirate 'backdoor' business involving one Ipupa Anelka too.....

Personally I think you have to look at it in the context of an African experience, a mind that is not yet corrupted by Western Idea's of sexuality. thats my 2 cents.

I tend to think it is in the West where homosexuality is tolerated that such lyrics by men to men can find more tolerance. But even them, the ones you call corrupted do not have male on male songs. If there are I will be happy to get examples!!!

Thanks for the replies SYMPLICITY and jeantwata. Definitely as you guys said in our African culture we are affectionate, sleep together in the same bed hold hands and stuff like that. I just wanted some clarity on the homoerotic romanticism in the mabanga and dedications context. It is all innocent as per our culture of close innocent intimacy and celebrating and big upping each other like SYMPLICITY mentioned of celebrating the humanity and fortune of the other. Or is there more going on in Congolese music especially with talk on the board here of what seems to be rampant homosexuality in the Congolese music scene intertwined with the witchcraft as an affront against God and decency as archos has alluded to. As SYMPLICITY said, let the gurus clear it for us.

Yeah that's suspect to have songs dedicated to men and have romantic lyrics about them. If they were singing from a woman's point of view then there is other ways they can do it.

the romantic songs dedicated to men are basically the same as regular songs sang in the point of view of women. idk if i would put so much weight on that being an indication that homosexuality is going on. to be clear i'm not saying it ISN'T but i'm not sure that this is specifically a sign of it. in truth most industries that have hierarchies and are run like a 'boys club' (the entertainment industry) tend to have issues with satanism, homoerotic initiation and the like. so i'm not saying that this isn't happening. the song thing doesn't strike me as particularly off though. men have been singing in the point of view of women since congolese music has existed. this is part of the storytelling aspect of the music from what i understand.

the romantic songs dedicated to men are basically the same as regular songs sang in the point of view of women. idk if i would put so much weight on that being an indication that homosexuality is going on. to be clear i'm not saying it ISN'T but i'm not sure that this is specifically a sign of it. in truth most industries that have hierarchies and are run like a 'boys club' (the entertainment industry) tend to have issues with satanism, homoerotic initiation and the like. so i'm not saying that this isn't happening. the song thing doesn't strike me as particularly off though. men have been singing in the point of view of women since congolese music has existed. this is part of the storytelling aspect of the music from what i understand.

this is what i thought was going on mwana_nsalu. i even mentioned the examples of "mario" and "mongali". it is no issue if they are singing in the role of a woman in love with the man being praised romantically in the dedicated song. this has always been a peculiarity of congolese rumba where a man sings in the role of a woman. this was my first guess i just wanted clarification. the new genre or phenomena of singing romantic songs be it to a man or woman in a dedicated song could be an evolution of this aspect of congolese rumba in the sense that with the explosion of the mabanga culture as a source of revenue why not sing the romantic song directly to someone who will pay for it instead of only singing about a hypothetical lover.

and you are right about the "boy's club" structure of many male organizations. it goes all the way to even military cultures like the spartans and shaka zulu, bullying in sports, etc etc. mix it with african mysticism and satanism and i guess it is not a surprise the revelations we are learning about congolese male band music culture.