Cyber Siren: What <i>Mami Wata</i> reveals about the Internet and Chinese presence in Kinshasa

AbstractIn 2012, images of a mystical mermaid known locally as Mami Wata circulated on the Internet and via people's mobile phones, sparking rumours that Chinese labourers had captured her as they were installing underwater fibreoptic cables. Appearing as a grotesque sea-creature with a gnarled, shrivelled body, this new image of Mami Wata challenges older, popular depictions of her as a beautiful maiden. Further, in her deformed body, Mami Wata reveals new tensions arising from promises of wealth and modernisation promoted by both Chinese and Congolese governments. Accounts of rumours/urban legends and metaphors of contagion animate larger contemporary discussions concerning development projects, “otherness” and the influence of the Internet and mobile phone technology on production of popular African culture. The female siren, Mami Wata, is a recurring motif in Kinshasa's collective urban imaginary. Historically she has been an expression of modernity and hybridity through visual representation in popular painting, sculpture and television serials. Now Mami Wata appears in the digital world. In this article, in addition to analysing the ways in which contemporary technology mediates this archetypal figure, I draw on notions of otherness, recent historical, political and economic changes in the Democratic Republic of Congo to analyse the ways they inform the particular shape and meaning that Mami Wata takes when transformed into the digital domain.En 2012, des images d'une sirène mystique connue localement sous le nom de Mami Wata ont commencé à circuler sur Internet et à être transmises par téléphone portable, lançant des rumeurs selon lesquelles des travailleurs chinois l'avaient capturée alors qu'ils installaient des câbles à fibre optique sous-marins. Cette nouvelle image de Mami Wata, qui apparaît comme une créature marine au corps noueux et ratatiné, vient mettre en question ses représentations populaires plus anciennes, à savoir l'image d'une belle jeune femme. Par ailleurs, dans son corps déformé, Mami Wata révèle les nouvelles tensions découlant des promesses de richesse et de modernisation avancées par les gouvernements chinois comme congolais. Les comptes rendus de rumeurs/légendes urbaines et les métaphores de contagion animent des discussions contemporaines plus larges concernant les projets de développement, l'« altérité » et l'influence d'Internet et des technologies de la téléphonie portable sur la production de la culture africaine populaire. La sirène Mami Wata est un motif récurrent dans l'imaginaire urbain collectif de Kinshasa. Historiquement, elle était l'expression de la modernité et de l'hybridité à travers sa représentation visuelle dans les peintures, sculptures et séries télévisées populaires. Maintenant, Mami Wata apparaît dans le monde numérique. Dans cet article, en plus d'analyser les manières dont les technologies contemporaines se font les médiatrices de ce personnage archétypal, je m'inspire des notions d'altérité et des changements historiques, politiques et économiques récents survenus dans la République démocratique du Congo pour analyser les manières dont ils influent sur la forme et la signification particulières que Mami Wata prend lorsqu'elle est transformée dans le domaine numérique.Keywords:: InternetKinshasaMami Watamobile phonesChinese presencepopular culturerumour AcknowledgementsMy doctoral studies were funded by the Social Sciences and Humanities Research Council of Canada, for which I am very grateful. Thanks are also due to the University of Chicago, in particular Jennifer Cole's writing class where the article reached its final form. A special thanks to Bogumil Jewsiewicki and Bob White for commenting on earlier versions of this work, as well as to the anonymous reviewers. I would also like to thank Emily Wilkinson for her editorial help.Notes 1.Mundele is loosely translated here as “white person”. 2. A cybercafé is known locally as un cyber. 3. These municipalities included: Bandal, Gombe, Ngaliema, Limete and Lingwala. 4. In 2000, the Forum on China–Africa Cooperation (FOCAC) was established, ushering in an era of expansion of trade and investment between Africa and China. For more on this co-operation, see Large (Citation2006a, Citation2006b) and Keenan (Citation2008). 5. According to Pype's extensive work focusing on Pentecostal Christianity in the Congo, Mami Wata is now “inserted in an occult world where she is only one of the many demonic spirits and is entrenched in apocalyptic approaches to witchcraft” (Citation2012, 212). Similarly, Rey, a researcher interested in African Pentecostal expressions in Europe, further examines the destructive forces associated with Mami Wata: “While they [mermaids, or Mami Wata] initially cause pleasant feelings, their evil powers progressively appear and mermaids eventually turn out to be destructive forces” (Citation2013, 70). 6. Some scholars theorise that this is due to the influence of Hindi movies that were popular in the 1960s; still others, such as Drewal, claim that this Indian influence dates much farther back. 7. As such, she is cast as a supernatural creature representing modern wealth. 8. To view the digital Mami Wata video, go to: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v = vDcFYuiL6kU. 9. In a separate interview, the same woman told me that she thought the Chinese people she saw around town were unattractive and largely preoccupied with money; she also admitted, however, that she finds some Chinese people, like those on her daytime television soap series, to be attractive. These imported television series are Korean in origin.10. Jung (Citation2014) similarly observes television roundtable discussion shows in Southern Africa encouraging callers to voice their opinions about the Chinese presence.11. My informant used the French word contaminer.12. Many computers are set up with a user-friendly interface that allows the user to select from several sites such as Facebook and Yahoo. While the Internet is readily available, Internet literacy is not enjoyed by all. Moreover, there are clear correlations between Internet literacy and age.13. South Africa and several North African countries were connected via cables beneath the sea.14. Africa is connected to the rest of the world via submarine cables, namely, SAT-2 and SAT-3, which provide limited bandwidth. In 2007, 16 countries in Africa had just one international Internet connection with a capacity of 10 Megabits per second (Mbit/s) or lower, while South Africa alone had over 800 Mbit/s.15. National public discourse promises that the cable will be installed, but the project remains pending, as inauguration dates are constantly pushed back. Some Kinois perceive these constant delays to be politically motivated and believe they are related to the precarious situation the country faces; 2011 was marked by national presidential elections, as well as new rebel insurgencies in the eastern provinces. During the political unrest experienced in January 2015, the government suspended the Internet and telecommunication services so that videos of protesters would not circulate within the country or abroad.16. Many of these versions were replicas of the original news video aired in the DRC, with the journalists discussing the rumours linking the Chinese to the video.17. Local music and videos are often uploaded to the Internet by members of the African diaspora in Europe.18. A Chinese-Congolese telecommunications company called CeleTel was a previous service operator.19. People enjoy live chatting on Facebook through their mobile phone connections rather than in cybercafés. Scholars like Horst and Miller (Citation2006) have also noted how mobile phone technology can bridge the gap to facilitate Internet access in areas with little or no infrastructure. As one enthusiastic informant put it, “my cell phone is like my own little computer, I can use the Internet anytime I want – even late at night – which means I don't have to rely on going to a cybercafé”.20. The dougie, originally created in Chicago's south side neighbourhoods, quickly spread throughout the world by way of Internet videos. Even First Lady Michelle Obama was filmed doing the dougie at a public school in Washington, DC, an event that was widely circulated over the Internet. Another example of a global popular trend made viral on the Internet is the Korean sensation PSY's Gangnam style video, which now boasts a billion YouTube views. This Korean musical group made popular a dance which has since become a meme; versions of the dance are performed on the Internet by housewives, American military and college students all over the world. These spin-off videos were aired daily in 2012 on television musical programmes in Kinshasa.21. Park (Citation2013) also describes the negative attitudes towards Chinese products sold in Lesotho.22. The suppliers for these shops were historically predominantly Lebanese and Greek (Vircoulon Citation2008).23. In January 2015, several of these Chinese shops were looted during the city-wide protests against President Kabila's proposed electoral reforms; see http://www.teletshangu.com/Tension-a-Kinshasa-Des-magasins-de-Chinois-pilles-Ecoutez-le-temoignage-d-un-Kinois_a1237.html.24. To be sure there are some Chinese people who speak French and Lingala living in the popular townships, but they remain in the minority. However, the mystery surrounding Chinese people is not dispelled because of their capacity to function using local codes or because they sometimes live in close proximity to Kinois.25. There are some Chinese people who live among the Congolese and can speak Lingala, though this is exceptional.26. For more information about President Kabila's modernisation project called the “Les Cinq Chantiers”, see De Boeck (Citation2011).27. Sure enough, the grotesque new Mami Wata may still bear foreign blonde hair, but one wonders if that is not a way of signifying that she is, in fact, the Mami Wata and not some other monster.Additional informationNotes on contributorsLesley Nicole BraunLesley Nicole Braun received a doctorate degree in anthropology from Université of Montréal. She is currently a postdoctoral fellow at the University of Chicago in the Department of Comparative Human Development.

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