Dr Laurent (XIX) - La récolte du malafou, 1893

Oil on a tropical wooden panel
Dimensions: 58.5 x 24.5 cm with frame.

The artist, named Dr Laurent, presents through this tropical scene an episode of daily life of the Bangala, the people of the Northwest region of the Democratic Republic of the Congo, depicting the harvest of malafou.
We see a man, equipped with a calabash and adorned with a liana belt, called “nkosi,” climbing to the top of a palm tree to harvest the sap. The climber is called “malafoutier,” or “nsamba.” Once harvested, the sap, initially white, takes on an amber color thanks to fermentation. The sap becomes palm wine, a traditional drink in these tropical regions. While the man attends to the harvest, a woman wearing a simple loincloth sits by the fire and tends to the meal. This work by Dr Laurent faithfully represents the daily life of the Bangala at the end of the 19th century, and highlights their close relationship with nature and their exploitation of natural resources.