La Sape

La Sape, an abbreviation based on the phrase Société des Ambianceurs et des Personnes Élégantes (French; literally "Society of Ambiance-Makers and Elegant People") and hinting to the French slang word sape which means "clothes" or sapé, which means "dressed up", is a subculture centered on fashion, elegance, and public performance that originated among Congolese communities in the cities of Kinshasa and Brazzaville in the Democratic Republic of the Congo and Republic of Congo respectively. An adherent of La Sape is known as a sapeur or, if female, as a sapeuse. The movement embodies the elegance in style and manners of colonial predecessor dandies. The philosophy of La Sape is based on ten fundamental "commandments" that govern the behavior of sapeurs and summarize the principles of the movement. Several "founding myths" have been developed by sapeurs to explain the movement's origins. The first links La Sape to the precolonial Kingdom of Kongo and is based on historical accounts that describe a royal court where aspects of Portuguese dress were adopted during the 16th century. A second founding myth centers on Camille Diata, who frontlined the La Sape movement in Brazzaville during the 1930s and later influenced Congolese communities in France. Diata was also part of L'Amicale, "a loosely organized anti-colonial movement", formed in France in 1926 by the Congolese anti-colonial activist André Matsoua. The group mainly helped Africans arriving in Paris, many of whom faced discrimination, imprisonment, and deportation. After Matsoua died in 1942, his political ideas became more influential in the Congo and were later adopted by members of the Congolese educated elite. They combined his anti-colonial views with a strong interest in fashion, and this movement gradually became associated with the Kongo and Lari people and developed strong political and cultural symbolism. The third founding myth emerged among Congolese...