Mokonji: a Definition

A number of people have already been inquiring about the meaning and origin of the word mokonji. Mokonji is a word meaning king or royalty and is from the Bantu language, Lingala. Lingala is spoken through much western central Africa, mostly in the Democratic Republic of Congo, Congo-Brazzaville and Central African Republic.

Bantu tribal language are difficult to translate directly into English, mainly because language is a derivative of cultural and societal norms. Tribal Africa constitutes a very hierarchial system with a chief and tribal fiefdoms. This is a concept that we know only from our westernized history books but is a mentality that is very much alive among the tribes. As such, the language reflects this paradigm.

While mokonji is best translated into English as king or royalty, it is not a perfect translation and literally is a conceptual word that describes something unique to tribal life.

So there it is. Feel free to speculate as to what Mokonji.com is with that understanding.

As a sidenote, I lived for four years in DRC (then Zaïre) as a kid, and have a first hand understanding on Lingala.

Mokonji.com Now En Route

Welcome to Mokonji.com. You might be asking what Mokonji.com is. We’re not telling you yet. Feel free to speculate. We love speculation. We also like telling you, “No that’s not it either”.

If you’d like to be kept in the loop, please feel free to sign up for a private invite once they become available.

The anticipation is killing us.