Joint canoeing to the fish-traps in the cataracts, near Kisangani, Congo (Democratic Republic)

"The Wagenia derive their fame as fisherman from the way in which they have turned the opportunities offered them by their natural environment to account. At the point where they live, the river narrows considerably and drops in a series of rapids and cataracts over a several metres high, hard rocky ledge which appears above the surface here. A special attraction for tourists is the way the Wagenia manoeuvre their canoes through the rapids and the acrobatic feats they perform when emptying the conical, 2 to 5-metre long fish-traps suspended in the rapids from structures of thick beams. The regattas which the Wagenia hold with the biggest of their canoes in honour of important guests are also famous." [Droogers A., 1980: The Dangerous Journey, Symbolic Aspects of Boys' Initiation among the Wagenia of Kisangani, Zaire. Mouton Publishers, The Hague]. This photograph was taken when Eliot Elisofon visited the Boyoma Falls near Kisangani, Democratic Republic of Congo. He was on assignment in Africa for American Broadcasting Company,from early December 1966 to early February 1967.