Introduction

This dictionary was compiled by John Paul Thomas from 1986-1996 in consultation with Katinga Mbokani, Omari Muzalia, Aaron Siangombe, Mbongo Mbaraza, Amisi Mbaku and others.

Some entries were imported from the word list appendix to the PhD thesis of Wauthier de Mahieu, entitled Structures et symboles: Les structures sociales du groupe Komo du Zaire dans leur elaboration symbolique, Universitaire Pers Leuven, 1980. This means that some words in the dictionary, taken from this appendix, may be obsolete. There was already evidence of this in the 1990s.

This dictionary should not be regarded as authoritative. It is rather a work in progress. It was created with the intent to encourage further contributions by Komo people, as well as to serve as a starting point for further academic research.

This dictionary also exists as a FLeX database. Contact the compiler at [email protected] if you desire access.