the congo river stretches across the country's middle. conrad describes it as a twisting snake with its head in the atlantic ocean and its tail buried deep in africa's heart. to europeans, it was a natural route to transport slaves, ivory, rubber, minerals. the commodities upon which modern-day brussels and antwerp are built. for the congolese, both before and after the belgians, it provided more basic things. water to wash, to clean your clothes in, to cook with, to drink. also fishing. since long before the expeditions of dr. livingston and henry morton stanley, the wagenia tribe has been fishing the river in unique fashion.