Archival research in the Equateur region of Zaire is a frustrating and often unsuccessful endeavor. Colonial documentation on a specific locality is seldom located in a central repository and items have been scattered throughout the region. What records are found are usually highly disorganized and partially decomposed. In many cases, significant sources have been lost or destroyed. With this bleak prospective, it is not surprising that historical research in this area has been very limited.

In contrast, a little known yet important source of historical and ethnographic material exists at the Missionnaires du Sacre-Coeur (M.S.C.) library at Bamanya, situated approximately ten kilometers from Mbandaka in the Equateur region. The library contains a wide range of both printed and archival material that has recently been organized and cataloged. Historians will find the archives to be of great interest and value, particularly for studies on the Nkundo-Mongo ethnic groups of the central forest region of Zaire.