Editing Kinshasa (section)

== Toponymy ==
There are several theories about the origin of the name ''Kinshasa''. Paul Raymaekers, an [[anthropologist]] and [[Ethnology|ethnologist]], suggests that the name derives from the combination of the [[Kongo language|Kikongo]] and Kihumbu languages.<ref name=":3">{{Cite web |last1=Kinyamba |first1=S. Shomba |last2=Nsenda |first2=F. Mukoka |last3=Nonga |first3=D. Olela |last4=Kaminar |first4=T.M. |last5=Mbalanda |first5=W. . |date=2015 |title=Monographie de la ville de Kinshasa |url=https://www.fsmtoolbox.com/assets/pdf/Monographie_de_la_ville_de_Kinshasa.pdf |access-date=2023-08-04 |publisher=Institut Congolais de Recherche en Développement et Etudes Stratégiques (ICREDES) |pages=9–28 |language=French |publication-place=Kinshasa, Democratic Republic of the Congo |archive-date=27 March 2023 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20230327044324/https://www.fsmtoolbox.com/assets/pdf/Monographie_de_la_ville_de_Kinshasa.pdf |url-status=live }}</ref> The prefix "''Ki(n)''" signifies a hill or inhabited area and "''Nsasa''" or "''Nshasa''" refers to a bag of salt. According to Raymackers, ''Kinshasa'' was a significant trading site where people from the Lower Congo (now [[Kongo Central|Kongo Central Province]]) and [[Atlantic Ocean|South Atlantic Ocean]] exchanged salt for goods such as [[iron]], [[Slavery|slaves]] and [[ivory]] brought by those from the Upper Congo (now [[Tshopo Province]]).<ref name=":3" /> However Hendrik van Moorsel, an anthropologist, historian and researcher, proposes that [[Teke people|Bateke]] [[Fisherman|fishermen]] traded fish for cassava with locals along the riverbank, and the place of this exchange was called "''Ulio''".<ref name=":3" /><ref name=":5">{{Cite book |last=Moorsel |first=Hendrik van |title=Atlas de préhistoire de la plaine de Kinshasa |publisher=Université Lovanium |year=1968 |location=Kinshasa, Belgian Congo |language=French}}</ref> In [[Teke languages|Teke]], "exchange" is "''Utsaya''", and "place of exchange" is "''Intsaya''". Thus, the name evolved from ''Ulio'' to ''Intsaya'', and later, under the influence of Kikongo, transformed into ''Kintsaya'', eventually becoming ''Kinshasa''.<ref name=":3" /> ''Kinshasa'', also known as ''N'shasa'', is regarded as the primary "place of exchange" on the southern bank of the [[Pool Malebo]], where [[barter]]ing occurred even before the commercial boom of [[Kintambo]].<ref name=":3" />

The name ''Nshasa'' is believed to originate from the Teke verb "''tsaya''" (''tsaa''), meaning "to exchange", and the noun "''intsaya''" (''insaa''), referring to any market or place of exchange. It was at this location that Teke [[broker]]s traded ivory and slaves from the [[Banunu people|Banunu]] slave traders, often mistaken for the [[Yanzi people|Yanzi]], for European trade items brought by the [[Zombo people|Zombo]] and [[Kongo people|Kongo]] people.<ref name=":3" /> Despite the various theories, the historical name of ''Kinshasa'' is known to have been ''Nshasa'', as documented by [[Henry Morton Stanley]] during his crossing of [[Africa]] from [[Zanzibar]] to [[Boma, Democratic Republic of the Congo|Boma]] in 1874–1877 when he mentioned visiting "the king of Nshasa" on 14 March 1877.<ref name=":3" /><ref name=":6">{{Cite book |last=Boya |first=Loso Kiteti |url=https://books.google.com/books?id=hpi4lyWG7zwC |title=D.R. Congo |year=2010 |isbn=9781450082495 |location=Bloomington, Indiana |publisher=Xlibris Corporation |pages=175 |language=English |access-date=19 September 2023 |archive-date=16 October 2023 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20231016114105/https://books.google.com/books?id=hpi4lyWG7zwC |url-status=live }}</ref><ref name=":4">{{Cite book |last=Ness |first=Immanuel |url=https://books.google.com/books?id=pHo2DwAAQBAJ&dq=Henry+Stanley+Nshasa+village&pg=PT699 |title=Encyclopedia of World Cities |publisher=Taylor & Francis |date=September 19, 2017 |isbn=9781317471585 |location=Thames, Oxfordshire, United Kingdom |language=English |access-date=19 September 2023 |archive-date=16 October 2023 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20231016114356/https://books.google.com/books?id=pHo2DwAAQBAJ&dq=Henry+Stanley+Nshasa+village&pg=PT699 |url-status=live }}</ref>