Lunda people
From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia
The Lunda people (Balunda, also spelled Luunda and Ruund) arose in the Lunda Kingdom in what is now DR Congo, Eastern Angola and north-western Zambia in the 17th century, under their ruler, Mwata Yamvo or Mwaant Yav. They were allied to the Luba, and their migrations and conquests spawned a number of affiliated tribes especially to the east, the 'Eastern Lunda' or Kazembe-Lunda in the valley of the Luapula River which spans the border of northern Zambia and south-eastern DR Congo. Today Lunda people and chiefs still live in the area of the former kingdom and use the Lunda langauge, Chilunda, but the Kazembe-Lunda speak Chibemba.
The Lunda people's heartland was rich in the natural resources of rivers, lakes, forests and savannah. Its people were fishermen and farmers, and they prospered. They grew maize, millet, yams, sorghum, squash, beans, sweet potatoes, oil palms and tobacco. Their traders came into contact with the Portuguese, and Arab and Swahili traders of East Africa. They played a large role in the slave and ivory trade that moved goods and people from central Africa to the coasts for export.
The people of the Lunda Kingdom believed in Nzambi as a supreme creator of the world who created everything of existence on earth. Their religion did not address Nzambi directly, but through the spirits of their ancestors.
[edit] References and Further Reading
Some of the information is based on the German Wikipedia article on the Lunda (Königreich), which cites two sources:
- Pogge, Im Reich des Muata Jamwo (Berl. 1880);
- Buchner, Das Reich des Muata Jamwo (in "Deutsche Geographische Blätter", Brem. 1883
Other sources:
LIBRARY OF CONGRESS 1989f "Lunda and Chokwe Kingdoms" IN Country Study: Angola (October 2005) [www] http://lcweb2.loc.gov
Art and Life in Africa Project, The University of Iowa School of Art and Art History: "Lunda Information." http://www.uiowa.edu/~africart 03 Nov. 1998.
