Mbunda language
editMbunda | |
---|---|
Native to | Angola Congo Namibia Zambia |
Ethnicity | Mbunda people |
Native speakers | 335,000 (2000–2006) |
Niger–Congo?
| |
Dialects | |
Language codes | |
ISO 639-3 | Variously:mck – Mbundayax – Yaumankn – Nkangala |
Mbunda is a Bantu language of Angola, Congo ]][1]Zambia, and Namibia. There are several dialects: Katavola, Yauma,[2] Nkangala,[3] Mbalango, Sango, Ciyengele ("Shamuka"), and Ndundu, all of which are close.[4]
Mbunda is spoken by the Mbunda people of Southeast Angola, and mainly Moxico Province. During their migration, the Mbunda settled in the 16th century for some time at the confluence of the Kwilu and Kasai rivers[5] (now Democratic Republic of the Congo). A significant group of them still lives there[6], while the bulk of them went on southwards and settled in what is today the Moxico Province of Angola. From there they migranted to western Zambia at the end of the 18th century, upon the migration of among others, the Ciyengele group[7], and also at the beginning of the 20th century due to their resistance to Portuguese colonial occupation,[8] and later because of the impact of the Angolan War of Independence (1961–1974), the decolonization conflict in Angola (1974/75),[9] and the Angolan Civil War (1975–2002). As a consequence of the civil war, a number of Mbunda also took refuge in Northern Namibia, in the Caprivi Strip around Rundu.
The Mbunda language in Zambia, Angola and Namibia is not spoken exactly the same way. In Zambia it has a strong upper teeth contact with the tongue, to pronounce words like: "Mundthzindthzime" (shadow), "chithzalo" (dress), "Kuthsa" (death) and many more. The difficult sounds represented by TH [10]. Mbunda language in Angola and Namibia is spoken without the TH sounds, like in the Luchazi language; the words above are pronounced as "Mutzitzime" (shadow), "chizalo" (cloth), "Kutsa" (death). Even within Zambia, the Mbunda language spoken by the Chiyengele group that migrated earlier is different from that spoken by the Mbunda group that fled into Zambia as a consequence of the Mbunda-Portuguese war of 1914. That is why the Chiyengele group, mainly found in Mongu, are nicknamed "Shamuka".[11], heavily influenced by Lozi language. The same term can be attributed to the Mbunda language in Namibia, which is heavily influenced by the Nyemba and Luchazi languages.
The Mbunda language spoken by the Mbunda group that remained in the DR Congo, entirely separated from the rest of their people, is of course a special case. Due to passage of time and interaction with other languages, it has become quite different from the variants spoken in Angola, Zambia, and Namibia, and is today even considered as belonging to a different linguistic category.[12]
References
edit- ^ Almanac of African Peoples & Nations, page 523. By Muḥammad Zuhdī Yakan, Transaction Publishers, Putgers - The State University, 35 Berrue Circle, Piscataway, New Jersey 008854-8042, ISBN: 1-56000-433, read it on [1]
- ^ Ethnologue lists Yauma as "unclassified", an apparent error, as it also notes that it is "part of the Ngangela subgroup" of the Chokwe–Luchazi (K.10) Bantu languages.
- ^ Not to be confused with the Ngangela language
- ^ Bantu-Languages.com, citing Maniacky 1997
- ^ Duffy J, Portuguese West Africa Cambridge, 1961
- ^ Mbunda group that remained in the DR Congo
- ^ Bantu-Languages.com, citing Maniacky 1997
- ^ René Pélissier, Les Guerres Grises: Résistance et revoltes en Angola (1845–1941), Montamets(Orgeval: Éditions Pélisier, 1977
- ^ Franz-Wilhelm Heimer, Der Entkolonisierungskonflikt in Angola, Munich: Weltforum Verlag, 1979 ISBN 3-8039-0179-0
- ^ A.W, July 1, 1917, A Comparative Vocabulary of Sikololo-Silui-Simbunda, African Affairs, Oxford University Press
- ^ Bantu-Languages.com, citing Maniacky 1997
- ^ See http://www.ethnologue.com/show_language.asp?code=mck and http://www.ethnologue.com/show_language.asp?code=zmp.
Literature
edit- A.W, July 1, 1917, A Comparative Vocabulary of Sikololo-Silui-Simbunda, African Affairs, Oxford University Press
- Jacky Maniacky, 1997, "Contribution à l'étude des langues bantoues de la zone K: analyse comparative et sous-groupements", Mémoire pour l'obtention du DEA de langues, littératures et sociétés, études bantoues, INALCO (Paris - France), 101p.
- Robert Papstein, 1994, The History and Cultural Life of the Mbunda Speaking People, Lusaka Cheke Cultural Writers Association, ISBN 99 820 3006X
- José Redinha, 1975, Etnias e Culturas de Angola, Luanda: Instituto de Investigação Científica de Angola; reprinted fac-simile by the Associação das Universidades de Língua Portuguesa, 2009, ISBN 978 989 8271 00 6
Category:Chokwe-Luchazi languages Category:Languages of Angola Category:Languages of Zambia Category:Mbunda languages
References
editLiterature
edit- Robert Papstein The History and Cultural Life of the Mbunda Speaking People, Lusaka Cheke Cultural Writers Association, 1994, ISBN 99 820 3006X
- José Redinha, Etnias e Culturas de Angola, Luanda: Instituto de Investigação Científica de Angola, 1975; reprinted fac-simile by the Associação das Universidades de Língua Portuguesa, 2009, ISBN 978 989 8271 00 6
Category:Chokwe-Luchazi languages Category:Languages of Angola Category:Languages of Zambia Category:Mbunda languages
Mbunda people
editMbunda Mbúùnda | |
---|---|
Person | Kambunda |
People | Vambunda |
Language | Chimbunda |
Country | Angola, Dr Congo, Zambia, Namibia |
The Vambunda (singular Kambunda, adjective and Mbunda, Mbúùnda or Chimbunda), is an ethnic group who lives on the Southeast of Angola from Lunguevungu river in Moxico Province to Cuando Cubango Province. In their imigrtion they first settled in KOLA in what is now the Democratic Republic of the Congo along the Kalanyi River, where they interacted with the Kingdom of Lunda and Kingdom of Luba,[1] in the 15th century under their ruler, King (Mwene) Nkuungu, with their capital at Namampongwe [2]. From there they settled in the 16th century for some time at the confluence of the Kwilu and Kasai rivers (now Democratic Republic of the Congo).[3] A significant group of them still lives there, and The Mbunda language spoken by the Mbunda group that remained in the DR Congo, entirely separated from the rest of their people, is of course a special case. Due to passage of time and interaction with other languages, it has become quite different from the variants spoken in Angola, Zambia, and Namibia, and is today even considered as belonging to a different linguistic category. [4]
Mbunda is one of the largest ethnic group in Angola, which is made up of several ethnic groups: Yauma language,[5] Nkangala language,[6] Mbalango language, Sango dialect, Shamuka dialect, Ndundu language and Mashaka language, all of them alive in southeast Angola. .[7]
The Mbundas were talented iron (vutale) and copper (vunegu) workers and proficient hunters and soldiers with their bows and arrows. They were also remarkably skilled at the art of making pots and jars of baked clay. The Mbunda cultivated the tropical forest which was found in where they grew assorted crops. They grew maize, millet, sorghum, beans, and sweet potatoes and cassava being teir staple food. They also kept domestic stock. Their traders came into contact with the Portuguese, and Umbundu traders of Bié Plateau of central Angola, who largely traded in bee wax, ivory trade and rubber, in exchange with guns and cloth material.
Overwhelmingly the Vambunda follow Christianity, with roughly equal shares falling to the Catholic Church and to different Protestant denominations, mainly the Igreja Evangélica Congregacional de Angola (IECA), founded by American missionaries. However, some still retain beliefs and practices from African traditional religions, believeing in Njambi as a supreme creator of the world who created everything of existence on earth. Their religion did not address Njambi directly, but through the spirits of their ancestors.
Origins and the legend of migration history
editThe Mbunda were among a group of Bantu people who left what is now Sudan during the Bantu migration in the early centuries [8] to form one of the oldest and biggest ethnic grouping in Southern Africa and a Mbunda Kingdom in 15th Century [9]
The first Mbunda Monarch was King Mwene Nkuungu. Thereafter, the Mbunda shifted their base within the Kola area and settled in a place more favourable than their previous habitation, where they found Ruund (Luunda) people already settled. While there, Queen Vamwene Yamvu, the third Mbunda Monarch, married a Ruund (Luunda) hunter and relinguished her rulership to the husband.[10]. Her brother Prince Munamwene Nkonde was so incensed with her conduct that he led the majority of the disenchanted Mbunda populace away from the area and later settled near the confluence of the Kwilu and Kasai rivers.[11] Later, unfavourable weather conditions, the Mbunda in a two migration route moved south and south east into the now Angola in the 1600.
The Mbunda language spoken by the Mbunda group that remained in the DR Congo, entirely separated from the rest of their people, is of course a special case. Due to passage of time and interaction with other languages, it has become quite different from the variants spoken in Angola, Zambia, and Namibia, and is today even considered as belonging to a different linguistic category.
In the southern route, to the south of the confluence of Kwilu and Kasai rivers, the fifth Mbunda Monarch, King Mwene Chinguli traveled all the way south to the now Kwandu Kuvango chasing the Bushmen and replacing them in the new found lands with the Mbunda descendants who later known as the Chimbandi, the Ngonjelo, the Humbi, the Lwimbi and the Nyemba.
In the second migration route and during the reign of Queen Vamwene Kaamba, the seventh Mbunda Monarch, the Mbunda explored and settled new lands to the east of the now Angola, where they discovered a great river, which they named Lindonga lya Mbayi, which literally means, "the great river of Mbayi", and abbreviated to Lyambayi, after one of the royal Princesses, Princess Vamunamwene Mbayi, one of the daughters of the sixth Mbunda Monarch, Queen Vamwene Mbaao, and who was a sister to Queen Vamwene Kaamba, drowned in this unnamed river's turbulent waters, in the process of crossing the river. Through the passage of time to this day, the Mbunda still call the Zambezi river “Lya Mbayi”. This was a very sandy area with small rivers which were all tributaries of the Zambezi River. Like the Zambezi these smaller rivers had very wide flood plains which were wonderful areas for grazing cattle. Even better the higher lands adjacent to the flood plains were ideal for planting their favorite crop, cassava. It was along these tributaries to the Zambezi that the first Mbunda decided to settle in Mbundaland, which is now part of Angola. [12].
The Mbunda set their first capital at Mithimoyi. However, the need for more settlement land was still vital to the quickly growing population. Queen Kaamba sent some of the Mbunda to search for more settlement land to the south. The group settled at nearby river region called Luchathzi, who were later called after that river as the Luchazi.
This expansion also gave way to dialects such: Katavola (Mbunda Mathzi), Yauma,[13] Nkangala,[14] Mbalango, Sango, Ciyengele ("Shamuka"), and Ndundu, all of which are close.[15] all of them alive in southeast Angola. Out of the two route migrations of the Mbunda from the confluence of Kwilu and Kasai rivers, southeast of the now Angola was inhabited by a thirteen Mbunda descendant enthnicity of the Mbunda Mathzi, the Chimbandi, the Humbi, the Ngonjelo, the Lwimbi, the Nyemba, the Luchazi, the Sango, the Mbalango, the Nkangala, the Yauma, the Ndundu and the Mashaka. The Mbunda continued expanding southwards to a larger settlement, where the Mbunda Kingdom continued to flourish in what became known as Mbundaland from Lungwevungu river to Kwandu Kuvango, with Lumbala Nguimbo becaming their capital, where His Majesty King Mbandu III reigns today.
At the end of the 18th century some of the Mbunda migranted to Barotseland Mongu. [16] upon the migration of among others, the Ciyengele [17] The Aluyi and their leader, the Litunga especially prized the Mbunda for their ability to fight. When the Luvale also known as Lovale invaded Barotseland from the north, the Mbunda to countered the invasion and were victorious, ending the Lovale invasions. King Mulambwa also cemented the bond of friendship between the Aluyi and the Mbunda by ceremonially giving a sharp pointed pole called mulombwe to Mwene Chitengi Chiyengele and confirmed his stay in Barotseland as the Senior Chief of the Mbunda. This and other factors earned the Mbunda to be included on the Barotse National Council.[18]
Secondly, the Mbunda fought alongside Aluyi in the Aluyi/Makololo war in 1830, which ousted the Makololo occupation of Barotseland, leading to the establishment of the Mbunda Chieftainship at Lukwakwa under Mwene Sikufele now in Kabompo District, being a descendant of the Mbunda that supported Prince Mubukwanu of the Aluyi.[19] The Makololo from the south introduced the Sotho language spoken not only in Western Province today but also Botswana, Lesotho, South Africa and Caprivi Strip.[20]
The Mbunda also fought alongside the Aluyi against the Tonga in the 1880’s, ermaging victory as the Tonga had no defense against the Mbunda‘s skill with a bow and arrow, resulting in the Lozi/Mbunda and Tonga Cousinship. Later the Kaonde/Lozi war which Lozis warn with the help of the Mbunda war machinery, resulting in the Mbunda Chieftainship of Mwene Kasimba having firmly been established there at the confluence of the Lalafuta and Kyamenge in 1893, opposite Chief Mushima Njivumina of the Kaonde. In honoring the Mulambwa/Chiyengele Treaty, the Mbunda have remained the true allies of the Aluyi both in military and political matters.[21] The Mbunda lived peacefully, tendeing their cattle and growing cassava, maize and rice, while many of the men left their homes to work in the South African mines. With independence from British rule came in 1964 the practice was discouraged and the men were then recruited to work on the sugar plantations of Zambia.
At the beginning of the 20th century due to their resistance to Portuguese colonial occupation, when the Portuguese colonialists abducted the twenty first (21st) Mbunda Monarch, King Mbandu Lyondthi Kapova (Kathima Mishambo), the Mbunda waged a fierce armed campaigns in defending their Mbundaland. Technology However, aided the Portuguese forces in gaining an upper hand in the war as they had a consitant supply of gunpowder for their guns. Without the knowledge to make gunpowder, the mbunda eventually found their muzzle-loaders useless and increasingly relied on their bows and arrows as well as a few other traditional arms which were suited for close contact warfare. The Portuguese firepower took a heavy toll of the Mbunda, some of whom started to throw their muzzle-loaders in the rivers for lack of gunpowder. The Portuguese eventually dislodged the Mbunda Kingdom extending Angola territory over Mbundaland. This caused the second migration of the Mbunda to Barotseland.[22]
And later because of the impact of the Angolan War of Independence (1961–1974), the decolonization conflict in Angola (1974/75). Independence came to neighboring Angola in 1974 and with independence came civil war. Again many Mbundas fled Angola to relocate in nearby western Zambia, this marked the third and fourth wave of Mbunda immigration to the now Western Province of Zambia. These refugees were related to those Mbundas who were already living around Kalabo, Senanga, Mongu, Kaoma, Lukulu and Kabompo in Zambia. As a consequence of the latter, a number of Mbunda also took refuge in Northern Namibia, in the Caprivi Strip around Rundu.[23]
The Mbunda have maintained most of their old traditions such as respect for their ancestors, “coming of age” rituals for both boys (Mukanda and their not less than fifty Makishi artifacts), girls (Litungu or Bwali), relying on cattle and cassava for their food, men carry weapons such as bow and arrows, spears or machetes when traveling away from their villages and women still creating baskets from makenge roots [24].
List of Mbunda Kingdom Rulers in Succession From 1500 To the Year 2012
edit1). King Mwene Nkuungu: - Namampongwe Palace, KOLA, in the now DR Congo.
2). Queen Vamwene Naama: - Namampongwe Palace, KOLA, in the now DR Congo.
3). Queen Vamwene Yamvu: - Namampongwe Palace, KOLA, in the now DR Congo.
4). King Mwene Nkonde: - Mapamba Palace, Confluence of Kwilu and Kasai rivers, in the now DR Congo.
5). King Mwene Chinguli cha Nkonde: - Mapamba Palace, Confluence of Kwilu and Kasai rivers, in the now DR Congo.
6). Queen Vamwene Mbaao ya Chinguli: - Mapamba Palace, Confluence of Kwilu and Kasai rivers, in the now DR Congo.
7). Queen Vamwene Kaamba: - Mithimoyi Palace, south of Lyambayi (Zambezi river source), Mbundaland, in the now Angola.
8). King Mwene Chingwanja: - Mithimoyi Palace, south of Lyambayi (Zambezi river source), Mbundaland, in the now Angola.
9). King Mwene Lweembe: - Mithimoyi Palace, south of Lyambayi (Zambezi river source), Mbundaland, in the now Angola.
10). King Mwene Katete: - Mithimoyi Palace, south of Lyambayi (Zambezi river source), Mbundaland, in the now Angola.
11). Queen Vamwene Mukenge Livindamo: - Mithimoyi Palace, south of Lyambayi (Zambezi river source), Mbundaland, in the now Angola.
12). King Mwene Kathangila: - Mithimoyi Palace, south of Lyambayi (Zambezi river source) and Kweve river, a tributory of Kwitu river, Mbundaland, in the now Angola where he finaly settled.
13). King Mwene Yambayamba Kapanda: - Livambi Palace, at the confluence of Lungevungu and Luyo rivers, Mbundaland, in the now Angola.
14). King Mwene Chingumbe Cha Choola: - Lilembalemba Palace, along Lukonya river, Mbundaland, in the now Angola.
15). King Mwene Chitengi Chingumbe Chiyengele: - Who left to settle in Barotseland in frustration, during the reign of King Mulambwa of the Aluyi.
16). King Mwene Ngonga I Chiteta: - Lukonya Palace, along Lukonya river, Mbundaland, in the now Angola.
17). King Mwene Nyumbu Luputa: - Luvweyi Palace, along Luvweyi river, Mbundaland, in the now Angola.
18). King Mwene Ngonga II Linjengele Kawewe: - Lwanginga Palace, along Lwanginga river, Mbundaland, in the now Angola.
19). King Mwene Katavola I Mwechela: - Kutupu Palace, along Kuputu river, Mbundaland, in the now Angola.
20). King Mwene Katavola II Muthangu: - Kavongo Palace, along kavongo river, Mbundaland, in the now Angola.
21). Mwene Mbandu I Kapova: - Kalyamba Palace, along Lunjweva and Lwati rivers, Mbundaland, in the now Angola.
22). Mwene Mbandu II Kathzungo Xaanda: - N'inda and Lwati Palaces, in Angola.
23). Mwene Mbandu III Mbandu Lifuti: - Lumbala Ngimbu Palace, in Angola.
References
edit- ^ Almanac of African Peoples & Nations, page 523. By Muḥammad Zuhdī Yakan, Transaction Publishers, Putgers - The State University, 35 Berrue Circle, Piscataway, New Jersey 008854-8042, ISBN: 1-56000-433, read it on [2]
- ^ Robert Papstein, Mbunda Origin, The Zambia Journal of History, Central African Oral History Project, University of Zambia, ISBN: 998203006X
- ^ Almanac of African Peoples & Nations, page 523. By Muḥammad Zuhdī Yakan, Transaction Publishers, Putgers - The State University, 35 Berrue Circle, Piscataway, New Jersey 008854-8042, ISBN: 1-56000-433, read it on [3]
- ^ This and this at ethnologue.com.
- ^ Ethnologue lists Yauma as "unclassified", an apparent error, as it also notes that it is "part of the Ngangela subgroup" of the Chokwe–Luchazi (K.10) Bantu languages.
- ^ Not to be confused with the Ngangela language
- ^ Bantu-Languages.com, citing Maniacky 1997
- ^ Terms of trade and terms of trust: the history and contexts of pre-colonial, pages 104 & 105...By Achim von Oppen, LIT Verlag Münster Publishers, 1993, ISBN: 3894732466, 9783894732462
- ^ Almanac of African Peoples & Nations, page 523. By Muḥammad Zuhdī Yakan, Transaction Publishers, Putgers - The State University, 35 Berrue Circle, Piscataway, New Jersey 008854-8042, ISBN: 1-56000-433, read it on [4]
- ^ Robert Papstein, The Zambia Journal of History, Central African Oral History Project, University of Zambia, ISBN: 998203006X
- ^ Almanac of African Peoples & Nations, page 523. By Muḥammad Zuhdī Yakan, Transaction Publishers, Putgers - The State University, 35 Berrue Circle, Piscataway, New Jersey 008854-8042, ISBN: 1-56000-433, read it on [5]
- ^ Robert Papstein, The Zambia Journal of History, Central African Oral History Project, University of Zambia, ISBN: 998203006X
- ^ Ethnologue lists Yauma as "unclassified", an apparent error, as it also notes that it is "part of the Ngangela subgroup" of the Chokwe–Luchazi (K.10) Bantu languages.
- ^ Not to be confused with the Ngangela language
- ^ Bantu-Languages.com, citing Maniacky 1997
- ^ The elites of Barotseland, 1878-1969: a political history of Zambia's Western Province: a. Gerald L. Caplan ISBN: 0900966386 Publisher: C. Hurst & Co Publishers Ltd, 1970
- ^ Bantu-Languages.com, citing Maniacky 1997
- ^ Encyclopedia of the Peoples of Africa and Middle East, Facts On File library of world history, Facts On File, Incorporated, Social Science, Infobase Publishing, 2009, ISBN: 143812676X, 9781438126760
- ^ Encyclopedia of the Peoples of Africa and Middle East, Facts On File library of world history, Facts On File, Incorporated, Social Science, Infobase Publishing, 2009, ISBN: 143812676X, 9781438126760
- ^ White, C.M.N. Notes on the Political Organization of the Kabompo District and its Inhabitants, African Studies, IX, (1950), pp. 185-93,
- ^ Encyclopedia of the Peoples of Africa and Middle East, Facts On File library of world history, Facts On File, Incorporated, Social Science, Infobase Publishing, 2009, ISBN: 143812676X, 9781438126760
- ^ René Pélissier, La révolte des Bunda (1916-1917), pp. 408 - 412 (French for "the Mbunda revolt"), section footnotes citing sources: Luís Figueira, Princesa Negra: O preço da civilização em África, Coimbra Edição do autor, 1932.
- ^ Franz-Wilhelm Heimer, Der Entkolonisierungskonflikt in Angola, Munich: Weltforum Verlag, 1979 ISBN 3-8039-0179-0
- ^ Robert Papstein, The Zambia Journal of History, Central African Oral History Project, University of Zambia, ISBN: 998203006X
Further reading
edit- Robert Papstein The History and Cultural Life of the Mbunda Speaking People, Lusaka Cheke Cultural Writers Association, 1994, ISBN 99 820 3006X
- Abshire, D.M. and Michael Samuels, eds, Angola Handbook, London, 1965,
- Bull, M.M. Bulozi Under the Luyana Kings, London, 1973,
- Davidson, Basil, In the Eye of the Storm: Angola's People, New York, 1973,
- Duffy, J. Portuguese West Africa, Cambridge, 1961,
- White, C.M.N. Notes on the Political Organisation of the Kabompo District and its Inhabitants, African Studies, IX, (1950), pp. 185-93.
- José Redinha, Etnias e Culturas de Angola, Luanda: Instituto de Investigação Científica, 1975; reprinted fac-simile by the Associação das Universidades de Língua Portuguesa, 2009, ISBN 978 989 8271 00 6