LUNDA PEOPLES

Several Bantu peoples scattered over wide areas of the southeastern part of Zaire, eastern Angola, northwestern Zambia, and the Luapula Valley.

The various regional groups -the Lunda of Musokantanda in Zaire, Kazembe, Shinje, Kanongesha, Ndembu, Luvale (Luena, Balovale), Chokwe, Luchazi, Songo and Mbunda- are all of Congo origin and broke away from the central Lunda kingdom in the Kapanga district of the southern Congo which is still ruled by the paramount chief the Mwata Yamvo.

In southwestern Zaire they have spread to the Kwango River where they form the political authority among the Yaka and other tribes.

The Bemba of Zambia ara also associated with them but it is difficult to trace a direct link.

The Lunda peoples numbered approximately 1,500,000 by the 1970s.

Their languages and dialects belong to the Benue-Congo division of the Niger-Congo languages.

The Lunda live in savanna country intersected by belts of forests along the rivers; the Luapula groups occupy floodplains and alluvial lands. Food gathering and hunting are important among many groups, fishing less so, except among the Luapula. All groups practice shifting hoe cultivation of manioc, millet, peanuts, beans and maize and all keep small stock; some groups keep a few cattle. Local trade is widespread; the Lunda of Kazembe have been famous as traders of ivory and slaves.

Descent systems differ; among the southern Lunda, Luvale and Luchazi, descent is through the female line; among the Luapula Lunda it is through the male line; the system of the Kapanga Lunda uses both lines. Marriage payments are low; widow inheritance and cross-cousin marriage are practiced. Young marrieds live with the husband´s family.