Lunda

Democratic Republic of the Congo: children pounding cassava into flour

Lunda, any of several Bantu-speaking peoples scattered over wide areas of the southeastern part of Congo (Kinshasa), eastern Angola, and northern and northwestern Zambia. The various regional groups—the Lunda of Musokantanda in Congo, 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 southern Congo. (See Luba-Lunda states.) In southwestern Congo they have spread to the Kwango River, where they form the political authority among the Yaka and other peoples. Most Lunda live in savanna country intersected by belts of forest along the rivers. Food gathering and hunting are important among many groups, fishing less so. All groups practice shifting hoe cultivation of cassava, millet, peanuts (groundnuts), beans, and corn (maize), and all keep small livestock; some groups keep a few cattle. Local trade is widespread; the Lunda of Kazembe have been well known as traders of ivory and slaves.

Descent systems differ: among the southern Lunda, Luvale, and Luchazi, descent is matrilineal; among the northern Zambian Lunda, it is patrilineal; the system of the Kapanga Lunda uses both lines. Marriage payments are low; widow inheritance and cross-cousin marriage are practiced.

Lunda villages are small and compact. Among the Lunda of Kapanga, the central political organization is very complex. The Lunda religions are based upon a supreme being who is either a sky or an earth god. The worship of ancestors is also practiced.