LIST OF THE RULERS OF THE MBUNDA KINGDOM

The Mbunda Kingdom was an African kingdom located in west central Africa, what is now southeast Angola, and the western portion of the Democratic Republic of the Congo.^[1] At its greatest extent, it reached from Mithimoyi in the central Moxico to the Cuando Cubango Province in the southeast, bordering with Namibia. The kingdom was ruled by Mwene wa Ngoma (King), and its sphere of influence extended to neighbouring countries, such as Zambia and Namibia.^[2]

In the earlier years before 1500’s a group of Bantu people left what is now Sudan,^[3] during the Bantu migration. Among these were the Mbunda,^[4] one of the oldest and biggest ethnic grouping in Southern Africa.

The Mbunda Kingdom dates back from well before the Mwantiyavwa Dynasty was established in Kola.^[5]

The Mbunda trace their origin from Sudan,^[6] trekking southwards through Kola where they came in contact with the Luba and Ruund people,^[7] where a misunderstanding between the third Monarch Yamvu and forth Monarch Nkonde led to a split after Yamvu married a Luba Hunter. One faction gave rise to the Mwata Yamvwa Kingdom after adopting the name Mwata Yamwa in 1695, while the other faction led by Mwene Nkonde retained the Mbunda dynasty and moved eastwards and settled at the confluence of Kwilu and Kasai Rivers where the Mbunda Kingdom was re-established.^[8]

The following is a complete list of rulers of the Mbunda Kingdom, established at the confluence of Kwilu and Kasai rivers in the now Democratic Republic of the Congo in the fifteenth century.^[9]

In the early 17th century, it was re-established in Mbundaland, a state southeast of the present day Angola covering Moxico and Cuando Cubango Provinces. During much of this time it was a sovereign kingdom, ruled by native kings and queens.^[10]

In 1914, King Mwene Mbandu I Lyondthzi Kapova led the Mbunda people in resisting Portuguese colonialism, which led to his abduction and a bitter war that eventually resulted in Angolan sovereignty over Mbundaland.,^{[11] [12]}

Early monarchs ^[13]

Re-Established Mbunda Kingdom monarchs at the confluence of Kwilu and Kasai Rivers, in the now Democratic Republic of the Congo ^{[16] [17]}

The Mbunda Kingdom Established in Mbundaland After The First Settlement At Mithimoyi, in the now Angola, Moxico^[18]

Mbunda Monarchs Expand Mbundaland Beyond The First Settlement At Mithimoyi, in the now Angola, to cover Moxico and Cuando Cubango ^[20]

Name	Lifespan	Reign start	Reign end	Notes	Family	Image
12. King Mwene Kathangila ka Mukenge	His Palace was at Mithimoyi	?	?	He split the Mbunda as he followed the expedition route of King Mwene Chinguli cha Nkonde in the 16th Century. He traveled all the way up to Kweve River, the tributary of Kwitu River where he finally settled with the Mbunda group he traveled with. These eventually developed Mbunda dialects of Nkangala, Yauma, Ndundu and Maxaka,.[21][22]	He had five children: 1). Prince Munamwene Yambayamba Kapanda, 2). Prince Munamwene Chingumbe, 3). Princess Vamunamwene Mpande, 4). Princess Vamunamwene Kamana, 5). Princess Vamunamwene Muulo.
13. King Mwene Yambayamba Kapanda	His Palace was called Chimpaka cha Livambi at the confluence of Lunguevungu River and Luyo rivers	?	?	He was the first nephew to succeed to the Mbunda monarch after a decree to abandon sons of Kings ascending to the throne. The wisdom behind that is that a woman's child is hers without doubt. In consolidating the Mbunda new found lands of settlement and strengthen Mbundaland, He followed King Kathangila expedition route, travelling all the way to Kunte river, Kandthzelendthzendthze, source of Lunguevungu River, Cuando River and Kwitu rivers. He found the Humbi, the Luimbi and the Ngonjelo in a war, fighting the Nyemba and the Chimbandi. The King and his people helped the provocked and chased the provokers along the Kwitu river source. He left Nobleman Mwata Chuma and his people to settle along Kunte river, to safeguard Mbundaland. King Yambayamba Kapanda was a warrior king who conguered many lands all the way south to the boundary with Chivanda (Namibia) and settled his people in all those areas to secure Mbundaland. As most of the Mbunda migrated south from the Luena regions of Mithimoyi, those that remained eventually developed a Mbunda dialect called Sango,[23][24] because of mixing and iner-marriage with the Chinyama Lundas who were later called the Luvale, who arrived had in the area long after the Mbunda had migrated south.	He had five children: 1). Princess Vamunamwene Mukombe, 2). Princess Vamunamwene Xwaka, 3). Prince Munamwene Muyakata, 4). Prince Munamwene Chikungwe, 5). Prince Munamwene Nambwa.
14. King Mwene Chingumbe	His Palace was called Lilembalemba along Lukonya river	1700s	1700s	He attempted to reverse the decree of only nephews ascending to the Mbunda monarch by decreeing that his son succeeds him after his death .	He had five children: 1). Prince Munamwene Nkombwe Kapamuka, 2). Prince Munamwene Yembe Katete, 3). Prince Munamwene Chitengi Chingumbe Chiyengele, 4). Princess Vamunamwene Kakuhu, 5). Prince Munamwene Mpili.
15. King Mwene Chitengi Chingumbe Chiyengele Chiyengele. This meant "the great elephant hunter"	His Palace was briefly along Lukonya river	1795	1795	He succeeded his father King Chingumbe upon the deceased's decree, but because of the earlier decree of nephew successors only, the Mbunda scheemed to remove him. In frustration he migrated to Barotseland in the now Zambia in 1795 with a group of his Mbunda followers and settled in Mongu. He was received by the Aluyi King Mulambwa and made a ten point friendship treaty. These were later called the Chiyengele group or Mbunda Xamuka.[25]	The exact number of children not clearly recorded except for one: 1). Prince Munamwene Ngulungu.
16. King Mwene Ngonga I Chiteta Chiteta meaning "the beheader"	His Palace was along Lukonya river	1795	?	He was known for his cruelity of beheading wrong doers at his palace. That cruelity caused a number of the Mbunda to relocate to a region called Mbalango, who eventually developed a Mbunda dialect called Mbalango.[26][27]	He had four children: 1). Prince Munamwene Kathaka, 2). Prince Munamwene Lyangongama, 3). Prince Munamwene Vunonge, 4). Prince Munamwene Liwanika.
17. King Mwene Nyumbu Luputa lwa Mpande	His Palace was along Luvweyi river	1800s	1800s	He posted chiefs and noblemen (vimyata) to all the border areas of Mbundaland and along all the main rivers. His people made enough weapons; bows and arrows, spears, shields and the hand-to-hand fighting axes (vukama). Guns were bought or confiscated from the Vimbali or Ovimbundu who were the main source of guns and kept in the Mwene's vithala (armouries). The aim was to protect Mbundaland against external aggression. It was rumored that the Chokwe, the Luvale and the Vimbali or Ovimbundu slave traders might invade the country in search of slaves and even land to settle. There was calm in Mbundaland during his reign. His rule was epitomised by expanded trade, which next to adequate food production and defensive capability, became another important sphere of activity in the Mbunda state.	?
18. King Mwene Ngonga II Linjengele Kawewe	His Palace was along Luanginga river	1800s	1800s	It was during his reign that a trade pact was made with Vimbali or Ovimbundu chieftain and trade expedition leader appointed by the Portuguese, and remembered as Sova Kapitango, presented various gifts like guns, gunpowder, cloth and, one gift which engendered enormous curiosity, the gift of pigs. That was the first introduction of pigs in Mbundaland.	?
19. King Mwene Katavola I Mwechela	His Palace was along Luvweyi river	1800s	1800s	In consultation with his inner circle of advisors, he promulgated a royal decree which forbade intermarriages with other nationalities. These royal edicts, affected a large percentage of the populace, especially the nobility and royals, who apparently felt oppressed and out-manoeuvred by their monarch, with such an uncompromising attitude. In the disaffection that ensued, the abolitionist cabal, clandestinely plotted against and finally assassinated Mwene Katavola I Mwechela during a hunting expedition. The conspirators in the royal entourage did not wish to publicly disclose what precisely had brought about the death of their ruler. They conspired to give a fabricated version claiming that their monarch had been killed and eaten by a ferocious lion whilst he was relieving himself at night.	?
20. King Mwene Katavola II Muthangu	His Palace was located in the valley of the Kovongo river.	1800s	1800s	He contravened the royal decree of his predecessor by his passion for a Chokwe slave beauty named Nyakoma, who was owned by the Chokwe Chief called Mwa Mushilinjinji whom he allocated land to settle at the Luwe, a tributary of the Nengu river. Chief Mushilinjinji diplomatically could not accept Mwene Katavola II Musangu's marriage proposal because it was a universal taboo for a royal personage like the king to marry a slave, no matter how attracted he was to her because the offspring of such a marriage could never qualify as royals. That resulted in his declaration of war against the Chokwe people and chase them out of the Mbunda country. He was killed within a few days after the Mbunda-Chokwe battle, having been ambushed and killed by the Chokwe guards who then ran away, all the way back to their original homeland in the present-day Democratic Republic of the Congo.	?
21. King Mwene Mbandu I Lyondthzi Kapova Kathzima Mishambo	His Palace was called Kalyamba located in the valley of Lunjweva and Lwati rivers.	1800s	1914	He became a key monarch resisting against Portuguese occupation of Moxico, which resulted in large-scale abductions by the Portuguese of many of those resisting their occupation.[28] He waged a systematic war of vengeance against the Chokwe for his nephew's death. It is as a result of those battles, that the lasting relationship between the Mbunda and the Chokwe developed. He also led the Mbunda in their armed confrontation with the Luvale who were anxious to break the military power and independence of the Mbunda state and wanted to capture slaves for sale. The two opposing military forces engaged each other in armed combat in the Lunjweva area where he shot and killed Masambo, the leader of the invading Luvale forces. With the elimination of Masambo, the invaders were put to rout and forced to beat a hasty and disorderly retreat back to their homeland. In recognition of his capability in quelling threats against the Mbunda he was affectionately given the sobriquet: Kathzima Mishambo which means the "extinguisher of flames." The Mbunda nation remained unconquered and in a state of full military preparedness during his reign. He maintained trade links with the Portuguese merchants in the hinterland of the Bié Plateau and on the Atlantic coastline through their long time agents the Ovimbundu traders. This trade was later disrupted by the Portuguese war of occupation in 1917, which brought the country of the Mbunda within the borders of Angola, when in 1914 he refused to be summoned by the Portuguese Governor who demanded an audience with the Monarch, instead counter demanded for the commander to make it clear to the Governor that, as he was the sovereign ruler of the Mbunda country, he had the right to counter-demand that the governor should instead travel to the Mbunda country since he was the one who wished to have an audience with him. That led to his abduction by the Portuguese colonialists.	He had following childrem: 1). Prince Sempyeka Lyondthzi, 2). Prince Mumbamba Lyondthzi, 3). Prince Limbwambwa Kalyangu Lyondthzi, 4). Prince Ndeletu Kashweka Lyondthzi, 5). Prince Malali Kazungo Lyondthzi, 6). Libingi Kachungwa Lyondthzi. His sister Vamwene  Kameya Miyeji children were: 1). Litemba Vukolo, 2). Kathzungo Shanda, 3). Fwelu Vithzinga, 4). Luneta Nguvu, 5). Chinoya Thungwanga, 6). Machayi Ngambo, 7). Lyonde Viyela.

Mwene Mbandu I Lyondthzi Kapova, the 21st Monarch of Mbundaland
22. King Mwene Mbandu II Kathzungo Xaanda	His Palace was called Kalyamba located in the valley of Lunjweva and Lwati rivers.	1914	1974	A nephew of the kidnapped King Mwene Mbandu I Lyondthzi Kapova who was quickly recognized as Sova, (the name the Portuguese gave to the chiefs they recognized) of the entire Mbunda nation by the victorious Portuguese colonists. He reigned as the twenty-second Mbunda King even though his own people did not enthrone him in accordance with the established, traditional royal ritual. Meanwhile the colonists rewarded him with colonial uniforms and the privilege to be carried about in a hammock like some colonial administrator. This was against traditional privilege which entitled Mbunda monarchs and chiefs to be carried about on the backs of ox bulls which were adorned with ringing bells. He is remembered for travelling to Silva Porto Biê which is called Kwito today, in 1948 to meet Governor Hortrêncio de Sousa, to request for a school to be built in Mbundaland. The meeting was facilitated by Lovato Faria the Administrtor of Lumbala Nguimbo and João de Nascimento Rodrigues of Vila Luso, which is today called Luena. When the Angolan War of Independence (1961–1974), started, he committed himself and his people to work with MPLA to fight the Portuguese and liberate Angola and Mbundaland. He became the leader of sector I, Zone C of MPLA. In 1972 during the heat of armed liberation war against Portuguese colonialism the King gave room to the armed struggle and migrated to Zambia where he died in exile, late in 1974, in the Kalabo District. King Mwene Kazungo Xaanda's grave is in the Lyondondo village of Kaole area.	?

King Mwene Mbandu II Kathzungo Xaanda, the 22nd Monarch of Mbundaland
23. King Mwene Mbandu III Mbandu Lifuti	His Palace is called Kaamba ka Mbaao located in Lumbala Nguimbo, Moxico Province.	16 August 2008	Reigning by the year 2013	On 16 August 2008, the Mbunda Kingdom which was dislodged in 1920 after the Mbunda resistance to Portuguese colonial occupation, when the Portuguese colonialists abducted the twenty first (21st) Mbunda Monarch, King Mwene Mbandu I Lyondthzi Kapova (Kathzima Mishambo) [29] and eventually extending Angola territory over Mbundaland [30] was restored, with the enthronement of the twenty third (23rd) Mbunda Monarch, King Mwene Mbandu III Mbandu Lifuti. The ceremony took place in Lumbala Nguimbo, Moxico Province and officiated by Deputy Minister of Territory, Garciano Domingos Sunday, Governor of Moxico Province, João Ernesto dos Santos "Liberdade" and Angolan Ambassador acredited to Zambia, Mr. Pedro Neto.[31] Also in attendance were Chiefs Chiyengele and Kandala, two of the three Chieftainships which migrated from Mbundaland to Barotseland of the now Zambia at the end of the 18th century.[32]	?	Mbunda 23rd Monarch His Majesty, King Mwene Mbandu III Mbandu Lifuti at His coronation and restoration of The Mbunda Kingdom in 2008.

References

^[1] Almanac of African Peoples & Nations page 523, Social Science By Muḥammad Zuhdī Yakan, Transaction Publishers, Putgers - The State University, New Jersey, ISBN 1-56000-433-9

^[2] Robert Papstein, 1994, The History and Cultural Life of the Mbunda Speaking People, page 90, Lusaka Cheke Cultural Writers Association, ISBN 9982-03-006-X

^[3] Robert Papstein, 1994, The History and Cultural Life of the Mbunda Speaking People, Lusaka Cheke Cultural Writers Association, ISBN 9982-03-006-X

^[4] See René Pélissier: Les Guerres grises: Résistance et revoltes en Angola (1845-1941), Montamets/Orgeval: Éditions Pélissier, 1977

^[5] Robert Papstein, 1994, The History and Cultural Life of the Mbunda Speaking People, pages 1-4, Lusaka Cheke Cultural Writers Association, ISBN 9982-03-006-X

^[6] Almanac of African Peoples & Nations page 523, Social Science By Muḥammad Zuhdī Yakan, Transaction Publishers, Putgers - The State University, New Jersey, ISBN 1-56000-433-9

^[7] Robert Papstein, 1994, The History and Cultural Life of the Mbunda Speaking People, pages 3-8, Lusaka Cheke Cultural Writers Association, ISBN 9982-03-006-X

^[8] Almanac of African Peoples & Nations page 523, Social Science By Muḥammad Zuhdī Yakan, Transaction Publishers, Putgers - The State University, New Jersey, ISBN 1-56000-433-9

^[9] Robert Papstein, 1994, The History and Cultural Life of the Mbunda Speaking People, pages 3-8, Lusaka Cheke Cultural Writers Association, ISBN 9982-03-006-X

^[10] Robert Papstein, 1994, The History and Cultural Life of the Mbunda Speaking People, pages 8-18, Lusaka Cheke Cultural Writers Association, ISBN 9982-03-006-X

^[11] Terms of Trade and Terms of Trust: The History and Contexts of Pre-colonial ...By Achim von Oppen, page 113 refers

^[12] Robert Papstein, 1994, The History and Cultural Life of the Mbunda Speaking People, pages 19-49, 62-75, 84-103, Lusaka Cheke Cultural Writers Association, ISBN 9982-03-006-X

^[13] Not to be confused with the Ngangela language

^[14] Bantu-Languages.com, citing Maniacky 1997

^[15] Not to be confused with the Ngangela language

^[16] Bantu-Languages.com, citing Maniacky 1997

^[17] Bantu-Languages.com, citing Maniacky 1997

^[18] Not to be confused with the Ngangela language

^[19] Bantu-Languages.com, citing Maniacky 1997

^[20] René Pélissier, Les Guerres Grises: Résistance et revoltes en Angola (1845–1941), Montamets(Orgeval: Éditions Pélisier, 1977

^[21] 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.

^[22] Robert Papstein, 1994, The History and Cultural Life of the Mbunda Speaking People, Lusaka Cheke Cultural Writers Association, ISBN 9982-03-006-X

^[23] Restoration of The Mbunda Kingdom in Pictures

Follow Us On