The Lunda people or tribe arose in the Lunda Kingdom in what is now DR Congo, Eastern Angola and north-western Zambia in the 17th century. They were allied to the Luba, and their migrations and conquests spawned a number of affiliated tribes especially to the east, in northern Zambia. Lunda Kingdom The Lunda Kingdom became known in the 17th century. ... Luba may refer to: Luba, Equatorial Guinea Luba, a tribe in western Africa Tshiluba language Luba, a comic book character This is a disambiguation page — a navigational aid which lists other pages that might otherwise share the same title. ...

The kingdom'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. Corn redirects here. ... Pearl millet in the field The millets are a group of small-seeded species of cereal crops, widely grown around the world for food and fodder. ... For the Levantine god of the untamed sea, see Yaw. ... Species About 30 species, see text Sorghum is a genus of about 30 species of grasses raised for grain, native to tropical and subtropical regions of Eastern Africa, with one species native to Mexico. ... Species - hubbard squash, buttercup squash - cushaw squash C. moschata- butternut squash C. pepo- most pumpkins, acorn squash, summer squash References: ITIS 223652002-11-06 Hortus Third Squashes are four species of the genus Cucurbita, also called pumpkins and marrows depending on variety or the nationality of the speaker. ... This article is on the plant. ... Binomial name Ipomoea batatas Linnaeus, The sweet potato (Ipomoea batatas) is a crop plant whose large, starchy, sweet-tasting tuberous roots are an important root vegetable. ... Species Elaeis guineensis Elaeis oleifera The oil palms (Elaeis) coomprise two species of the Arecaceae, or palm family. ... Species Nicotiana acuminata Nicotiana alata Nicotiana attenuata Nicotiana benthamiana Nicotiana clevelandii Nicotiana excelsior Nicotiana forgetiana Nicotiana glauca Nicotiana glutinosa Nicotiana langsdorffii Nicotiana longiflora Nicotiana obtusifolia Nicotiana paniculata Nicotiana plumbagifolia Nicotiana quadrivalvis Nicotiana repanda Nicotiana rustica Nicotianasuaveolens Nicotiana sylvestris Nicotiana tabacum Nicotiana tomentosa Ref: ITIS 30562 as of August 26, 2005... For other uses, see Arab (disambiguation). ... Swahili (also called Kiswahili; see Kiswahili for a discussion of the nomenclature) is an agglutinative Bantu language widely spoken in East Africa. ...  Eastern Africa (UN subregion)  East African Community  Central African Federation (defunct)  geographic, including above East Africa or Eastern Africa is the easternmost region of the African continent, variably defined by geography or geopolitics. ...

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.

Today Lunda people and chiefs still live in the area of the former kingdom and use the Lunda langauge, Chilunda, except for the Eastern Lunda in the valley of the Luapula River, who speak Chibemba. Lunda, also known as Chilunda, is a Bantu language (of the larger Niger-Congo family) that is spoken in Angola and, to a lesser extent, in the Democratic Republic of the Congo. ... The Luapula River is a river in central Africa. ... Bemba, also known as Chibemba and Ichibemba, is a Bantu language that is spoken primarily in Zambia but is also spoken in surrounding countries. ...

References and Further Reading

Some of the information is based on the German Wikipedia article on the Lunda (Königreich), which cites two sources:

1. Pogge, Im Reich des Muata Jamwo (Berl. 1880);
2. 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.