Lunda << LOON duh or LOON dah >> are a people who live in Angola, the Democratic Republic of the Congo (DRC), and Zambia. They ruled several central African kingdoms from the 1600’s to the 1800’s.
Most Lunda live in small rural villages and farm the land for a living. They grow a root crop called cassava and several grains, including corn, millet, and sorghum. They also fish and sell their catch to towns in the rich copper-mining areas of the DRC and Zambia. Since about 1960, large numbers of Lunda have moved from rural areas to towns and cities. The people speak a language that belongs to the Bantu group of African languages (see Bantu). Many Lunda are Christians.
During the early 1600’s, the Lunda formed a powerful kingdom under a series of rulers called the mwaant yaar (king). The Lunda kingdom became one of central Africa’s largest empires. It covered large parts of what are now Angola, the DRC, and Zambia.
During the 1700’s, several groups broke away from the Lunda empire and established their own kingdoms. One of these kingdoms–Kazembe in northeastern Zambia–became a major center of commerce in the 1800’s. Kazembe carried on long-distance trade with people on the east and west coasts of Africa.
In the 1900’s, the Lunda played a major role in African political developments. The Lunda in Zambia helped drive out the British colonial rulers in 1964. The Lunda in the DRC’s Katanga Province participated in a movement to make the province independent. This struggle resulted in a series of armed revolts in the 1960’s and 1970’s. Also in the 1970’s, the Lunda took part in a civil war in Angola between rival groups that wanted to rule the country.
