Cuando Cubango (

Umbundu Umbundu, or South Mbundu (autonym umb, úmbúndú), one of many Bantu languages, is the most widely-spoken autochthonous language of Angola. Its speakers are known as '' Ovimbundu'' and are an ethnic group constituting a third of Angola's popul ...

: Kwando Kubango Volupale) is a

province A province is almost always an administrative division within a country or sovereign state, state. The term derives from the ancient Roman ''Roman province, provincia'', which was the major territorial and administrative unit of the Roman Empire ...

Angola , national_anthem = " Angola Avante"() , image_map = , map_caption = , capital = Luanda , religion = , religion_year = 2020 , religion_ref = , coordina ...

and it has an area of 199,049km² and a population of 534,002 in 2014.

Menongue Menongue, formerly Serpa Pinto, is a town, a municipality, and the capital of Cuando Cubango Province in Angola. The municipality had a population of 320,914 in 2014. It is one of the four municipalities in Angola whose inhabitants are predominan ...

is the capital of the province. The governor of the province is José Martins, who was appointed governor in November 2021. The name of the province derives from that of the Cuando and Cubango rivers, which flow through the eastern and western edges of the province, respectively.

History

Throughout much of the 1980s and 1990s, Cuando Cubango served as the location for the primary base camp of Angola's

UNITA The National Union for the Total Independence of Angola ( pt, União Nacional para a Independência Total de Angola, abbr. UNITA) is the second-largest political party in Angola. Founded in 1966, UNITA fought alongside the Popular Movement for ...

rebel movement, led by

Jonas Savimbi Jonas Malheiro Savimbi (; 3 August 1934 – 22 February 2002) was an Angolan revolutionary politician and rebel military leader who founded and led the National Union for the Total Independence of Angola (UNITA). UNITA waged a guerrilla war agai ...

. The rebel movement received support from the United States as part of the

Cold War The Cold War is a term commonly used to refer to a period of geopolitical tension between the United States and the Soviet Union and their respective allies, the Western Bloc and the Eastern Bloc. The term '' cold war'' is used because the ...

conflict against Angola's Marxist government, which was supported by the

Soviet Union The Soviet Union,. officially the Union of Soviet Socialist Republics. (USSR),. was a transcontinental country that spanned much of Eurasia from 1922 to 1991. A flagship communist state, it was nominally a federal union of fifteen national ...

Cuba Cuba ( , ), officially the Republic of Cuba ( es, República de Cuba, links=no ), is an island country comprising the island of Cuba, as well as Isla de la Juventud and several minor archipelagos. Cuba is located where the northern Caribbea ...

and other communist states. Savimbi and UNITA maintained a large and clandestine base camp in the Cubando Cubango town of Jamba. The camp was protected by anti-aircraft weapons and included an air strip, which was used for the delivery of military and other supplies, which typically arrived from neighboring

Zaire Zaire (, ), officially the Republic of Zaire (french: République du Zaïre, link=no, ), was a Congolese state from 1971 to 1997 in Central Africa that was previously and is now again known as the Democratic Republic of the Congo. Zaire was, ...

. The

Angolan Civil War The Angolan Civil War ( pt, Guerra Civil Angolana) was a civil war in Angola, beginning in 1975 and continuing, with interludes, until 2002. The war immediately began after Angola became independent from Portugal in November 1975. The war was ...

ultimately became one of the most prominent conflicts of the Cold War, with both the United States and the Soviet Union depicting its outcome as important to the global balance of power.

Geography

Cuando Cubango is traversed by the northwesterly line of equal latitude and longitude. It is located in the extreme south-east of Angola. To the north and north-east it is bordered with

Moxico Province Moxico (Portuguese spelling) or Moshiko (Bantu spelling) is the largest province of Angola. It has an area of , and covers 18% of the landmass of Angola. The province has a population of 758,568 (2014 census) and a population density of approxim ...

, and in the west - the provinces of Huila and Cunene. In the south of Cuando Cubango it borders

Namibia Namibia (, ), officially the Republic of Namibia, is a country in Southern Africa. Its western border is the Atlantic Ocean. It shares land borders with Zambia and Angola to the north, Botswana to the east and South Africa to the south and ea ...

, and to the east -

Zambia Zambia (), officially the Republic of Zambia, is a landlocked country at the crossroads of Central Africa, Central, Southern Africa, Southern and East Africa, although it is typically referred to as being in Southern Africa at its most cent ...

Municipalities

The province of Cuando Cubango contains nine

municipalities A municipality is usually a single administrative division having corporate status and powers of self-government or jurisdiction as granted by national and regional laws to which it is subordinate. The term ''municipality'' may also mean the go ...

( pt, municípios): *

Calai Calai is a town and municipality in Cuando Cubango Province in Angola , national_anthem = " Angola Avante"() , image_map = , map_caption = , capital = Luanda , religion = , ...

Cuangar Cuangar is a town and municipality in Cuando Cubango Province in Angola. The town lies on the Okavango River, opposite the town of Nkurenkuru Nkurenkuru (1.093 m above sea level) is a town on the south-western banks of the Kavango River. It i ...

Cuchi __NOTOC__ Cuchi is a town and municipality in Cuando Cubango Province in Angola. The population of the municipality was 42,974 in 2014. Transport It is served by a station on the southern main line of South Angolan Railways. Climate Average an ...

Cuito Cuanavale Cuito Cuanavale is a town and municipality in Cuando Cubango (Kuando-Kubango) province in Angola. The names Kuito Kuanavale or Kwito Kwanavale are sometimes used, although this is a mutation of the original Portuguese name. It covers an area of ...

Dirico Dirico is a town and municipality in Cuando Cubango Province in Angola. The municipality had a population of 15,126 in 2014. The town is served by Dirico Airport Dirico Airport is an airport near Dirico, a town in Cuando Cubango Province, ...

Mavinga Mavinga is a town and municipality in Cuando Cubango Province in Angola. One of the three municipalities in Angola. Predominantly inhabited by the Mbunda and municipality had a population of 27,196 in 2014. It comprises the communes of Maving ...

Nancova Nancova is a municipality of the province of Cuando Cubango, in Angola , national_anthem = "Angola Avante"() , image_map = , map_caption = , capital = Luanda , religion = , ...

Rivungo Rivungo is a town and municipality in Cuando Cubango Province in Angola. It is situated on the Cuando River The Cuando River (or Kwando in the non-colonial spelling) is a river in south-central Africa flowing through Angola and Namibia's Capr ...

Communes

The province of Cuando Cubango contains the following

communes An intentional community is a voluntary residential community which is designed to have a high degree of social cohesion and teamwork from the start. The members of an intentional community typically hold a common social, political, relig ...

( pt, comunas); sorted by their respective municipalities: * Calai Municipality –

Calai Calai is a town and municipality in Cuando Cubango Province in Angola , national_anthem = " Angola Avante"() , image_map = , map_caption = , capital = Luanda , religion = , ...

, Maué, Mavengue * Cuangar Municipality – Caila (Bondo),

Savate Savate (), also known as boxe française, savate boxing, French boxing or French footfighting, is a French kickboxing combat sport that uses the hands and feet as weapons combining elements of English boxing with graceful kicking techniques. ...

* Cuchi Municipality –

Chinguanja Chinguanja is a city and commune of Angola, located in the province of Cuando Cubango. As of 2014, the city had a population of 3,612 people over an area of . See also * Communes of Angola The Communes of Angola ( pt, comunas) are adminis ...

, Cutato (Kutato), Vissati * Cuito Cuanavale Municipality – Baixo Longa,

, Longa, Lupire (Lupiri) * Dirico Municipality –

, Mucusso, Xamavera * Mavinga Municipality – Cunjamba Dima, Cutuile (Kutuile), Luengue,

* Menongue Municipality – Caiundo (Kaiundo),

Cueio Cueio is a city and commune of Angola, located in the province of Cuando Cubango. See also * Communes of Angola The Communes of Angola ( pt, comunas) are administrative units in Angola after municipalities. The 163 municipalities of Ango ...

-Betre,

Missombo Missombo is a city and commune of Angola, located in the province of Cuando Cubango. See also * Communes of Angola The Communes of Angola ( pt, comunas) are administrative units in Angola after municipalities. The 163 municipalities of A ...

* Nancova Municipality –

Nancova Nancova is a municipality of the province of Cuando Cubango, in Angola , national_anthem = "Angola Avante"() , image_map = , map_caption = , capital = Luanda , religion = , ...

, Rito * Rivungo Municipality – Chipundo, Jamba-Cueio, Luiana, Mainha Neriquinha,

Natural history

Considerable natural habitat previously existed within the province, although much of these areas has been destroyed during the period 1965 to 1991 during the foreign intervention years of the

. In particular, the area was previously suitable habitat for the endangered

painted hunting dog The African wild dog (''Lycaon pictus''), also called the painted dog or Cape hunting dog, is a wild canine which is a native species to sub-Saharan Africa. It is the largest wild canine in Africa, and the only extant member of the genus '' Lyca ...

, ''Lycaon pictus'', which is now deemed

extirpated Local extinction, also known as extirpation, refers to a species (or other taxon) of plant or animal that ceases to exist in a chosen geographic area of study, though it still exists elsewhere. Local extinctions are contrasted with global extinct ...

in the local area.

List of governors of Cuando Cubango

References

Citations

Bibliography

* , 9780415350150 354 pages * C. Michael Hogan. 2009
''Painted Hunting Dog: Lycaon pictus'', GlobalTwitcher.com, ed. N. Stromberg
*

External links

Official website of province governor

Information on this province at the Angolan ministry for territorial administration

Information on this province at ''Info Angola''

Site Official de Kizomba

Province geographical info at geoview.info
{{Authority control Provinces of Angola