Kwilu, also known as the House of Kwilu (Portuguese: ''Coulo''), was a

kanda Kanda may refer to: People * Kanda (surname) *Kanda Bongo Man (born 1955), Congolese soukous musician Places * Kanda, Tokyo, an area in Chiyoda-ku, Tokyo, Japan **Kanda Station (Tokyo), a railway station in Chiyoda-ku, Tokyo * Kanda River, a ri ...

or royal lineage of the

Kingdom of Kongo The Kingdom of Kongo ( kg, Kongo dya Ntotila or ''Wene wa Kongo;'' pt, Reino do Congo) was a kingdom located in central Africa in present-day northern Angola, the western portion of the Democratic Republic of the Congo, and the Republic of the ...

Origins

Prior to the rise of the Kwilu kanda, the

Kilukeni The Kilukeni were members of the Lukeni kanda or House of Kilukeni, the ruling dynasty of the Kingdom of Kongo from its inception in the late 14th century until the 1567 with the rise of the House of Kwilu.Thornton, John: "Elite Women in the King ...

kanda or House of Lukeni had ruled Kongo since its inception around the end of the 14th century. After the death of King Henrique I, power passed into the hands of

Álvaro I Álvaro (, , ) is a Spanish, Galician and Portuguese male given name and surname (see Spanish naming customs) of Visigothic origin. Some claim it may be related to the Old Norse name Alfarr, formed of the elements ''alf'' "elf" and ''arr'' "warrio ...

. Álvaro I was Henrique I's stepson, which probably explains why a new kanda was formed when he managed to inherit the throne. He came to power in 1567 and named his royal house for the small district in which he was born north of the capital.Thornton, John: "Elite Women in the Kingdom of Kongo: Historical Perspectives on Women's Political Power", page 449. The Journal of African History, Vol. 47, 2006

Reign

With the exception of the Jaga invasion during the first years of Álvaro I's reign, the House of Kwilu ruled the kingdom without interruption until 4 May 1622. It was then that

Álvaro III Álvaro (, , ) is a Spanish, Galician and Portuguese male given name and surname (see Spanish naming customs) of Visigothic origin. Some claim it may be related to the Old Norse name Alfarr, formed of the elements ''alf'' "elf" and ''arr'' "warrior ...

died leaving a son that was too old to be elected. The

Kinkanga The Kinkanga, usually known as the Kinkanga a Mvika or House of Nsundi, was a royal kanda (lineage), kanda formed by King Pedro II of Kongo, Pedro II, which ruled the Kingdom of Kongo from 1622 to 1631. While King Pedro II (ruled 1622–24) and ...

kanda took over from then but was ousted and replaced with Ambrósio I putting the Kwilu kanda back in power. King Ambrósio was killed during a massive revolt and succeeded by the child Álvaro IV, the last king from the House of Kwilu. No members of the Kwilu gained the throne after 1636, and Kongo was dominated by warring houses claiming descent from

Afonso I Afonso I of PortugalOr also ''Affonso'' (Archaic Portuguese-Galician) or ''Alphonso'' (Portuguese-Galician) or ''Alphonsus'' (Latin version), sometimes rendered in English as ''Alphonzo'' or ''Alphonse'', depending on the Spanish or French inf ...

or his relatives.

Origins

Reign

References

See also