The Hunde people also (Bahunde, Kobi, Rukobi) are descendants of

Bantu Bantu may refer to: *Bantu languages, constitute the largest sub-branch of the Niger–Congo languages *Bantu peoples, over 400 peoples of Africa speaking a Bantu language * Bantu knots, a type of African hairstyle *Black Association for National ...

people primarily inhabiting the

Kivu Kivu was the name for a large "region" in the Democratic Republic of the Congo under the rule of Mobutu Sese Seko that bordered Lake Kivu. It included three "Sub-Regions" ("Sous-Régions" in French): Nord-Kivu, Sud-Kivu and Maniema, correspondin ...

region of the

Democratic Republic of the Congo The Democratic Republic of the Congo (french: République démocratique du Congo (RDC), colloquially "La RDC" ), informally Congo-Kinshasa, DR Congo, the DRC, the DROC, or the Congo, and formerly and also colloquially Zaire, is a country in ...

. Many live in the Masisi, Rutshuru and Walikale territories. Some Bahunde also live in

Rwanda Rwanda (; rw, u Rwanda ), officially the Republic of Rwanda, is a landlocked country in the Great Rift Valley of Central Africa, where the African Great Lakes region and Southeast Africa converge. Located a few degrees south of the Equator ...

and southwestern

Uganda }), is a landlocked country in East Africa East Africa, Eastern Africa, or East of Africa, is the eastern subregion of the African continent. In the United Nations Statistics Division scheme of geographic regions, 10-11-(16*) territor ...

. They number approximately 950,000 and speak the

Hunde language Hunde (''Kihunde''; also ''Luhunde'', ''Kobi'', ''Rukobi'') is a Great Lakes Bantu language spoken by the Hunde people or Bahunde in Nord-Kivu province in the Democratic Republic of the Congo. It is primarily spoken in the territories of Masisi, W ...

. Look up kihunde, Yahunde, Yahudi, Kobi, Rukobi. The Bahunde or Hunde claim to have come from north during the Bantu migration from Egypt. They first settled in Uganda and became part of the Toro Kingdom then later migrated to the DRCongo a few centuries later and created the Kingdom of the Bahunde. They are a monotheistic people that, practice male circumcision as their tradition and believe in Ongo; one supreme God. Non-bantoid Neighbouring tribes often refer to them as descendants of the lost tribes of the biblical Israelites because of their culture, custom, music and language, the Bahunde are also a warrior tribe (see Mai-Mai) and enjoy traditional dance and music of praise, they are mainly farmers and small cattle-keepers. Among the massive capture of Bantu speaking people, many of the Bahunde were captured and sold during the Arab slavery of Africans, many more were also captured by the Portuguese and shipped during the trans Atlantic slavery, and with the coming of the European coloniser, the Bahunde Kingdom was reduced to chiefdoms and forced to convert to Christianity and Islam after a decade of resistance and resilience. The Bahunde have been in conflict with the

Banyarwanda The Banyarwanda ( rw, Abanyarwanda (plural), Umunyarwanda (singular), lit=those who come from Rwanda) are the cultural, tribal and linguistic group of people who inhabit mainly Rwanda. Some Banyarwanda live in the Democratic Republic of the C ...

of Rwanda many times long before independence, in particular with the

Tutsi The Tutsi (), or Abatutsi (), are an ethnic group of the African Great Lakes region. They are a Bantu-speaking ethnic group and the second largest of three main ethnic groups in Rwanda and Burundi (the other two being the largest Bantu ethnic grou ...

; a Nilotic-Hamitic tribe in Rwanda, Burundi and Uganda, many Bantu kingdoms in this region fought with these tall, skinny giants as they see them as being descendants of the Hamito-Egyptians.

References

Ethnic groups in the Democratic Republic of the Congo Ethnic groups in Uganda Ethnic groups in Rwanda 4. THE BAHUNDE OF MASISI TERRITOIRE ( Field Notes (1957) and a Brief Overview of Existing Literature by Daniel P. Biebuyck. 5. Bantu Habiru, Kabiru ( Redefining Bantu people ) Yaounde, {{Africa-ethno-group-stub