Ilunga is a relatively common

personal name A personal name, or full name, in onomastic terminology also known as prosoponym (from Ancient Greek πρόσωπον / ''prósōpon'' - person, and ὄνομα / ''onoma'' - name), is the set of names by which an individual person is known ...

in the Democratic Republic of the Congo. The name ILUNGA derives from the verb "kulunga", which means to unite, unify, gather or put together. ILUNGA is the name that the

BALUBA The Luba people or Baluba are an ethno-linguistic group indigenous to the south-central region of the Democratic Republic of the Congo. The majority of them live in this country, residing mainly in Katanga Province, Katanga, Kasai region, Kasai a ...

give to those they consider to be unifying or bringing people together. "Kulunga" opposes the verb "kusansanya", which means to separate or to divide. In June 2004, "ilunga" was reported as being a

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 ...

word meaning "a person who is ready to forgive any abuse for the first time, to tolerate it a second time, but never a third time", and – in the opinion of 1,000

linguists Linguistics is the scientific study of human language. It is called a scientific study because it entails a comprehensive, systematic, objective, and precise analysis of all aspects of language, particularly its nature and structure. Linguis ...

surveyed on the subject – the world's most difficult word to translate.BBC News: Congo word "most untranslatable"
/ref>

Ilunga as a family name

Ilunga is a

family name In some cultures, a surname, family name, or last name is the portion of one's personal name that indicates one's family, tribe or community. Practices vary by culture. The family name may be placed at either the start of a person's full name ...

placed before the

given name A given name (also known as a forename or first name) is the part of a personal name quoted in that identifies a person, potentially with a middle name as well, and differentiates that person from the other members of a group (typically a fa ...

. There are many famous African and African-descended people named Ilunga. For example: *

Kalala Ilunga Kalala Ilunga (b. 16th century) was a Prince, King and one of the emperors of Luba Empire, the latter of which spread over the province of Katanga (before cutting) into Zambia and Zimbabwe. A mythic cultural hero who had invented much of Luba cu ...

, legendary founder of the Luba ethnic group of Democratic Republic of Congo *

Sylvestre Ilunga Sylvestre Ilunga Ilunkamba (born 1947, Katanga Province, Belgian Congo) is a Congolese politician who was appointed as the Prime Minister of the Democratic Republic of the Congo in May 2019, formally establishing his government in August 2019. ...

, appointed as the Prime Minister of the Democratic Republic of the Congo in May 2019- * Bendele Ilunga,

boxer Boxer most commonly refers to: * Boxer (boxing), a competitor in the sport of boxing *Boxer (dog), a breed of dog Boxer or boxers may also refer to: Animal kingdom * Boxer crab * Boxer shrimp, a small group of decapod crustaceans * Boxer snipe ee ...

, Belgium *

Didier Ilunga-Mbenga Didier "D. J." Ilunga-Mbenga (pronounced Benga; born December 30, 1980) is a Belgian-Congolese former professional basketball player. He has also played for the Belgian national basketball team as he is a dual citizen of both his native countries. ...

, basketball, Congo, joined

Dallas Mavericks The Dallas Mavericks (often referred to as the Mavs) are an American professional basketball team based in Dallas. The Mavericks compete in the National Basketball Association (NBA) as a member of the Western Conference (NBA), Western Conferenc ...

in July 2004 * Dorah Ilunga Kabulu, politician, Belgium *

Enock Ilunga Enoch () ''Henṓkh''; ar, أَخْنُوخ ', ommonly in Qur'ānic literature ' is a biblical figure and Patriarchs (Bible)">patriarch prior to Noah's flood, and the son of Jared (biblical figure), Jared and father of Methuselah. He was of th ...

painter Painting is the practice of applying paint, pigment, color or other medium to a solid surface (called the "matrix" or "support"). The medium is commonly applied to the base with a brush, but other implements, such as knives, sponges, and ai ...

, Zambia *

Hérita Ilunga Nkongolo Hérita Ilunga (born 25 February 1982) is a retired Congolese footballer who played as a left-back. At club level, he represented Espanyol B, Saint-Étienne, Toulouse, West Ham United, Doncaster Rovers, Rennes, Carquefou, and US Cretei ...

footballer A football player or footballer is a sportsperson who plays one of the different types of football. The main types of football are association football, American football, Canadian football, Australian rules football, Gaelic football, rugby le ...

, Democratic Republic of Congo * Ferousi Ilunga, boxer, Congo * Ilunga A. Kalonzo Ilunga, politician,

Congo Congo or The Congo may refer to either of two countries that border the Congo River in central Africa: * Democratic Republic of the Congo, the larger country to the southeast, capital Kinshasa, formerly known as Zaire, sometimes referred to a ...

Ilunga Katele Ilunga is a relatively common personal name in the Democratic Republic of the Congo. The name ILUNGA derives from the verb "kulunga", which means to unite, unify, gather or put together. ILUNGA is the name that the BALUBA give to those they consi ...

, traditional culture hero, royal ancestor of the Chokwe people * Martin-Léonard Bakole wa Ilunga (deceased), Catholic

archbishop In Christian denominations, an archbishop is a bishop of higher rank or office. In most cases, such as the Catholic Church, there are many archbishops who either have jurisdiction over an ecclesiastical province in addition to their own archdi ...

, Congo * Masengo Ilunga, former footballer of

Ethnikos Piraeus Ethnikos Piraeus (Greek: Εθνικός Πειραιώς) is a Greek multisport club based in Piraeus. It was founded in 1923. The full name of the club is Ethnikos Omilos Filathlon Pireos/Phalirou or Ethnikos OFPF (Greek: Εθνικός Όμιλ ...

born in Zaire. * Gen. Ilunga Shamanga (deceased),

, Army General, last interior minister of Mobutu's regime, and later prominent member of the Congolese Rally for Democracy rebel group. *

Ilunga Mwepu Joseph Mwepu Ilunga (22 August 1949 – 8 May 2015) was a football defender from Zaire (now the Democratic Republic of the Congo). His name is also written as ''Alunga Mwepu''. Club career Mwepu played club football for Englebert TP Mazembe in hi ...

, Congolese footballer *

Kasongo Ilunga Andre Kasongo Ilunga (allegedly born 20 October 1972) was supposedly the Vice-President of the UNAFEC party and the Minister for Foreign Trade of the Democratic Republic of the Congo for much of 2007, despite doubts on whether or not he ever a ...

, Congolese politician Tshiluba is a language spoken in southeastern Democratic Republic of the Congo.

References

{{reflist * MacIntyre, Ben. ''Why do Koreans say "a biscuit would be nice" instead of "I want a biscuit"?'', The Times, August 21, 2004. Given names Bantu-language surnames Kongo-language surnames

Ilunga as a family name

See also

References