The Mucubal people (also Mucubai, Mucabale or Mugubale) are a subgroup of the

Herero people The Herero ( hz, Ovaherero) are a Bantu ethnic group inhabiting parts of Southern Africa. There were an estimated 250,000 Herero people in Namibia in 2013. They speak Otjiherero, a Bantu language. Though the Herero primarily reside in Namibia, t ...

in southern

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

. Like the Masai, to whom they are said to be related, they are semi-nomadic, depending on

cattle Cattle (''Bos taurus'') are large, domesticated, cloven-hooved, herbivores. They are a prominent modern member of the subfamily Bovinae and the most widespread species of the genus ''Bos''. Adult females are referred to as cows and adult mal ...

and

agriculture Agriculture or farming is the practice of cultivating plants and livestock. Agriculture was the key development in the rise of sedentary human civilization, whereby farming of domesticated species created food surpluses that enabled people to ...

. Their territory is in the

Namib Desert The Namib ( ; pt, Namibe) is a coastal desert in Southern Africa. The name is of Khoekhoegowab origin and means "vast place". According to the broadest definition, the Namib stretches for more than along the Atlantic coasts of Angola, Namib ...

, bounded by the

Serra da Chela The Serra da Chela is a mountain range in south-central Angola. The mountains, rising to 2,306 meters (7,566 ft) above the coastal plains, are among the highest in the country. It forms part of the Great Escarpment of southern Africa, se ...

mountains to the north and

Cunene River The Cunene (Portuguese spelling) or Kunene (common Namibian spelling) is a river in Southern Africa. It flows from the Angola highlands south to the border with Namibia. It then flows west along the border until it reaches the Atlantic Ocean. It ...

to the south. Mucubal people typically wear little clothing, carry

machete Older machete from Latin America Gerber machete/saw combo Agustín Cruz Tinoco of San Agustín de las Juntas, Oaxaca">San_Agustín_de_las_Juntas.html" ;"title="Agustín Cruz Tinoco of San Agustín de las Juntas">Agustín Cruz Tinoco of San ...

s or spears, and are renowned for their endurance, sometimes running in a day. Their villages typically consist of a group of huts arranged in a circle. In the 1930s, the Portuguese estimated that there were around 5,000 Mucubal, occupying an area two-thirds the size of Portugal. Between 1939 and 1943, Portuguese army operations against the Mucubal, who they accused of rebellion and cattle-theiving, resulted in hundreds of Mucubal killed. During the campaign, 3,529 were taken prisoner, 20% of whom were women and children, and imprisoned in concentration camps. Many died in captivity from undernourishment, violence and forced labor. Around 600 were sent to

Sao Tome and Principe SAO or Sao may refer to: Places * Sao civilisation, in Middle Africa from 6th century BC to 16th century AD * Sao, a town in Boussé Department, Burkina Faso * Saco Transportation Center (station code SAO), a train station in Saco, Maine, U. ...

. Hundreds were also sent to a camp in

Damba The damba (''Paretroplus damii'') is a species of cichlid. Etymology The genus name ''Paretroplus'' is composed by the Greek ''Para'' (meaning ''similar to'') and ''Etroplus'' (a closely related genus of Indian cichlids). The Latin species nam ...

, where 26% died. According to Rafael Coca de Campos, the operations against the Mucubal constituted genocide.

References

Ethnic groups in Angola Pastoralists African nomads Herero people {{Angola-stub