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The Ovimbundu, also known as the Southern Mbundu, are 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 ...
ethnic group who live on the
Bié Plateau The Bié Plateau or Central Plateau of Angola is a plateau that occupies most of central Angola. The elevation of the plateau is from 1,520 m to 1,824.8956 m. Several major rivers originate from the plateau such as the Cunene River, the Kuanza R ...
of central
Angola , national_anthem = " Angola Avante"() , image_map = , map_caption = , capital = Luanda , religion = , religion_year = 2020 , religion_ref = , coordina ...
and in the coastal strip west of these highlands. As the largest ethnic group in Angola, they make up 38 percent of the country's population. Overwhelmingly the Ovimbundu follow
Christianity Christianity is an Abrahamic monotheistic religion based on the life and teachings of Jesus of Nazareth. It is the world's largest and most widespread religion with roughly 2.38 billion followers representing one-third of the global pop ...
, mainly the ''Igreja Evangélica Congregacional de Angola (IECA)'', founded by American missionaries, and the Catholic Church. However, some still retain beliefs and practices from
African traditional religions The traditional beliefs and practices of African people are highly diverse beliefs that include various ethnic religions.Encyclopedia of African Religion (Sage, 2009) Molefi Kete Asante Generally, these traditions are oral rather than scriptura ...
.


History

The origins of the Ovimbundu are
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 ...
populations who drifted in from the North, over the last millennium, and formed local/regional groups which slowly became political units and foci of social identity: M'Balundu, Sele, Wambo, Bieno and others. They developed a sophisticated agriculture, completed by the breeding of small animals (chicken, goats, swine) as well as of a modicum of cows bought from the farmer-herders to the South ( Nyaneka-Nkhumbi,
Ovambo Ovambo may refer to: *Ovambo language *Ovambo people * Ovamboland *Ovambo sparrowhawk The Ovambo or Ovampo sparrowhawk, also known as Hilgert's sparrowhawk, (''Accipiter ovampensis'') is a species of sub-Saharan African bird of prey in the famil ...
). Incisive change came about when the Portuguese established a colonial bridgehead in
Benguela Benguela (; Umbundu: Luombaka) is a city in western Angola, capital of Benguela Province. Benguela is one of Angola's most populous cities with a population of 555,124 in the city and 561,775 in the municipality, at the 2014 census. History Por ...
, in the 16th century. Several of the small "kingdoms" saw their advantage in organising an intense caravan trade between Benguela and peoples of the East, in particular the Chokwe, the
Luvale The Luvale people, also spelled Lovale, Balovale, Lubale, as well as Lwena or Luena in Angola, are a Bantu ethnic group found in northwestern Zambia and southeastern Angola. They are closely related to the Lunda and Ndembu to the northeast, but the ...
and the Mbunda, from whom they obtained wax, rubber, honey and ivory. Each trading caravan had a professional leader and diviner. Trade agreements that had linked the independent chiefdoms led to the development of regional specializations, including metalwork and cornmeal production.
Slavery Slavery and enslavement are both the state and the condition of being a slave—someone forbidden to quit one's service for an enslaver, and who is treated by the enslaver as property. Slavery typically involves slaves being made to perf ...
and the
slave trade Slavery and enslavement are both the state and the condition of being a slave—someone forbidden to quit one's service for an enslaver, and who is treated by the enslaver as property. Slavery typically involves slaves being made to perf ...
were also an integral part of Ovimbundu societies. Caravan trading declined with the suppression of the slave trade and, more importantly, the construction of the Benguela Railway in 1904, and came to an end shortly after 1910. In the following years, the Ovimbundu completely changed their economy to cash crop production of corn, sold to a rapidly increasing network of Portuguese traders. However, because of their demographic growth, and because significant portions of their lands were appropriated by Europeans for coffee, sisal and other plantations, many Ovimbundu started to work as paid labour, mainly on European plantations in their own region or in Northwest Angola, but also in Namibian mines. The Ovimbundu are the main social basis of
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 ...
, an anti-colonial movement that fought against the Portuguese from 1966 to 1974, was an adversary of the rival movement
MPLA The People's Movement for the Liberation of Angola ( pt, Movimento Popular de Libertação de Angola, abbr. MPLA), for some years called the People's Movement for the Liberation of Angola – Labour Party (), is an Angolan left-wing, social d ...
during 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 ...
of 1975 to 2002, and is at present an opposition political party.The founder and historical leader of UNITA,
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 ...
, was an Ocimbundu of the Bieno group.
During the Civil War the two major cities located in Umbundu territory,
Huambo Huambo, formerly Nova Lisboa (English: ''New Lisbon''), is the third-most populous city in Angola, after the capital city Luanda and Lubango, with a population of 595,304 in the city and a population of 713,134 in the municipality of Huambo (Cen ...
and Kuito, were to a large extent destroyed by the MPLA and UNITA respectively, as were a considerable number of villages and much infrastructure (roads, railways, bridges etc.). Many people died, and many others fled to cities either in their own area (
Benguela Benguela (; Umbundu: Luombaka) is a city in western Angola, capital of Benguela Province. Benguela is one of Angola's most populous cities with a population of 555,124 in the city and 561,775 in the municipality, at the 2014 census. History Por ...
,
Lobito Lobito is a Municipalities of Angola, municipality in Angola. It is located in Benguela Province, on the Atlantic Coast north of the Catumbela Estuary. The Lobito municipality had a population of 393,079 in 2014. History The city was founded in ...
) or in distant areas (mainly
Luanda Luanda () is the capital and largest city in Angola. It is Angola's primary port, and its major industrial, cultural and urban centre. Located on Angola's northern Atlantic coast, Luanda is Angola's administrative centre, its chief seaport ...
and its surroundings, but also
Lubango Lubango, formerly known as Sá da Bandeira, is a municipality in Angola, capital of the Huíla Province, with a population of 914,456 in 2022. The city center had a population of 600,751 in 2014 making it the second-most populous city in Angola af ...
). During long periods parts of Umbundu territory were under UNITA control. Since 2002, considerable efforts at reconstruction have been made - by the government, interested in national reconciliation, but to a large extent by the people themselves, by the churches and by a variety of NGOs. A significant proportion of the "internally displaced" Ovimbundu have returned to their places of origin, where traditional forms of social organization have often survived or then been reconstituted. However, larger or smaller Ovimbundu communities have remained in many cities outside their habitat, so that a significant part of this people is now scattered all over Angola. In political terms, the Angolan parliamentary elections of 2008 reflected an important shift in Ovimbundu loyalty: while most of them had voted UNITA in the previous (1992) election, their majority now voted MPLA - because (after the death of Jonas Savimbi) UNITA had lost much of its credibility, but also because strengthening UNITA was seen as implying the risk of a renewal of armed violence.


See also

*
Bailundo Bailundo (pre-1975 Vila Teixeira da Silva) is a municipality, with a population of 294,494 (2014), and a town, with a population of 70,481 (2014), in the province of Huambo, Angola. In the 1990s, Bailundo was the location of the headquarters of ...
*
Cingolo Cingolo (also known as Quingolo) was one of the traditional independent Ovimbundu kingdoms in Angola. In 1774-6, Cingolo fought a war against the Portuguese alongside Bailundu. See also * Citata * Civula * Ciyaka * Ekekete * Kakonda * Kalukembe ...
*
Citata Citata (also known as Quitata) was one of the traditional independent Ovimbundu kingdoms in Angola , national_anthem = " Angola Avante"() , image_map = , map_caption = , capital = Luanda , ...
*
Civula Civula (also known as Quibula) was one of the traditional independent Ovimbundu kingdoms in Angola. See also *Cingolo Cingolo (also known as Quingolo) was one of the traditional independent Ovimbundu kingdoms in Angola. In 1774-6, Cingolo fough ...
*
Ciyaka Overview Ciyaka (also known as Quiyaca or Quiaca) was one of the traditional independent Ovimbundu kingdoms in Angola. See also *Cingolo *Civula Civula (also known as Quibula) was one of the traditional independent Ovimbundu kingdoms in Angola. ...
*
Ekekete Overview Ekekete (also known as Quiquete) was one of the traditional independent Ovimbundu kingdoms in Angola. See also *Cingolo *Civula *Ciyaka Overview Ciyaka (also known as Quiyaca or Quiaca) was one of the traditional independent Ovimbundu ...
*
Kingdom of Ndulu Ndulu (also known as Andulo, Ondulu or Ondura) was one of the traditional independent Ovimbundu kingdoms in Angola. See also *Cingolo *Civula *Ciyaka *Ekekete Overview Ekekete (also known as Quiquete) was one of the traditional independent Ovim ...
* Ngalangi


References


Further reading

* Gladwyn Murray Childs, ''Umbundu Kinship and Character'', London: Oxford University Press, 1949 * Adrian Edwards, ''The Ovimbundu Under Two Sovereignties: A Study of Social Control and Social Change Among a People of Angola'', London: Oxford University Press, 1962 * Linda Heywood, ''Contested Power in Angola, 1940s to the Present'', Rochester/NY: University of Rochester Press, 2000 (A scholarly political history of the Ovimbundu) * Didier Péclard, "Les incertitudes de la nation en Angola: Aux racines sociales de l'UNITA", Paris: Karthala, 2015


External links


Ovimbundu Britannica OnlineNação Ovimbundu
{{authority control Ethnic groups in Angola Bantu peoples