The Pende people (singular: Mupende; plural: Bapende, Bapindi) also known as the Phende people, are an

ethnic group An ethnicity or ethnic group is a group of people with shared attributes, which they collectively believe to have, and long-term endogamy. Ethnicities share attributes like language, culture, common sets of ancestry, traditions, society, re ...

in the

Democratic Republic of the Congo The Democratic Republic of the Congo (DRC), also known as the DR Congo, Congo-Kinshasa, or simply the Congo (the last ambiguously also referring to the neighbouring Republic of the Congo), is a country in Central Africa. By land area, it is t ...

. The Pende are divided into two

cultural group An ethnographic group or ethnocultural group is a group that has cultural traits that make it stand out from the larger ethnic group it is a part of. In other words, members of an ethnographic group will also consider themselves to be members of a ...

s: the Eastern Pende and the Western Pende who are distinct but consider themselves part of the same ethnic group. The number of people who consider themselves to be ethnically Pende is estimated at over 250,000. The Pende speak their own language ( Kipende, kipindi) and are particularly known for their artistic works. They are considered to be culturally similar to the Yaka and

Suku people The Suku people or Basuku (plural) are an ethnic group of Bantu peoples, Bantu origin who traditionally inhabit the south-western Democratic Republic of the Congo and north-western Angola. As of 2017, there are believed to be about 200,000 people wh ...

s who live in neighboring areas.

History

The Pende are divided into two distinct cultural groups: the Western Pende and the Eastern Pende. However, both groups see themselves as part of the same ethnic group. There is no centralised political authority and Pende society is organised around extended family groups rather than through a King or chiefly authority. Much like the Yaka and

s, the Pende originally lived in the strip between the

Atlantic Ocean The Atlantic Ocean is the second largest of the world's five borders of the oceans, oceanic divisions, with an area of about . It covers approximately 17% of Earth#Surface, Earth's surface and about 24% of its water surface area. During the ...

and the Cuanza River, in modern-day

Angola Angola, officially the Republic of Angola, is a country on the west-Central Africa, central coast of Southern Africa. It is the second-largest Portuguese-speaking world, Portuguese-speaking (Lusophone) country in both total area and List of c ...

. Pende consider themselves to be the founder of Angola. Pende, wherever they live, have songs portraying the reasons of their departure from Angola to the DRCongo. Most importantly, after the death of their strong Queen NZINGA (Queen Nzinga of Ndongo and Matamba). Pende and Ambundu in Angola are same tribe; the group that migrated to Congo, DRC was named 'tupenzu-tupenzu,' that is where the name Phende. They migrated to their current region of the modern-day Democratic Republic of the Congo in around 1620 as a consequence of the expansion of the

Kingdom of Lunda The Lunda Empire or Kingdom of Lunda was a confederation of states in what is now the Democratic Republic of Congo, north-eastern Angola, and north-western Zambia. Its central state was in Katanga Province, Katanga. Origin Initially, the core of ...

. In around 1885, the powerful Chokwe ethnic group began expanding and gained control over the Eastern Pende but this period was brought to an end by the arrival of European colonists and the creation of the

Congo Free State The Congo Free State, also known as the Independent State of the Congo (), was a large Sovereign state, state and absolute monarchy in Central Africa from 1885 to 1908. It was privately owned by Leopold II of Belgium, King Leopold II, the const ...

. Between May and September 1931, the Pende revolted against Belgian colonial rule in Kwilu. The revolt was quickly suppressed by the colonial authorities but was one of the largest revolts in the Congo during the

Interwar period In the history of the 20th century, the interwar period, also known as the interbellum (), lasted from 11 November 1918 to 1 September 1939 (20 years, 9 months, 21 days) – from the end of World War I (WWI) to the beginning of World War II ( ...

Culture

The Pende have a

matrilineal Matrilineality, at times called matriliny, is the tracing of kinship through the female line. It may also correlate with a social system in which people identify with their matriline, their mother's lineage, and which can involve the inheritan ...

culture and family

kinship In anthropology, kinship is the web of social relationships that form an important part of the lives of all humans in all societies, although its exact meanings even within this discipline are often debated. Anthropologist Robin Fox says that ...

plays an important role in structuring social relations. They traditionally practice a form of

ancestor worship The veneration of the dead, including one's ancestors, is based on love and respect for the deceased. In some cultures, it is related to beliefs that the dead have a continued existence, and may possess the ability to influence the fortune of t ...

in which the ancestors (''Mvumbi'') are believed to affect prospects of success and failure in everyday life. The Pende traditionally speak their own language, known as Kipende, which is part of the Central Bantu group. The Pende are particularly known for their art, which is complex and includes traditional masks, associated with initiation rituals. Artists play an important role in society, they are looked at as just as important as nobles and receive a gift of having the first portion of food from the harvest. This privilege is usually only reserved for clan chiefs.

References

External links

A Rising of the Wind: Art from a Time of Rebellion in the Congo
by Richard B. Woodward (Virginia Museum of Fine Arts) {{Authority control Ethnic groups in the Democratic Republic of the Congo Bantu peoples