The kingdom or polity of Vungu was a historic mini-state located on the north bank of the

Congo River The Congo River ( kg, Nzâdi Kôngo, french: Fleuve Congo, pt, Rio Congo), formerly also known as the Zaire River, is the second longest river in Africa, shorter only than the Nile, as well as the second largest river in the world by discharge ...

near the modern day town of Matadi in the

Democratic Republic of 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 ...

. In the sixteenth century its name was written as "Bungu" reflecting the ambiguity of b/v/bh in Kikongo.

History

It is not known for sure how old Vungu was or when it was founded. The first documentary mention of it comes in a letter written by Afonso I,the king of

Kongo 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 ...

in 1535, in which he lists "JBungu" among other places over which he ruled as king. Traditions collected in the Kongo court and written up by the

Jesuit , image = Ihs-logo.svg , image_size = 175px , caption = ChristogramOfficial seal of the Jesuits , abbreviation = SJ , nickname = Jesuits , formation = , founders ...

priest Mateus Cardoso in 1624 cite "Bungu" as the place where the first king of Kongo ruled before crossing the Congo River to conquer Kongo.

ateus Cardoso Ateas (ca. 429 BC – 339 BC) was described in Greek and Roman sources as the most powerful king of Scythia, who lost his life and empire in the conflict with Philip II of Macedon in 339 BC. His name also occurs as ''Atheas'', ''Ateia'', '' ...

''Historia do Reino de Congo (1624)'' ed. Antonio Brasio (Lisbon, 1969) That same year, King Pedro II of Kongo mentioned that the place had been overrun and destroyed by Jagas, the generic term in documents of the period for rootless militant bands reputed to be cannibals .

References

{{reflist City-states