Chokwe
Congo (Zaire), Angola, Zambia
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The Chokwe people number 1.16 million, and they inhabit lands in numerous countries. Their society is matrilineal, and most people work as farmers and hunters. In the 18th century, they amassed great wealth and political power through the ivory and rubber trade but were severely weakened by smallpox epidemics, famine, and war with the Europeans. Modern Chokwe society has no paramount leader, but in most areas, local chiefs called mwana nganga govern in conjunction with councils of elders. The traditional religion includes the worship of a central creator god named Kalunga along with numerous nature and ancestor spirits or mahamba. 7 |