Muna Ntete

The Origins of the Kingdom of Kongo

Abstract

Oral traditions of Kongo allow important insights into the origins of the kingdom, especially as some traditions were recorded as early as the sixteenth century. Noting that traditions change as social structure changes, this work builds from the earliest traditions to make a careful step by step origin with concessions rather than a sweeping conquest as later traditions suggest. It avoids using either very recent traditional accounts from the twentieth century and modern ethnography, but focuses on eyewitness evidence along with tradition. New documentary finds make it clear that the origin of Kongo was more like the conquest of a pre-existing kingdom of Mpemba, than the founding of a new kingdom in a previously decentralized area.