LundaArticle Free Pass Lunda, any of several Bantu-speaking
peoples scattered over wide areas of the southeastern part of
Congo (Kinshasa), eastern Angola, and northern and northwestern
Zambia. The various regional groups—the Lunda of Musokantanda in
Congo, Kazembe, Shinje, Kanongesha, Ndembu, Luvale (Luena,
Balovale), Chokwe, Luchazi, Songo, and Mbunda—are all of Congo
origin and broke away from the central Lunda kingdom in the
southern Congo. (See Luba-Lunda states.) In southwestern Congo
they have spread to the Kwango River, where they form the
political authority among the Yaka and other peoples. Most Lunda
live in savanna country intersected by belts of forest along the
rivers. Food gathering and hunting are important among many
groups, fishing less so. All groups practice shifting hoe
cultivation of cassava, millet, peanuts (groundnuts), beans, and
corn (maize), and all keep small livestock; some groups keep a
few cattle. Local trade is widespread; the Lunda of Kazembe have
been well known as traders of