#kikongo

There's many different versions of this song, just type "Misibamba" on spotify or youtube, and enjoy. It's specifically an AfroArgentinean song, with most of the versions of this song recorded in Buenos Aires. According to african scholars, the song was originally in kikongo, possibly from the Benguela Nation, and it's traditionally sung to call on God (Nzambi Npungu). Some of the words have gone through slight (and not so slight) pronunciation or spelling changes but it's still recognizable for scholars in Angola!

What scholars say about it being originally used to call on God fits our own oral tradition and custom too, it's a religious song. Our elders sing it in times of need, when you need that extra ancestral and divine protection or guidance, and Elders say it was originally sung by our Ancestors in the slave ships as they were crossing the atlantic !!!

The Kingdom of Kongo was founded between approx. 1350-1375, and nominally survived until 1914. Its former lands now lie in northern Angola, the Democratic Republic of Congo (DRC), the Republic of Congo, and southern Gabon. 

How do we know about the Kingdom of Kongo?

The first written record of Kongo was in 1483, after the Portuguese sailor Diogo Cao first visited the kingdom. The conversion of the kingdom to Christianity, its diplomatic contacts with Portugal, the Netherlands, Belgium, and the Vatican, as well as mercantile/trading links with everywhere from England to Brazil to Ming China means there are extensive written and artistic sources regarding the lives of Kongolese people and the politics, economy and diplomacy of the kingdom. Preserved oral history and traditional memory is another important source for post-1483 Kongolese history, and also provides information for the origins of the kingdom.

Why is the Kingdom of Kongo important?

The lives and experiences of millions of people

Between 1650-1700, the Kingdom of Kongo contained roughly 500,000 men, women and children - and some historians estimate that this reached up to 2 million. As of 2020, over 118 million people live in countries which held parts of the former Kingdom of Kongo (Gabon, DRC, Angola, Republic of the Congo) and whose history and politics have been shaped by it.

Urban history

The Kingdom of Kongo’s cities are super interesting/relevant for anyone into urban history, the history of urbanism and anyone who wants to know what happens when you cram thousands of people into tiny spaces!! Mbanza Kongo/Sao Salvador was the capital, abandoned during the civil war and now holding 145,000 people - and there are archaeological remains of several coastal cities that existed from the 16th century!

African archaeology

Its kind of difficult to access many Central African archaeological sites due to politics, conflict, funding etc etc. The Kingdom of Kongo has many archaeological remains - from cities to cemeteries to old churches, and with that we can uncover the remains of clothing, jewellery, crucifixes, food and even Ming pottery! 

Global history

The Kingdom of Kongo participated in a globalising early modern and modern world. It probably began with the expansionist Nimi a Nzima (ruler of Mpemba Kasi) who conquered much of the south shore of the Congo River between 1350-1400. It did not just engage with the world through conquest of course. From 1483, the Kingdom of Kongo actively participated in the world of European trade and politics - sending ambassadors to Portugal, the Vatican and Brazil. It sent its princes to study in Lisbon, and merchants crossed back and forth into Portuguese (and briefly Dutch) Angola. Dutch Calvinists, Italian Capuchin missionaries and French colonists all met Kongolese kings, priests, nobles and traders. Archaeology shows its cities held Chinese, English, Dutch, Scandinavian and Portuguese pottery and jewellery. Kongolese people went out beyond the kingdom as diplomats, priests, merchants and slaves - and transformed the Atlantic world in Brazil, the USA and Haiti.

Global Christianity

The history of Christianity in Africa is not just a) Ethiopia and b) colonisation. The Kingdom of Kongo converted to Christianity through the form of a royal cult, willingly. Kongolese Christianity was dynamic and independent, drawing on indigenous, Portuguese and Italian influences to build something entirely new. Kongolese people resisted royal religious determination, producing movements such as Antonianism under strong female leaders such as Kimpa Vita. And Kongolese Christianity may have affected Afro-Brazilian and Haitian Christianity too. 

Amazing art and sculpture

The Kingdom of Kongo produced super interesting art and sculpture, from brass crucifixes and religious imagery to stunning coin and regal designs, to beautiful architecture. We have Kongolese art from the 15th century right until its end, and the Kingdom of Kongo’s legacy is still relevant to Angolan and Congolese art through modern meditations on its past!

The slave trade and resistance to slavery

No one knows how many Kongolese people were enslaved in the Atlantic slave trade - nor the many more people who passed through the Kingdom of Kongo to the coast. At least 30,000 people were shipped to the Americas in the aftermath of the civil war. Kongolese Catholicism and politics seems to have influenced the 1739 Stono Revolt in the USA - which was fought by people born and raised in the Kongo. And Kongolese religion and politics seems to have influenced the Haitian Revolt  - the only revolt that led to the birth of a free country by an enslaved people.

Colonialism and imperialism

The Kingdom of Kongo is no more. The reason for this is a combination of internal weakness due to a series of civil wars and a decline in the royal cult, and colonialism. In 1859, Pedro V became a formal vassal to Portugal in return for their military support in his battle for the throne. In 1914, Portugal finally “abolished” the Kingdom of Kongo. Parts of the Kingdom of Kongo came under French and Belgian imperial control too. How can a national identity and tradition get “abolished?” How could a kingdom get split up into different colonies and countries? 

Central African politics