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Concept
Chokwe people
Summary
NOTOC
The Chokwe people, known by many other names (including Kioko, Bajokwe, Chibokwe, Kibokwe, Ciokwe, Cokwe or Badjok), are a Bantu ethnic group of Central and Southern Africa. They are found primarily in Angola, southwestern parts of the Democratic Republic of the Congo (Kinshasa to Lualaba), and northwestern parts of Zambia.
There are two distinct seasons that occur in the Chokwe region: a rainy season between October and April, and a dry season for the remainder of the year. This weather had a huge impact on village life; the Chokwe farmed, hunted, fished, and built houses according to the changing of the seasons.
The Chokwe people have many different forms of artwork and many extant examples are kept in museums abroad.
Estimated to be about 1.3 million, their language is usually referred to as Chokwe (or Kichokwe, Tshokwe), a Bantu language in the Benue-Congo branch of Niger-Congo family of languages.
Many also speak the official languages of their countries: English in Zambia, French in Democratic Republic of Congo, and Portuguese (as first or second language) in Angola.
The Chokwe have many neighbors that consist of the Lunda, Pende, Mbangani, and Kete to the North; Minungu, Lwena, Luchazi, Mbwela, and Mbundato the East; Holo, Mbundu, Imbangala, Songo, and Ovimbundu to the West; and the Kwanyama to the South. Many of these ethnic groups have historical links to the Chokwe as well as sharing many traditions and speaking similar languages.
The Chokwe were once one of the twelve clans constituting the Lunda Empire in 17th- and 18th-century Angola. Initially employed by Lunda nobles, the tribe Balkanized from the Lunda oligarchy following a series of civil disputes, including refusal to pay tributes to the sitting king. Their trading and resources brought them relative wealth in comparison with other neighboring tribes. By 1900, the Chokwe had overthrown the Lunda kingdom (also called the Mwata Yanvo) altogether. With this, the Chokwe language and sociopolitical influence began to dominate northeastern Angola and the other 11 tribes of the former Lunda kingdom.
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